I get questions all the time about the supplies I use to set up my teacher planner, so today I'm giving you a full update on everything I'm using for the upcoming school year. The nice thing is most things I use for many years so I get my money's worth, and every year I tweak a few little things here and there so I still get to enjoy the fun of putting together a fresh new planner every summer!
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1. Cover and discs
You can get hard covers like the one I have from a few different places but the one I have right now is from The Happy Planner. Honestly when my planner cover starts to get beat up after several years and it needs to be replaced, I look for one from any brand that I can find on clearance and get that one!
This one is pretty similar to the one I'm using. I love these
Happy Planner Rainbow Expander Metal Discs. The colors are just so fun and because they are metal they are so sturdy! I've been using them for several years now with very little sign of wear.
2. Paper
You don't have to have a fancy hard cover or rainbow colored discs to set up a teacher planner like this, but you will definitely need a hole punch to be able to put your papers into a discbound planner! Someone gave me the hole punch I'm using now from The Happy Planner but I used
this one, which is much cheaper, for years with no issues.
This may surprise you but I think the biggest difference between a printable planner that feels cheap and one that feels professional is the paper. If you get 24lb paper to print at home you will notice a huge difference, and it's really not that much more expensive! Here's the paper I'm using right now.
You can also definitely have your planner pages printed- I used to have mine printed at Staples and they always came out great- but it is nice to be able to print at home and have the flexibility to just print out a page or two here and there whenever I need it without having to leave the house, and it ends up being cheaper. I use HP's instant ink service so it sends me new ink cartridges whenever I need them-
here's a link to get 1 month free if you want to try it too.3. Folders and pockets
I find it really helpful to have a double-sided folder and a zippered pocket in the front of my planner. I got a new folder this summer from
this accessory pack but you can use any letter size folder! I haven't found any other zippered pockets as good as this
Arc Clear Zippered Pocket and it's so nice to keep my favorite
Frixion Erasable Pens, some stamps, and address labels in there. I keep a
Staples Clear Pocket in the back too for my choir sheet music.
4. Tabs and bookmarks
If there's one thing I've used longer than anything else (and probably will still be using 10 years from now) it's this pack of
Rainbow Paper Tabs. They are essentially sticky notes in the shape of tabs so I just write the section name on it and stick it where I want each section to begin (you can see them along the side in the photo above). They hold up shockingly well as well!
And I made my own bookmark to hold some sticky notes to use in my planner years ago that I am still using today- it's basically just a laminated piece of scrapbook paper cut to size with holes punched to add to my planner, but here is my
Bookmark/ Sticky Note Dashboard DIY tutorial if you want all the details.
I also started using a plastic bookmark from The Happy Planner a few years ago that someone gave me and it is finally wearing down so this year I got a new one in the same
accessory pack I got the folder from. I keep the DIY one in the current month, and the plastic one in the current week.
I hope this helps if you are thinking about setting up your own planner like mine- I absolutely love it and have been using it with pretty much the same setup for over a decade now! Please let me know if you have any questions, I'm happy to help. Happy planning!
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