If you’re looking for an easy way to create your printable planner, you’ve come to the right place! You can customize your planner with simple steps to fit your specific needs. So whether you want to keep track of your daily tasks, weekly goals, or monthly appointments, a printable planner can help you stay organized and on track.

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What is a Printable Planner

A printable planner is a type of organizer that can be printed out and used. It’s perfect for people who want to keep their planning process simple and easy to follow. Printables offer budget-friendly and customizable options that give users more control over the layout and design of their planners.

Making a printable schedule doesn’t need to be costly. This short guide will show you all you must know, including which materials to utilize. These guidelines are more for US Letter size. However, if you live where A4 or A6 is the standard, you can still use this.

To start, select your printable planner. You can purchase a printable planner and print it out using your printer or take it to a printing service. Alternatively, you can also choose to mix and match different pages. Check out my weekly planner for ideas or even to buy. 🙂

Using US letter size, you can put it in a 3-ring binder. Sounds boring? I agree, but you can use the Hybrid NoteBinder from Five Star. I bought mine in person from Target. They are also sold in Staples. Walmart only sells these online. The Hybrid Notebinder is still a 3-ring binder, but it’s a little more exciting.

It lies flat like most notebooks and features five tabbed segmenters and 60 sheets of ruled paper. The separators are additionally organizers. It is intended to hold 200 pages, yet if you use sheet protectors like me, it will likely hold 150 pages or somewhat less. The biggest downside is the 1-inch just holds around three months if I use thick paper. Along these lines, I use this binder for a quarter; at that point, I document what I need and discard the rest.

I don’t work for Five Star. But I love these binders for easy storage of paper and for creating a planner—enough about the binder.

I recently ordered a black and white laser printer. Unfortunately, every printer I’ve had in the last ten years has lasted less than two years. So, I’m trying black and white because the color ink always seems to be the problem. 

You don’t have to pay a lot for a printer. However, if it is under $150, I suggest getting at least a one-year warranty. I spent about $160 on my printer and got a three-year warranty, so I know I should have this printer for at least three years. 

I have the HP LaserJet MFP M140we All-in-One Wireless Black & White Printer. However, I know some people must have color, and I was going to get HP ENVY 6055e All-in-One Wireless Color Printer. Just make sure you get a warranty. OR pay a little more for a better printer. I stick with HP because of their instant ink program. It’s cost-effective unless you print 300 pages every single month. And the Epson printer I had didn’t last a year. I haven’t tried Brother, but I’ve heard their printers are very good.

Finally, let’s talk a bit about printer paper. Any kind is acceptable if you don’t care about having thick paper. I only care about paper when printing something for business or a planner. HP Printer Paper 24 lb 500 sheets is fantastic for at-home printing. 24lb is thicker than the average paper. Some planners in the store use this paper. HP 20 LB 500 sheets is the next best if you want thicker paper for your planner. Printing on high-quality paper will help ensure that your pages last longer, but it’s not a must.

You should check which paper goes with your printer. Some paper is for laser printers. Others are for inkjet printers. And some paper is recycled while some are not. Make sure to check for what you care about. 

If you don’t already have a 3-hole punch, you should get one. They are in most office stores (Staples etc.) Amazon only has a few options, but I like this Bostitch model because it has a ruler if you want to do A4 paper or whatever dimensions you want. Want a heavy-duty 3-hole punch? Try this one. It can do 40 pages at one time. 

So we have all the material. Everything else is easy. Print the sheets you want, hole punch them or use sheet protectors*, and then put them in your binder.

*Sheet protectors aren’t ideal when you just want to open your planner and write. You have to take the sheet of the protector before writing, but it’s an option if you want to avoid hole-punching your planner. 

How to Pick a Printable Planner

Before you pick a planner, it’s important to understand your goals. You need to figure out what you want the planner for and what information you want to track. Do you want to keep track of daily tasks, appointments, or notes? Once you know this information, it’s easier to decide on the type of planner that will work best for you.

Having these things figured out before choosing a printable planner will help ensure that the one you choose is well-suited to helping you achieve your goals.

You now have a planner! It’s an easy way to do it and cost-effective if you already have the printer. Planning is a great way to organize and stay on top of your daily tasks. With a printable planner, you can have all your planning information at your fingertips. Check out the printable and digital planners in my shop.

Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links, which means if you click one of my affiliate links and decide to make a purchase, I receive a tiny commission from the seller at no additional cost to you