In my last post I detailed the Happy Planner made by MAMBI and sold at craft stores like Michael's and Hobby Lobby. I mentioned how many virtues it had...
the perfect size, the perfect layout, the ease of rearranging it for customization.
I really thought it was the only planner I would ever need.
But if you've ever spent a day in planner-land, you've heard of Erin Condren.
The gold standard of personal life planners in many circles.
Or as I like to call her the Queen Bee of Plannerland.
To be honest, I fell in love with her planners a couple years ago from a post by Jen at I Heart Organizing...
you know Jen, the Queen Bee of Organizing-Blogland...
She showed her EC Life Planner and I immediately linked over to buy one until I was stopped dead in my tracks from sticker shock.
Photo courtesy of erincondren.com
It appears these women are in the process of getting over their sticker-shock.
Yes, those babies are expensive... but aren't they beautiful???
Starting at $55 usd and ranging on up depending on which kind of cover, color of spine, and personal add-ons you choose, I believe it can hit close to three figures if not over when all said and done.
But that's just the beauty of it - you can customize it!
Remember how much I like that?
Yeah.
You can choose your cover design, have your name printed on it, pick the color of the coil it's bound with, choose colorful or neutral schemes, add extra accessories... but of course with the Happy Planner you can also change the covers, the discs it's bound with, add extra accessories... and buy all those extra goodies with your craft store coupons, but they're not going to print your name or family photo on them for you, hmmm.
Now, I have to mention that the Erin Condren website is not always user-friendly. I have gotten stuck, turned around, and glitched a few times there while attempting to put together my perfect planner. And these hang-ups have always ended the same way... with me giving up and going home LifePlanner-less.
My bank account probably thanks me for that.
Until I stumbled upon one at Staples (yay Staples!) who has apparently contracted with Erin this year. They had a rack with a few different styles and accessories, not at all the wonderful customizable joy of "building your own" as the EC website puts it, but I never once glitched or got stuck while carrying it to the checkout.... except for maybe a brief detour in the Martha Stewart disc-bound aisle to snag a couple accessories for my Happy Planner... yep, I'm two-timing it planner-wise. Still not sure if that's a good idea, but anyway, here she is... my official Staples version of the Queen Bee...
A simple date on a colorful cover, and classic "platinum" coil. It's not what I would have chosen if any of my LifePlanner building sessions had gone all the way through, but the cover is punched for the ability to remove and replace it. I can always purchase a custom choice for about $8 from the website or from various Etsy shops. However, I think it is pretty, and the planner was only $50 usd with no shipping. And I had a coupon. (yay coupons!)
Why so much less than the website? Because you don't get the lovely extras in the Staples version...
the direct purchased LifePlanners come with a clear plastic pouch that snaps in to hold your accessories, a snap-in ruler/bookmark, and some basic color coordinated stickers for marking out birthdays and appointments etc.
*I am not able to find any of that mentioned on the website this morning as I write, so if they are no longer including these items someone please correct me*
But you're not here to hear about my personal internet failures... you want a side by side,
so here go's...
Side by side (literally) they are very similar in size.
You can see how the Happy Planner cover and rings extend out a bit in both directions, though below you see with the pages themselves, the Erin Condren is a fraction wider, but still shorter.
Actual dimensions?
HP closed - 8 1/2 x 9 3/4 inches
EC closed - 8 1/4 x 9 1/4
HP page usable space - 6 1/2 x 9 1/4
EC page usable space - 6 5/8 x 8 3/4
That may have been taking it way too technical, but there you go.
now to the guts and glory...
The inside cover of the EC has a dry erase list page, the HP does not.
They both have a year at a glance... my HP had a glass of water spilled on it, I assure you it arrived perfectly smooth and pretty before my children came into the room.
After which the EC has this page which I believe is called a perpetual calendar to write in all the birthdays, anniversaries, and things that happen the same day each year.
My HP does not have one of those.
They both sport quotes throughout on the monthly divider page, and opposite...
The EC has a blank lined page for notes while the HP has designed an area for you to fill in upcoming events and current happenings like what you're listening to, watching, eating, etc. Memory planning style.
The monthly spreads are nearly identical...
the EC boxes (lower in the following photo) are slightly wider but shorter than the HP (upper in the following photo)
And I have noticed throughout the Happy Planner selection at the store, some planners have more holidays and daylight savings times etc. printed in that mine does not have! My Erin Condren appears to have all of these as well as moon cycles printed in.
The monthly spreads are each followed by weekly spreads for that month and are similar at first glance...
Again Hp is upper and EC is lower.
They both have a side bar for notes. They both split the last few or first few days of a month into the week that has the majority. They both have vertical rectangular days with three sections, and this is where the differences begin...
Wow their website pictures are so much nicer than my dining room window pics!
Anyway, Erin Condren offers you three different layout options, vertical, horizontal (far right), and hourly (far left).
But since I like comparing apples to apples, I'm sticking with my crappy dining room shots and the vertical layouts of each.
HP has 1/4" blank headers for each daily section allowing you to write or sticker in your own headings, and 1.5 x 2.25" boxes for each of your daily parts.
EC also has 1/4" blank headers followed by 1.5 x 1.9" boxes and then followed by an extra daily notes area.
Still pretty similar, but the devil is in the details.
If you happen to be a planner-sticker-person, and I am. Hence the Etsy Shop...
*If you do happen to be a planner-sticker-person check out the link to my shop
over there in the side bar >>>>>
You might notice that the EC has a little 1/8" space between the daily rows.
Might seem insignificant at first, but look at what that does to the sticker layout...
EC above verses HP below
And once more...
EC above and HP below
Now, this is a personal choice, they don't call it a "personal" life planner for nothing... but that tiny 1/8" space between rows can be huge.
For me, it keeps the stickers in line, makes them easier to place in without bumping each other out of line when they get a tiny bit off center, and makes it all appear a bit cleaner in my opinion.
Of course, my terrible handwriting doesn't help things at all, but that's life.
And did I mention all of those stickers are from ThePlannersHedge, my Etsy shop with a link right over there in the sidebar >>>>>>>>
(shameless plug!)
So there you go.
Happy Planner = $30 (and use a 40% off coupon at most craft stores)
Erin Condren LifePlanner = $50 + depending on your choices.
Similar size and layout.
EC = smaller boxes but extra lined writing space on bottom
HP = larger boxes without writing space at bottom
EC = space between daily columns
HP = adjacent daily columns
EC = wipe off notes on inside of covers and perpetual calendar pages
HP = no wipe off notes or perpetual calendar pages, though with the punch you can purchase with the Happy Planner and some basic computer skills you could easily add some new items that you make yourself!
Both = removable + replaceable covers
Both = beautiful colorful schemes and thoughtful design
And that's about it.
If you were able to get through the terrible dining room window photos and horrible handwriting skills displayed in them, I hope I've helped to to show the qualities of these two popular planner options. Leave me a comment if you have anything to add, or just to let me know I'm not alone!
I appreciate it.
Oh I wish I had this when I was first planner hunting. I ended up with Carpe Dien, which is tough to get the pretty custom stickers for, and waaaaaaay too much money on Kiki k. I think next year I may try an Erin Condren as your layouts are so nice. Thanks for posting this.
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