It’s that time of the year again! The most anticipated time of the year when we wait for Erin Condren to launch their brand new planners! The 2017-2018 Erin Condren Life Planners are all so amazing. With the cute packaging and all of the extras, Erin Condren sure knows how to deliver happy mail! I was so excited when I opened my package and saw the new 2017-2018 Erin Condren Hardbound Life Planner and accessories.
With a planner that’s already perfect, I didn’t think they would come up with such fun new ideas, but they did! I’m super excited to share a detailed look at the new lineup this year. The LifePlanner is my absolute favorite planner and I am so grateful to be able to review it!
The official launch date isn’t until May 4th, 2017, but if you subscribe to their newsletter you can pre-order your planner on May 1st – today! Click here to join their newsletter so you can shop early! & don’t forget to sign up using my referral link to get $10 off!
Here are the links for the new planners!
https://erincondren.com/hardbound-lifeplanner
https://www.erincondren.com/coiled-lifeplanner
https://www.erincondren.com/luxe-lifeplanner
And if you are a VIP you will also get a free hardbound notebook and sticker sheet! But only if you act fast!
If you’d like to see my previous review of the Erin Condren Planner from last year to see the differences check out this post here!
Table of Contents
Introducing the New Erin Condren Hardbound LifePlanners
The Hardbound LifePlanners will only be available in the 18-month calendar option (July 2017-December 2018).
The pricing for the hardbound planners is actually very affordable. Before the launch, I thought my large one would have been $75 starting but they aren’t. They start at $30.00 for the small horizontal and $35 for the large vertical! Amazing right?!
They have two new sizes for the hardbound planners:
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5×8 Horizontal Layout
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8×10 Vertical Layout
Here is a size comparison of the large hardbound planner and the coiled lifeplanner
They come in 4 different color/style options, these covers can also be personalized:
- Black Cover:
- Gold Foil Accents
- Metallic Gold Paper Edges
- Midcentury Circles Style (Neutral Theme)
- Cherry Blossom Cover
- Rose Gold Foil Accents
- Metallic Rose Gold Paper Edges
- Bold Bouquet Style (Black & White with themed colored months)
- Linen Cover
- Platinum Foil Accent
- Metallic Platinum Paper Edges
- Mid-Century Circles Style (Multi Color Theme)
- Turquoise Cover
- Turquoise Foil Accent
- Turquoise Paper Edges
- Fleur Feliz Style (Multi Color Theme)
Review: HARDBOUND LifePlanners
Layouts
I received the 8×10 Vertical Layout Erin Condren Hardbound Life Planner with the Cherry Blossom Cover. I know everyone wishes they’d have the weekly vertical layout in the smaller 5×8 planner. That would have been my dream planner! I am #teamvertical all the way, so when it came time to choose I had to go with the larger one since it has my beloved vertical layout option. Maybe next year we will see more options for these Erin Condren Hardbound Life Planners.
I am so glad that these planners still have the colorful headers! I haven’t been using decorative stickers much, and having these colorful headers makes my planner pages so much more vibrant and fun!
UPDATE: Here is a look at how the regular size stickers fit into the new larger hardbound planners. It’s a lot bigger, but if you center the boxes it can still work!
The monthly layout didn’t seem to be much different except they spelled the whole weekday words out instead of just the letter for the day of the week. I love this so much better! The HardBound Planners do not have extra notes pages before or after the monthly view, however. It just goes straight from the month into the week.
Box Sizes
This planner is larger than the typical lifePlanners, so the boxes are actually larger as well. The boxes in the coiled LifePlanners are 1.5″ by 1.9″, but the boxes in the hardbound are actually 1.63″ x 2.063″! This means you probably won’t be able to use full box stickers from Etsy shops anymore! Luckily for me, I like to plan with lots of white space. I use minimal stickers and love using icon stickers and washi tapes to decorate instead.
I love the extra room. I can write a lot more in each box now. I have been using my Erin Condren LifePlanners as a simple to-do list like the bullet journal method. So I brain dump everything in there. I disliked writing my to-do lists on more than one line so I’d shorten my tasks as much as possible. With these bigger boxes, I can now write my to-do lists more proactively by using action verbs and more details. So instead of just “laundry”, I can now write “wash laundry”, without having to write very small!
Style
I love the style of this planner. The cherry blossom has the bold bouquet style which is black and white but has a color accent for every month! It’s like having a neutral and colorful theme in one planner! I love how bold yet cute it is.
Ribbon Bookmark
The Ribbon Bookmark is built in nicely, I gave it a tug and it didn’t budge. Having this built-in bookmark makes it easy to turn to the week you are on. I love a bookmark that sits towards the bottom of the planner since it’s closer to me when I am about to open it. It makes it easier to find your spot.
Other Noticeable Changes
Flags for Goals – The goals page includes a little colorful flag with an asterisk!
Beautiful Simple Year at a Glance
Quotes – there are inspiring quotes on the weekly layout pages throughout the planner. It seems to be every other week or so.
Notes Pages
In the Coming Year Pages
New Quality Mohawk Paper – the new paper is super thick! It’s so luxurious to write on. The pages are all edged with metallic gold, look at the image below, that’s just one page!
No Header Flag for Side Bar – you are free to do whatever you’d like with your new sidebar! The dashed box is also great for your own quote or memory of the week!
Pros
Sturdy and Solid – This hardbound cover life planner will be able to withstand much more.
Lays Flat – I was surprised to see that this planner laid flat pretty easily!
Thick Paper Quality – The quality of the paper has definitely improved!
Ribbon Bookmark – So easy to find your spot without losing your bookmarks!
Great for Left and Right Handers – With no coil, you can easily write on either side of the page!
No Coil = No Snags
Cons
No Pockets, Folders or Pouch
Without a pouch or folder, it can be hard to store your planner accessories. But Erin Condren also sells the new planny pack and sticky storage pockets. The sticky storage pockets can be stuck into the back or front cover and be used as a folder!
No Tabs
Without tabs, it can be hard to find the month you’re looking for. But, Erin Condren also sells new monthly adhesive tabs in a black and gold metallic style and colorful style. Add these to your planner and you’ve got tabs!
Heavier
Since the planner is a hardbound cover it definitely is a lot sturdier and thus heavier. This isn’t a problem for me since I use the Erin Condren planners for home & family. I will be leaving it on my desk/coffee table to refer to throughout the day.
Overall Thoughts
I am very happy with the quality and overall design of the new HARDBOUND LifePlanners. I thought that the 8×10 would be too big for me but I love the extra room. I know if I do take it with me on trips the pages won’t get ruined. The covers’ colors and simple designs are timeless. The metallic edging makes the planner feel so luxurious. The paper quality is so thick and makes me want to write in it every day!
What About The Coiled LifePlanners?
Here’s an overview of the new Coiled LifePlanners
The Erin Condren LifePlanner™ will be available in three calendar options:
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18 month (July 2017-December 2018)
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12 month (January-December 2018)
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12 month ( July 17 -June 18).
Each Planner includes the following personalization options:
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4 Coils: Gold | Silver | Rose Gold | Matte Black
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3 Layouts: Hourly | Horizontal | Vertical
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2 Color Schemes: Neutral | Colorful
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1 New and Improved Keep It Together Folder
New Interchangeable Cover Options
This year Erin Condren came out with a ton of new designs for the LifePlanners. You can choose from classics or metallics and they all can be personalized! Some of them you can also choose your own colorway.
What’s New Inside the LifePlanners?
You will find the style painted petals throughout the planner for this year. You will see this pretty design on the vellum overlay, bookmark/ruler, perpetual calendar, plan for it pouch, and dry-erase boards/inside covers.
The plan for it pouch is separated again this year. It can be used separately since it isn’t coiled in. Inside each pouch, you will receive the awesome freebies including compliment cards, gift labels, friends and family discount cards and a coil clip! You can use the coil clip to attach your pouch into your planner if you want!
Vegan Leather “Luxe” Option Can Now be Personalized
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Cover will be permanently coiled to your book
- 3 Leather colors
- Light taupe
- Sapphire
- Black
- Three character personalization
- Blind Imprint
- Metallic Silver
- Metallic Rose Gold
- Metallic Gold
Accessories
There are so many cute fun new accessories that Erin Condren released!
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New Sticker Book – Classic Edition 3
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Dual Tip Markers – Pastel
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Elastic Bands – Neutral
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Dashboard – Painted Petals
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Painted Petals Stylized StickyNotes
- Magnetic Page Markers
- Black and Gold
- Magenta and Platinum
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Sapphire and Rose Gold
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Seafoam and Gold
- Metallic Mini Snap-in Bookmarks
- Painted Petals Iris
- Painted Petals Cherry Blossom
- Painted Petals Teal
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StylizedSticky Notepads
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Compliment Cards in painted petals theme
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Mini Sticky Storage Pockets in painted petals
- Painted Petals Iris
- Painted Petals Cherry Blossom
- Painted Petals Teal
- New Paper Tapes in:
- Painted petals
- Mid-century circles, multi
- Floral ink
- Planny Pack
- Black and Gold
- Cherry blossom and Rose Gold
- linen and platinum
I received a few of these items as well. My favorites are the Planny Pack, and the mini sticky storage pockets!
I love the new markers, it includes a dual-tip head and comes in the cutest colors! Bonus – it has a cute case to store it in!
The Planny Pack wraps around your planner and acts as both a planner band to keep your planner closed and a cute storage solution for your planner accessories! It is very thick and soft. I love the color options and the metallic accents.
The petals designs are on the new sticky notes as well!
The sticky storage pockets are a must for the hardbound since it doesn’t have any folders. These are so easy to use you simply peel and stick! They are so sturdy and easy to use!
& here are some pages from the beautiful new sticker books! I love collecting EC’s sticker books! They are well made and are just so functional!
Didn’t Erin Condren went above and beyond with this year’s launch?! Which planner do you think you will go for? So many choices right? I wish I can try them all out!
Don’t forget!
The official launch date isn’t until May 4th, 2017, but if you subscribe to their newsletter you can pre-order your planner on May 1st – today! Click here to join their newsletter so you can shop early! & don’t forget to sign up using my referral link to get $10 off! Pin this image below to share this review with all of your friends!
These items shown were sent to me for review. This is not a sponsored post.
Thank you so much! I was thrilled to see they finally came up with a hardbound (I’m a lefty – the coil annoyed me!) but was debating on it because of the large size (I wanted vertical!). Reading your review – I’ll give it a go! Thank you for your review!
Yay!
How does the thickness compare when comparing the hardbound and the coiled? Is the hardbound thinner?
Hi sorry the late response. But the thickness of the hardbound is 2cm. The hardbound includes 18 months. The 18 month coiled it’s about 3cm. And the 12 month coiled is about 2cm as well. I posted a picture on ig if you’d like to see Instagram.com/wendafuldesigns
Could you tell me how thick the 8×10 hardbound Life Planner is? I’d love to compare it to the thickness of my coiled planner to make sure it isn’t too big. You mentioned that it was heavier. Do you feel it would be too heavy to haul around in your purse on a daily basis? Thanks!
Hi sorry the late response. But the thickness of the hardbound is 2cm. The hardbound includes 18 months. The 18 month coiled it’s about 3cm. And the 12 month coiled is about 2cm as well. I posted a picture on ig if you’d like to see Instagram.com/wendafuldesigns. For me personally, I do think it would be heavy to carry around everyday. But if you already carry the coiled planner around it’s not much difference. It’s way more solid and sturdier than the coiled so it would be better for on the go.
Hi and thank you so very much for your detailed review of this product. My only question is that I use Avery labels for my planner stickers, and I was wondering if you knew if the Avery label size 1/2″ x 1 3/4″ (Product # 5422) would fit in both the monthly and daily boxes?
The monthly dimensions of the new planners are 1.53inches in height by 1.77inches wide. The weekly boxes are 2.04inches by 1.65inches. Looks like the avery labels would only fit the monthly boxes.
I love your review! I had the coiled planner in cart and happy I saw your review before placing the order. I now have purchased the hardbound planner with sticker book! Excited to own my Life Planner. I have wanted one for a few years but due to other expenses always went with a more financially friendly planner. However, both I and my student budget are happy with this choice!!!
Yes! I am so glad this new planner is a lot more affordable! I hope you’ll love it!
Thanks for the review! I am in love with the 8×10 hardbound planner, but am sad that a lot of the stickers I have won’t fit right. I know you gave an update on the size of the overall box, but could you tell me how different the header boxes are? Wondering if I am going to be able to use any of the glitter headers I just ordered in it come July…
The headers fit height wise, but the length of the new planner boxes are a bit longer, I will add an image of some stickers in the box to show you!