Review and Giveaway: Equology Planner by Quo Vadis {$28 value}
| November 2, 2010 | Posted by Joanna under review |
I have a confession. I am a school supply, organizing, paper junkie. I could literally spend hours scouring the aisles of any office supply store. Yes, I smell highlighters from time to time – but only to make sure they don’t smell terrible. My husband has to literally drag me out of the aisles and limit my funds so that I do not overbuy office/school supplies. If I had a giant room filled with paper, pens, markers, crayons, glue sticks, glue, agendas, folders, notebooks, permanent markers, highlighters, paper clips and more, I would literally spend every waking moment just basking in the glory of it. It’s really a good thing that I don’t. Honestly, you would think – as my husband has often told me – that for as much as I like organizing products I would be a more organized person. I am a planner, not a doer. Unfortunate, but true. I love to plan – you have seen my routines, and I’m sure some of you are under the impression that my house is spotless. For those of you who know me in person, you know this is FAR from the case. I would love to be that mom, but I have to admit to myself that I am not. I’m a work in progress though, and every good bit of organization that I come by takes me one step closer to being that mom I want to be.
One positive step in the right direction (and out of the aisles of office supply stores, taking me away from further temptation) came when I was offered a review and giveaway opportunity for Quo Vadis, a company that has spent the last 50 years helping people just like me to become more organized, track their time and get their priorities in focus. In fact, in 1954, Quo Vadis invented the concept of Weekly Time Management. This sounded like the perfect opportunity for me – especially when I heard about their Equology line of planners which are 100% recycled. It “contains 100% post-consumer fiber”, is “Certified EcoLogo, processed chlorine-free and FSC recycled” and is “manufactured using biogas energy” – but don’t just take my word for it, these claims can all be found here about the Equology line.
I was able to select the planner that I was given to review. After I spent some time hunting around on the site, I made the smart move and checked out the “Find Your Perfect Planner” app right on the homepage. You just select your options, click “Find It” and Quo Vadis brings you a list of which planners are most likely the ones that you will like, narrowing your field down in a great way. You can also choose additional search options if you’d like to make the process a little more specific.For my review, I chose the Minister weekly planner which is a compact desk-sized planner in the Equology “Dusty Rose” cover.
When I first had word that this planner was on it’s way to my house, I was thrilled to the brim. My husband literally had to make me stop bouncing when it arrived on our doorstep. I spent such a long time searching through planners, that when I found exactly what I wanted with Quo Vadis, I was ecstatic – but also a little leery. What if the details I adored online just weren’t as awesome in person? My fears were unfounded, as it turns out, because I still adore my planner.
Here’s what I love about it:
- The agenda contains 88% recycled materials and 100% recycled paper
- The cover is removable and flexible, so I can refill it next year without buying a new cover
- It is a medium sized planner, measuring 6 1/4″ x 9 1/2″ – small enough for a purse, but big enough to see what I’ve written
- At the bottom of each page is a perforated triangle, so I can always find exactly the right page. I tear off the triangles and recycle them, and the next time I open my planner I’m on exactly the right week.
- “Anno-Planning” pages offer the year at a glance – for the upcoming year at the beginning of the planner, and also the next year at the end of the planner. I love this because now I don’t have to struggle to remember which family we spent which holiday with last year – I’ve got it all planned out ahead of time and can easily flip back to see the history.
- The week runs Monday through Saturday, with 8am to 9pm listed out vertically. As a mom, I love this because my week is not limited to Monday through Friday like most agendas. Sunday is on the bottom of the page, with slightly less room, but that works perfectly for me because our family time is on Sunday.
- On the right side of the page there is a list – phone calls to make, emails to send, money paid/received, notes and a jotting section to write down anything else. These have plenty of room and can be crossed out when complete. If I don’t complete something this week, I can easily transfer it to next week without hunting it down or having it get lost in the daily jibber jabber.
- At the heading of each day is a line that simply says “Priority” – now I know at a glance, what is my number one priority! I absolutely love this feature!
There is a lot that I love about this planner and the cover. I also love the removable address book at the end – you can take it out and use it separately, or just transfer it to a new year when you have a refill for the agenda. I love the feel of the paper – it’s weight is perfect and I did not have any trouble with pen bleeding through. I know some previous reviewers had said that earlier versions of the recycled paper had bleeding issues, but everyone seems to be on the same page with this version not having any trouble. The company was super to work with, and they really stand behind the quality of their product. I highly recommend that you check these guys out.
The Giveaway
I’m really excited to be able to offer to one of my readers an Equology a Quo Vadis (it’s not mandatory to select from the Equology series!) planner of his or her very own! Thanks to the generosity of Quo Vadis, I am able to allow one lucky reader to head over to Quo Vadis and pick any planner available – the only catch is that the company prefers you pick one with an Equology cover so that you are able to know you are receiving the same awesome quality of planner that I’ve described to you. I definitely don’t want to let you down, and neither does Quo Vadis! Since that is the kind I tried, that’s the kind they are offering for free to you. Now that doesn’t mean you have to pick the same size or interior planner – the agenda you pick is up to you!
Mandatory Entry
For the mandatory entry this time around, I want to make it really easy for you. All you have to do is comment here on this post and tell me why you would love to have an Equology a Quo Vadis (it is not mandatory to select a planner from the Equology series!) planner for your very own. That’s it – just a comment!
Optional Entries
For more chances to win, you can complete as many of these optional entries as you would like, just leave a separate comment for each one that you do:
- Like Quo Vadis planners on Facebook
- Like my blog on Facebook
- Follow Quo Vadis on Twitter
- Follow me on Twitter
- Follow me on Google Friend Connect (right sidebar)
- Subscribe to the Quo Vadis Blog
- Subscribe to my blog by email or RSS reader (right sidebar)
- Tweet about this giveaway – you can do this once per day, make sure to include @quovadisblog and @way2gomom in your tweet. Leave a comment with the URL of your tweet. To do this, just click on the link under your tweet on Twitter that says how long it’s been since you made the tweet and snag the URL from the page that opens.
- Blog about this giveaway for 2 entries – leave 2 comments.
- Comment on another post on my blog and leave me a comment letting me know which one you commented on. You can do this once a day.
- Comment on any post on the Quo Vadis Blog and leave me a comment letting me know which one you commented. You can do this once a day.
The Rules
This giveaway will be open from November 2nd until November 21st at 11:59 pm EST. I will randomly select a winner using Random.org from all of the comments. If your email address is not visible, you will not be able to win. Please make sure you leave your email address if it is not on your profile so that I know how to contact you if you are the winner. This contest has no restrictions or limitations on what you can select, other than the requirement that the cover be from the Equology line. US and Canadian residents are eligible. Residents of other countries, I will update this post tomorrow to let you know if you are eligible. If you have any questions about the rules of the giveaway, please send me an email at nowwithbaby@gmail.com.
Disclosure
Quo Vadis and Excaliber sent me a planner free of charge for the purposes of doing this review and giveaway. They are also sending a planner to the winner of the giveaway at no charge to me or the winner. Although I received the product for free, my opinions are my own. The stated value is for a planner of the same specifications as the review planner. The price detail can be found here on the Sam Flax NY retailer webpage.
Thanks for checking out my review, and good luck to all the contestants!
UPDATE: I put the wrong ending date on this page and also on one of the blasts that I sent out about the giveaway. The correct ending date is 11/21/2010. You may continue to enter up until 11:59pm on 11/21/2010. I apologize for any confusion.
UPDATE: There are no residency restrictions on this giveaway – so feel free to enter regardless of the country from which you hail! I’m super excited to be able to tell you that! Also, I made a huge blunder when I stated that the winner would be able to select his or her choice of planner from the Equology series – the winner can select ANY planner – the company would enjoy it if you did select a planner from the Equology series, but it’s not mandatory!
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Heather
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Heather
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Naddez
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Jen R.
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Susan Margaret
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Contest Patti
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Anonymous
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Jody Morgan
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Jody Morgan
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Jody Morgan
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Jody Morgan
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Jody Morgan
