Have you ever felt overwhelmed just to plan in your planner? Has your pile of supplies taken over the kitchen table or office? Have you wished for planner peace and simplicity in this area?
I have…
So I decided to have an Erin Condren only planner this year. Everything I use in my planner will be from the Erin Condren brand.
It’s still a lot of stuff! 
But if you break it down, it’s really just 8 different items.
1. The Erin Condren Life Planner…Of course we must start with the basics and own an EC planner! Mine is Vertical, but there is also a new Horizontal option this year. 
2. Blank Event Labels…2 sheets of these come in your planner (plus 2 sheets that are pre-printed). I really like the blank labels so I’ve ordered a few more just to have all the colors. I use a Pilot G2 black pen to write on them.
3. Custom Event Labels…I love these and want them for everything! But I basically just get them for recurring events and things that I really need to stand out. 
4. Daily Dots…These are a fairly newish item and this will be the first year that I use them. I like them and wish EC would do some that are even smaller. 
5. Do-It-All Dots…another newish item that I am using for the first time this year. They are grouped in themes which include: cleaning, recycle, laundry; pencil, arrow, heart; exercise, timer, measuring tape; exclamation, dollar sign, envelope/mail; doctor, medications, dentist; nails, hair, makeup.
Some of these will get used up quickly and easily, like the money sign and the heart, and others may be gifted to friends that will use them like makeup or the measuring tape. But they are cute and functional, and there is a good variety!
6. The New Sticker Book…Can I just say LOVE?!!! Scroll down to an older blog post and I show all the pages. I hope with a pleading kind of hope that they will design more of these that are seasonal and themed in fun ways. This is an exciting new product!
7. One thing I have not fully taken advantage of yet is the Washi paper/stickers that they have. I own the classic set. The Christmas set is in my cart. And I keep looking at the summer themed set, wondering if I love it enough to buy it yet. It’s probably just a matter of time.
I plan to use these for marking my weekends and any extended vacation days or family activities that span over several days. They are designed to be cut in any shape, so the ways of using them are limitless!
8. Various punches…ok, this is technically not EC, but I can’t get enough of this tiny flag punch. I will be using it a lot this year to make my own flags out of the Washi paper AND the event stickers. I will probably look for a small circle punch as well as one other that looks fun and fits in the boxes. My goal is to keep things simple though, so 1-3 punches will be my limit! Because the Washi paper is designed to use in shapes, I think cutting the EC brand Washi qualifies as keeping things within the EC brand this year!
I am super excited about this challenge and I really like how my planner is turning out so far. I plan to add the new EC markers to my pile of supplies, but even with all of these things, my pile is totally under control when it isn’t all spread out.
I’ve done 3 1/2 page layouts so far and it has been quick and easy and very little time has been spent on decor, yet my planner makes me smile when I see it and it’s keeping me on track!
Everything on these pages is EC only and my Pilot G2 black pen.
I made some fun flags for Thanksgiving week!
And some more cute ones for recording my work hours when school starts in August.
This little flag punch is from Walmart and it feels like a must have for me.
I tried a different design for October. Not sure I LOVE this, but it didn’t cost me much time to experiment a little.
I can’t wait to see how my planner looks by next June. I know my shopping will be much simpler and easier on the budget. And I hope this will let everyone know that the items you can get from EC, the new bundle, and perhaps a few custom event labels are all you really need for simple, functional, but still lots of fun planning!
My Erin Condren 
Love this post! Well every post in here. You write about a fun subject – planners & especially EC design, you take great photos, have interesting thoughts & ideas and I love the more simple way of planning. I am also doing an all-ec-year 2015/2016. I want it to be easy, peaceful, cohesive, less expensive(EC is already expensive enough) and I want there to be less choices in my planning process.
I love your spreads! They are beautiful and serene.
You just totally made my day! I am so excited about being exclusively EC this year. I crave the simplicity and I hope it will be easier on my wallet as well!! Thank you so much for reading my blog and for leaving such a happy comment! All smiles here.
Do you find that you are using also the really dark colored blank event stickers or would you not buy them a second time?
I learned a lot by ordering every single color available (this was before they added so many new options). There are certain colors that do not do well with the custom printing. For example, lemon and pear are very difficult to read. I have the word “tennis” on a pear colored sticker and you can barely read it. Also, while I can’t write on the black or dark purple or navy stickers, they are excellent for getting custom stickers because the white letters show up really well. I will not order any dark blank stickers again and I will be careful about getting custom stickers on colors that are really light.
How did you get all the different color blank event stickers? Did you order custom ones with no writing?
Yes. I chose custom colors and just left them blank.
hey! what size is the banner punch that you used?
It’s just very tiny. I don’t know the actual size b
Hi there! In the picture of the week of June 11-14, you have a sticker on the Sunday that says “Keep Going No Matter What”. I’ve seen other posts from you where these types of stickers are used. Where can I find them? I’m assuming it’s an EC product, so is it part of the sticker books?
Yes, that is in the new sticker book. There is a blog post here that shows every page from the sticker book.
I seriously need to work on my penmanship
Hello. I research the washi paper/stickers like yours. I don’t find them on the website… Could you help me please? Thanks!!
Hello from another Spokane mother of 3!! I love your ideas, your layout is lovely, well done!
Why can’t I find the EC washi paper??
Do you know the specific color names used in the standard event stickers that come with the planner this year? I’m trying to order customer – but need to color coordinate some, and I’m arguing with myself which color is really which color. Thanks!