One day, Tosha and I were sitting at my dining table, getting ready to have our “planning date”. We had all the goods spread from one edge to the other. Pens, highlighters, stickers, washi, stencils, post-it notes, clips etc. Planners wide open, ready to beautifully plan out our next week, and my husband walks up to us and says, “What is all of this for?”.
Shock was my first reaction, eyes wide and blinking slow, mouth slightly agape, followed by confusion.
We have been married for almost 15 years, I’ve been a planner, like a PLANNER PLANNER, since before we even met…. and you DON’T know what “this” is for??? Ummm…. Have we met? Where have you been? HAHA Kidding… but really, we have only been doing this, at this exact table for months.
Anyway, Tosha and I schooled him on what “this” was all for and we went about our day.
I’m always super interested in what others use for their planning. My planning style varies depending on the mood, the week, how much I need to plan for the week, where I am doing my planning at, etc.
I wanted to share here what I use for planning. My Planning ESSENTIALS if you will. So here it goes…
WASHI TAPE :
You can get washi tape from anywhere, but I usually stick with Amazon of course. I prefer Scotch brand over most, but Etsy also has a cute selection. The only problem with Etsy washi, is that you don’t necessarily know the quality of the tape, which is why I like to stick with Scotch.
Straight Edge Tool:
I use this primarily for tearing my washi tape, but it also comes in handy when you need to draw some lines in your daily boxes. 
Highlighters:
Of course, any highlighter will do, BUT Zebra Mildliners are far superior to any other.
They have a great color selection and an amazing color payoff
Pens:
Sometimes I have to jot something quickly into my planner with my regular daily pen (like a peasant, psh) but when I am intentionally planning I ALWAYS use these Fineliner pens.
Stickers:
Sometimes I’m in the mood to go ALL out on my weekly planning and I get super into the stickers, but other times I keep it very simple. When I need stickers, I always go to either Planner Kate or Happy Planner sticker books.
Here are a few that I have used.
Scissors:
You always need scissors, for everything in life really.
I like to keep these in my planner bag for whenever I may need a little snip snip. They have a slip cover over them, which I like.
White out:
I’m embarrassed at how much of this I use in my planner. IF you are here, then you can most likely relate. Who wants messy scratches all over their week??
You’d like all white out is about the same, and you’d be WRONG. I do like the Bic brand, but the Tombow brand has become my favorite. I always have one of these in my planner pouch, for when I inevitably make a mistake.
Craft tweezers:
Chubby fingers….. enough said.
Sometimes I just need some tiny little tip to help me out! LOL
These tweezers take a minute to get used to using, as they are not operated like typical tweezers. Hard to explain, but it works. I use these to grab the edge of a sticker that I just can’t get up, pulling the edge of a new roll of washi, or pulling the tiny date stickers when I am working on my monthly layout.
Craft Knife:
These little things are SHARP, so be super careful! This thing can cut ANYTHING, washi, stickers, you name it. I use it for all of that, BUT the cool thing is, if you use a soft hand it will only cut the top layer. So, you can trim a sticker or washi or whatever it is, and it will not cut through the paper. Magic really.
Post-it Sticky Notes:
Who doesn’t need sticky notes? I use them daily in my planner, on my desk for reminders, and at home for notes. I always have sticky notes in my planner pouch for future planning.
Did I miss anything that you can’t live without? Please tell me. I’d love to hear what you use when planning.