Have you been looking for the perfect daily planner and calendar for yourself? I received bloom daily planners’ Undated Daily To Do List Planner and Calendar in Blue Floral to review. This planner is a spiral-bound, hardcover calendar, sized 6.5” x 8.25.” It is 1.5” thick with paper pages and 12 tabbed and undated monthly calendar pages. The page layout includes one page per day, with 365 total days included. There is a goals section, vision board, and blank notes pages at the planner’s beginning. It is available for purchase at https://bloomplanners.com/ for $29.95.

Bloom daily planners create planners, especially for women’s use (although men can use them). They carefully design beautiful, sturdy (without looking or feeling clunky) planners full of spaces to help women keep track of their necessary daily tasks, health, and long-range plans. I found the Undated Daily To Do List Planner and Calendar in Blue Floral to be genuinely exceptional; it does contain a place for me to record everything I need to do each month and every day.

This planner’s external portion has impressionistic blue flowers on a white background with “notes, goals and to-dos” in gold calligraphy. The front and back hardcovers are smooth, with a golden spiral and matching metal corners to prevent fraying. The pages turn smoothly on the spiral, and the planner can lay flat (showing two day’s pages) or with just one day’s page showing. The inside covers each contain storage pockets. It weighs just over a pound but does not feel heavy and tucks easily into a purse or tote bag.

Do you ever find it challenging to plan a personal vision and goals statement? I have; I find it much simpler to record my daily to-do lists. But this planner makes mission statements both painless and straightforward. It asks you, “How will you bloom this year?” Doesn’t that sound inviting? That is a question I can answer, and doing so starts me on the path of creating a mission statement! I will be able to see it each time I open the planner. The following pages offer more inspiring questions, including five goals for the year, things to look forward to, something I would like to try, and more. Next is a page entitled “This Year’s Vision,” and provides a place to draw, write, or collage the user’s vision for the year. A section for notes rounds out the opening portion of the book.

Tabbed undated calendar pages, running January to December, follow the introductory section, waiting to be filled in with the year’s dates. Between each month’s calendar pages are dated daily pages. Of all the planners I have used, the bloom planner’s daily pages’ design is my favorite! On the right, each page contains the date; a 3-item list spot for the most important tasks of the day; a 16-line section for other daily tasks; a rectangle to jot down or plan daily exercise.  On the left, each page has important appointment times; a “to buy” list; a rectangle for “today I’m grateful for;” a meal plan box for listing breakfast/lunch/dinner; and lastly, a drawing of 8 water glasses to remind the user to drink (and mark off!) her daily intake. The last page of the planner asks the user to recount how she bloomed during the year, with a space to record important dates and events for the following year on its flip side. The outside of the planner’s color theme continues inside, on white pages with blue and tan accents and floral decorations, with month names and titles in a pretty calligraphy font. The pages themselves are relatively thin but thick enough that most pens never bleed through.

As I used the Undated Daily To Do List Planner and Calendar in Blue Floral, I discovered that it was the personal calendar and planner I searched for through many years. It is well-constructed, the pages never hung up as I turned them on the spiral, and the sturdy cover (with metal corners) held up to wear and tear exceptionally well. It is lightweight and easy to carry around inside or outside the home. I loved the pages, which provided a place for my (many) daily, weekly, and monthly lists and reminded me to care for my own body and spirit with the gentle reminders to drink more water, exercise, and be grateful.

I got a little creative with my vision board page. I am very visual, and I always appreciate products that can be beautiful as well as useful. So, I printed photos to remind me of my personal hopes and goals for the year and used double-sided tape to attach them to the page. I outlined them with washi tape for a vivid accent. Then, I taped wider washi tape to reinforce the first page’s vertical edge (with my contact information) and the vision board page’s edge. I knew I would be accessing those pages often and wanted to add a fun flair to them. I also use a magnetic bookmark to mark my dated page in the planner to find it easily during the day. These are not necessary by any means; the planner is beautiful and sturdy enough on its own. I just added them for a little more fun.

As homeschool mothers and teachers, we are all used to preparing daily lesson plans for our children’s school days. However, I found I always needed an additional personal planner for myself, and I have always gravitated more toward paper planners than digital ones. This undated planner is just the companion a homeschool mom will love. The vision and “bloom” pages are easily accessible at the front of the book. Both those and the beautiful planner itself will encourage the woman who has a long list of responsibilities each day. The monthly calendars provide space to record family appointments, classes, and events. Simultaneously, the daily pages offer a spot to write daily to-do lists, appointment times, daily meal plans, plus places for mom to remember her self-care. It is a beautiful tool for all women; however, homeschooling mothers, who may often come “last” on their daily schedules and plans, will appreciate its design to seamlessly and lovingly organize all the parts of their lives.

I have seen some definite advantages to my life and routines as I have used my Blue Floral planner. I am drinking more water! I have started a new habit of listing the three most important to-do items in the “must do today!” section of my planner pages. These are the things I must get completed. Even if I do not get my entire list of other to-dos finished, I can see that I have made progress on the day. I can see my appointments easily on my second list of “important times.” I am gently reminded to be grateful and notice and write down those things.

I am looking forward to adding daily exercise as well; I just have not gotten to that yet in this season! (I have a photo of ballet shoes on my Vision Board page to remind me of this hope and goal.)

I do love this planner so much. I know it will continue to be an asset to my life, goals, responsibilities, and schedules. I can also see that I am moving forward with my vision and mission statement each day and month.

I am looking forward to seeing progress at the end of my planner and my year!

-Product review by Melanie Reynolds, The Old Schoolhouse^® Magazine, LLC, February, 2021