Filofax: Planning On-The-Go

Hello July!

Summer is here... which means lots of planning, day trips, and mini vacations. But if you're anything like me, you just want a simple way to store your Filofax supplies for traveling or everyday use. My  "To-Go" bag holds an A5 Original and a couple of travel pouches plus a purse organizer. It's portable, which means I can take it with me anywhere I go, even around the house when I'm working in different rooms.

I know Filofax posts are among the favorites on my blog, so I thought it would be fun to show you how I use my planner on-the-go. Keep in my mind that these are just the things I use the most on a day-to-day basis. I felt it was easier to keep them all together in one place. Instead of buying new supplies, I just change out the stickers, notepads, pens or stickies for the extra ones in my collection.

Figuring out what works for you and personalizing everything to suit your style is what makes "life planning" so much fun! Feel free to customize what I've done to make it more You...

*WARNING: This is a photo-heavy post! So bookmark it for later or kick back and relax. I hope it inspires you...

I use the same hot pink, see-through studded bag all year-round to hold my Filofax pouches and supplies. It's bright and fun for every season and the perfect size to hold everything I need. [Pink Shopping Bag by Penny Sue, $19.99 from Tuesday Morning] Inside I have my planner and pencil pouches, along with a purse organizer that holds lots of other fun goodies!

This is my most used pencil pouch that has all of my basic planning supplies. [Hot Pink Multi-Purpose Case by Cosmos, $2.99 from Amazon] I've had it for over a year and it is still in really good shape. I know that lots of people complain about these pouches ripping apart, but I haven't had that problem since I don't overstuff it. Jam-packing it until it's ripping at the seams will definitely cause it to fall apart easily!

A sequined patch [gifted to me] pulls double-duty, by adding a sweet personal touch and to cover up the lime green logo that was there.

This butterfly pouch has lots of different pockets to hold everything from pens to sticky notes. It's so easy to organize all of the little bits and pieces.

I tuck fun arrow flags, post-its, magnetic clips, notepaper and labels into the pockets on one side.

Here I have each of the pens I use for my color-coding system, along with florescent sticky flags in various shapes and sizes.

There's even a large zipper pocket where I keep random tags, labels, and stickers.

My second pencil pouch came courtesy of Cool Pencil Case. It's not too big and easily fits into my everyday handbag if I need to pack only a few planning essentials. I especially love the saying on the front... it always makes me smile.

Although it doesn't have as many pockets as my other one, it still comes in handy. I'm currently using this butterfly pouch to hold extra pens and supplies.

In the large zippered pocket I have a few sets of cute Hawaiian sticky tabs [gifted to me]. The tall pocket has some colorful Sharpies and pens, and the elastic strip holds a couple of adorable page marker sets [gifted to me].

I also use a cool little bag to hold my pencil pouches (or just a Filofax) and other fun goodies. It goes with all of my pink supplies and has a ton of pockets! [Nylon Handbag Insert in Pink, $3.44 from Amazon]

This bag organizer can easily slim down, if need be. When empty, the sides snap together on the top and bottom, taking up less space in your bag.

It was so much fun picking and choosing different items to fill the pockets! On the front and back, I have sticky note pads and sets, washi tape samples, and a multi-color pen.

Inside the bag, there are two large zipper pockets that can hold just about anything!

In one, I have super cute dimensional stickers plus a pouch full of even more stickers!

In the other zippered pocket I have extra diary/calendar stickers, page markers, and sticky flags.

You can really do anything you want with these different travel bags. Choose to fill them with items that work for you and ones that you use everyday. Mix things up when you need a change! What motivates you to stay on top of your planning? Fun stationery? Bright colors? Cute characters? I choose all of the above!

That's all I have for you today! I hope you enjoyed this and leave here feeling inspired :) Feel free to browse my other Filofax posts or my completed planner pages here. Or check out my SMASH* & Project Life Travel Bag! You can also stay updated on my recent posts, projects, and photos by following me on instagram, or by "liking" my fan page on Facebook.

How do you plan on-the-go? Any thoughts, questions, or comments about this post? I'd love to hear it! Your feedback is always welcome and much appreciated.

Mahalo for stopping by!

A SMASH* Travel Bag

Happy weekend! Are you enjoying this gorgeous weather as much as we are? I love this time of the year.... it has to be that "islander" gene in me ;) The sunshine makes me happy. And when the weather is warm, we love our family time together in the great outdoors. Let them be day trips exploring the local wildlife and natural beauty of the Pacific NW, or relaxing ferry rides to the "Emerald City". Weekend road trips visiting family down in Portland, OR, or a 3 hour scenic drive to vacation in "Twilight Country." Life is full of fantastic adventures. With family vacations being at the top of the list! So I thought, how perfect would it be to bring my love for documenting life along with us when we travel? And that is exactly what I did with our road trip last month to La Push, WA.

When I pack a bag for my supplies, I keep in mind what our trip is all about. We were going to live "The Twilight Saga." So many photo opportunities: the famous locations, beautiful scenery, the resort. I also knew we were going to collect plenty of ephemera since both the rez in La Push, and the nearby town of Forks caters to tourists. I grabbed "Twilight Maps," brochures for the surrounding area (rainforest trail guides, restaurant menus, outdoor activities, etc.), travel mags, pamphlets, etc. I even did a ton of research on the net, created an itinerary, printed turn-by-turn road maps with all of our destinations "pinned", and took down info of the locations we were visiting. I wanted to enjoy every minute of our time there!
[*I kept all of this info in a file folder and added it to my bag.]

Back to our trip... my favorite part was the fact that technology was pretty much non-existent at the oceanfront lodging we were staying at. No cell signal. No TV. No internet. No telephones. But that didn't stop us from enjoying each other's company. Not to mention the amazing culture, lush rainforests, and beautiful beaches right at our doorstep. Even the time in our room was wonderful...with a view of the ocean right from our bed! Best part... after all of the sightseeing, I had plenty of time to relax and SMASH.

You can add anything you want to your bag. This is what I like to include in mine... it's a little bit of everything. They're all things that I personally use on a regular basis. My go-to supplies when I SMASH* or create my Project Life pages. I have just enough here to hold me down while documenting our vacation, and satisfy my crafty fix while away from home. You are more than welcome to modify this list so it suits you better. It should give a good jumping off point when creating yours.

SUPPLIES

• A Bag with Sturdy Handles: I use an eco-friendly bag made from recycled plastic bags. I picked it up for 50% off only paying around $2.50.
• Instax Mini 8 Instant Camera & Film: Partnered with my digital point and shoot (not pictured)

• SMASH* Book or Daybook: I took both ;) I handmade my daybook especially for this trip!
• A Notebook: My journal that also holds ideas for my blog and Project Life/SMASH*
• Small Notepad: I use it to jot down specific details (dates/times/location/activities/feelings), make lists, as a photo log, to record things people said, etc. I stick it in my purse if we go out.

• Thickers & Stickers: Themed embellishments, different alphabet stickers, word sentiments, etc.
• Embellishments: Cardstock cutouts, diecuts, tags, or other fun stuff. Choose ones relating to your trip.

• Journal Cards: I picked out ones with a road trip/travel theme. I even made my own "Twilight" cards on Silhouette Studio and cut them with my Cameo.
• Pockets: A mix of different ones to hold journal cards and tidbits of paper ephemera and mementos. Glassine bags, library card holders, handmade pockets, etc.

• Goodie Bags: Plastic SMASH* bags that come in different sizes. I use them to hold the little treasures I collect from vacation, for postcards and other ephemera we pick up, and to store my  journal cards and embellishments for the trip.

• Pencil Box: Holds all of your writing utensils and tools so they aren't rolling around the bottom of your bag.
• Black Zig Pen/Marker, Mechanical Pencil, & Eraser
• Colored Pencils: I love working with different media.
• Scissors: Mine is Tonic's Spring-Cut Detail Scissors
• Glue Stick and Mounting Squares: Both are little to no-mess adhesives perfect for traveling with.

• Washi Tape: I know it's hard to choose, but I limit myself to just a few rolls.
• Roller Date Stamp: I chose one with sentiments that will work for my trip. 
• Mini-Inker by SMASH*: Very handy and portable little tool with 3 different ink colors.
• Mini Stamp Pad: Takes up less space than a standard ink pad.

That's about it. So super simple to put together. Just customize the contents of your bag to fit your style and needs. And as you can see, everything easily fits into my bag with room to spare. So there really is no need to bring a ton of supplies, in a huge bag that you have to lug around along with the rest of your stuff... unless you really want to. The only thing missing here though are my cameras, which have their own cases and stored in our "Tech" bag, and my file folder with all of my travel information. This sweet little bag was so easy to transport and took up very little space in the car. I kept it on the floor near my feet making it easy to get in and out of so I could SMASH* on the road, and find the maps I printed out :)

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I really hope you enjoyed this post and feel inspired to bring a bag like this along on your next trip. Already have a travel bag? What do you like to include in yours? Did you find this info helpful? Any thoughts, questions, or comments about this post? Feel free to drop me a line. Your feedback is always welcome and much appreciated.

Mahalo for stopping by!