Kate Spade Planner Review

This summer I reviewed the Moleskine planners that I began using when I first got into paper planners a few years ago. I loved how functional, light and easy they were to use.

My Moleskine planners served me well and I'd still recommend them to anyone looking for a new planner or to get into paper planning. But as I talked about in my original planner post, finding the right planner is all about analyzing how you use it and how it fits into your lifestyle.

I found myself needing a single planner that could store everything - sticky notes, pens, highlighters and additional notes relevant to my planning needs - in one single item so I could avoid carrying a separate notebook and pencil case to keep everything else I needed with me handy. I also wanted to invest in a very sturdy, refillable planner that I could customize to fit my needs as my planning needs evolve.

I settled on the Kate Spade New York Grove Street planner after considering the ways in which I'd want to use my new planner and getting recommendations from friends and other planner addicts.  (Tip: All Kate Spade planners are built the same and include the same inserts - wait for a deep discount like I did, buying this on clearance with an additional discount.) 

It didn't take me long to fall in love with the planner! Here are a few quick shots showing an overview of how I've been using it for the past few weeks:

I loved the paper quality for the Kate Spade inserts and how much space I had to take notes for my daily and weekly activities. I've included a sample of how I've used the planner so far on a week that doesn't contain any personal information. 

I will knock the planner on two points - first, I wish it came with dividers to separate each month so that I can more easily thumb through my planner. And second, I wish the planner hadn't come with extraneous sections that likely won't get used. There were sections devoted to birthdays, addresses and restaurants that I personally had no use for. 

I plucked those sections out and found this amazing Filofax insert set that gave me a ton of notes and to do pages that makes my planning all the more efficient. I was able to take notes on one subject, write out a grocery list in the to do section, and mark the dates in the main planner section to capture when I need to address each item.

I also adore just how many pockets I have in this planner! Several reviewers talked about using this planner as a wallet and while I'm not quite there yet, I can see how that's possible. There are plenty of card slots for organizing credit cards or business cards, and three large slip pockets which I've used to store sticky notes, a mini ruler (sadly, I've misplaced the ruler the planner came with!) and extra notes on the projects I'm working on. I've even been able to throw my iPhone 7 Plus (with case) in the planner and zip it up without a problem and know that it'd be secure.

***

I've really fallen in love with my Kate Spade planner and I'm glad that I made the leap in investing in a great quality item that I can continue to customize and refill over time. 

Planner fans, chime in - what's your favorite planner and how do you customize it to make it work for you? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.