Ecosystem Advisor

I have been through many a planner in my life, from the small plastic-covered one with creepy kitten pictures, to one made of fake leather with a magnetic clasp. I prefer to keep it pretty simple when it comes to planners. But I’m also very picky about the amount of space I need to write down notes, not to mention the question of having a daily, weekly, or monthly view. Plus, it needs to be relatively light and easy to carry with me.

The sweet thing about Ecosystem books is that you can customize your purchase. There are four kinds of notebooks available: the Author (ruled journal), Architect (grid journal), Advisor (the planner), and Artist (blank journal). You also get to choose the cover (hard or flexible), the size, and even the color (with sassy names like lagoon and kiwi), since as the website says, "one color does not fit all." I have the onyx-colored Advisor, which has monthly and two weekly view options.

The price range is from $9.95 to $18.95, which is on par with Moleskin, the other company a lot of people go to when trying to find a quality notebook. However, the key difference and the reason you should consider going the Ecosystem route is that you are doing a great service to the environment. The Ecosystem books are 100% post-consumer recycled paper. If you go to the website, you can enter in a specialized pin code on the back page of your book and it will tell you exactly when it was made and where each part of the planner, from binding to the elastic band was assembled, the ecosystem attribute of each place, and even how many people are employed there!

Last year Ecosystem’s style of production saved 3,046 full-grown trees and over a million gallons of water. Furthermore, they are made in the United States, which helps the economy and saves on the energy it would take to transport them farther.

You can also check on their website to see how and where you can recycle your book when you are finished with it. There is also a lost and found, in case you misplace your Ecosystem book and want to see if anyone found it (and had the presence of mind to go on the website). Probably unlikely, but a cute idea!

As an avid writer of to-do lists and random bits of information that I must either jot down or forget, I like a good amount of space available for notes. On the left side of my Advisor pages was the week, with space for notes each day. On the right side was just a ruled page for notes. I really dug this set-up. It didn't make me feel overwhelmed like the monthly view does and I found it really helpful to still have a lot of space to write all the things I needed to get done. Other then that, the Advisor is pretty no-frills. But just knowing I was using something that was a benefit to the environment made me feel happy in the heart.

The only other bonuses are a small paper pocket in the back to keep perhaps coupons or receipts in. Plus of course, the random information always included in planners, the time zones, measurement conversions, international dialing codes. I am still convinced one day I will actually utilize these. Until then, at least I know I am not hurting the environment by having these extra pages!

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