Get ready, because this post is picture heavy!

I am very into organizing, planning, and things of that nature. Although planners are meant to be a year-long commitment, I end up switching mine out at least twice before the year is up. I shared my newest swap—The Day Designer for The Happy Planner–on a snapshot post and briefly mentioned I would post more detail once I finish customizing it to my liking. Now that I have it all organized to my satisfaction, let’s take a peek inside.

The Happy Planner: Overview and Features

First, I want to share a quick overview of the planner. The Happy Planner is the newest Create365 planner from the company Me and My Big Ideas (MAMBI). If you’re crafty, you may have seen this brand in stores like Hobby Lobby or Michaels near the scrapbooking section. The Happy Planner costs $24.99, which is a great rate in comparison to other quality planners.

What makes The Happy Planner unique is the customizations and binding. Rather than a standard spiral bound planner, this one uses discs, which makes the customizing aspect very user-friendly. You’re able to easily insert and remove pages to fit your planner needs, which is what truly made me fall in love with this planner. In general, I prefer clean and minimal designs, but I still like a little design. The challenge I previously had was finding a happy medium. That’s where this planner came into play: the typography is chic and the colors follow a clean theme.

Which Planner is Right For You?

If you’re into bright, colorful patterns, I’d recommend an Erin Condren planner. If you’re into very minimal design, I’d recommend The Day Designer. If you’re looking for something that has a mixture of the two but errs more on the side of clean, I’d recommend The Happy Planner.

Each of the 5 happy planner options on the MAMBI site have a different cover and inside theme, so my advice is to click around the site and watch each planner video to look at the interior. As much as I wanted the “Every Day is a Gift” cover, the inside of the “(Heart) my Life” planner fit my style so I ended up purchasing that one. For reference, I’ve never owned an Erin Condren because it doesn’t fit my style. I have had (and still love and use for work) The Day Designer in the popular black spotty design.

The Add-Ons

The add-ons are where you can truly get creative. The ability to pick and choose as you please is what sold me on purchasing this planner. An added bonus is the optional accessories all follow the thematic patterns of each planner, so the finished product will still look cohesive.

Options sold separately include:

• Various stickers*
• Dividers*
• Six-Month Extension pack
• Home Planner*
• Note and Graph Paper*
• Expander Rings
• Interchangeable covers*
• Pocket Folders*
• Inspirational Cards*

*Items I purchased for my planner

How I Customized My Planner

Although the planner comes with a month-to-month layout all the way through December 2016, I set the new year aside and only kept until December 2015 in my planner so the add-ins wouldn’t create an excessive amount of bulk. As each month passes, I toss out the old and replenish with a new month. At a glance, my planner is divided into three sections:

• Month-to-Month planner
• Home Planner
• Mini Notebook

Rather than talk in depth, take a peek below for some inspiration:

The Cover

The Month-to-Month Planner

The Home Planner

The Blog Notebook

If you’re interested in trying out this planner for yourself, be sure to browse the site. MAMBI just restocked these hot sellers earlier this week, so get them while you can!