When do you start looking for a new planner each year?
My annual search for the best mom planner usually starts in August or September each year. I start looking at new cover designs and page layouts. I want to see all the new colors and designs. I love comparing the different layouts.
You might say I’m a planner fanatic. I love planners. I can’t walk by an aisle in a store with planners and not stop to look at the designs. But choosing the best planner can be overwhelming with so many choices. I’d like to help you simplify your 2020 planner search with this best planners for moms review.
In this review, I’m recommending the 10 best planners and organizers for moms in 2020. The best planners for moms are divided into categories. To help you focus your search, planners are rated by the best daily planner, best weekly planner, best teacher planner, best purse planner even the best life planner and more.
HOW TO CHOOSE A PLANNER
Choosing a planner is a very personal decision. Picking the right planner makes all the difference between a planner you use that organizes your life and a planner that just sits on a shelf collecting dust.
When you find the right planner, it’s like magic. You can organize your time, keep track of appointments, remember to take your kids to soccer practice, be on time, set goals and get things done.
In years past, I have spent 2 and 3 months reviewing calendars, testing calendars, and waffling between calendars trying to decide which one will work for me. I created this best planner 2020 review to make it easy for you to find the best planner.
Before we start reviewing the best planners and organizers for moms, let’s consider a few planner basics to help you refine what you want and need in your planner. Answer these questions:
- What size planner do you want? Do you want a planner that will fit in your purse to carry around or one that is a desktop size and lays on a countertop or desk?
- Do you like a colorful planner? Or do you prefer a minimalist planner with few distractions?
- What layout works best for you? I personally prefer vertical layouts, but sometimes horizontal is better.
- Do you have a busy life? How much space do you need to track activities? Do you like to track things by the hour? Or just by the day?
- Think about your favorite planner from the past, what did you like best about it? If you had a planner you did not like, why did not dislike it?
If you find the right planner, you will use it all year (maybe even purchase it again and again for several years). Before you purchase a planner, take a few minutes to really consider what you like and don’t like about planners and what they need to include to be a useful planner and organizing tool for you.
For your convenience, this post includes affiliate links which means I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you. Read my disclosure policy here.
WHAT ARE THE BEST PLANNERS FOR MOMS 2020?
- The Best Customizable Planner – PurpleTrail Planner
- Best Life Planner – In the Leafy TreeTops Planner
- Best Weekly Planner – Erin Condren Planner
- Best Daily Planner – Day Designer Planner
- Best Planner for Creatives – The Happy Planner
- Best Christian Planner – The Hope Planner
- Best Simple Planner – MomAgenda
- Best Planner for College – Day Designer by Blue Sky
- Best Purse Planner – 2020 Mom’s Plan-It
- Best Cute Planner – 2020 Reminder Binder
1. BEST CUSTOMIZABLE PLANNER – PURPLETRAIL
Sometimes the best option for a planner is a personalized planner. With a customizable planner, you can design the planner you want and make it most useful for you. PurpleTrail is my favorite custom planner for moms.
PurpleTrail has 2 planner sizes 6″ X 8″ and 8 1/2″ X 11″. You can choose a smaller purse size or full desk size.
PurpleTrail also offers several page layouts including daily, weekly, monthly designs in various vertical and horizontal styles. They even offer the popular mom planner layout.
You can also choose a beautiful cover from many designs. I love the inspiring cover designs PurpleTrail offers and colorful layouts with your name and the year or even a collage of family photos. With this planner, you get to choose your favorite cover.
If you like, you can also add up to 4 additional page sections to this planner like “to-do” lists, note pages, checklists, nutrition tracker, travel itinerary and more. Pick and choose the add-on’s that work for you.
Due to the many customizations available with the PurpleTrail planner, I love using it as a personal planner or a blog planner. One of the best customizations is being able to start your planner on any month that works best for you.
If you are picky about your planner and like unique designs, check out the designs and page layouts at PurpleTrail see if they have the perfect planner for you.
For more on PurpleTrail planners, read my PurpleTrail planner mom planner review and academic planner review.
Recommended for you: Best Weekly Planners for Moms
2. BEST LIFE PLANNER – IN THE LEAFY TREETOPS
If you want a total life organizer, then In the Leafy Treetops offers a great planner for moms. This planner includes a monthly layout and a weekly layout.
The weekly layout for this planner gives you 3 divided horizontal spaces daily that can be custom designated either as the morning, afternoon, evening or by your family member names or other categories (meal planning, appointments, etc…) that fit your life and planning needs.
Every month in this planner has extra planning pages, weekly reminders, things to focus on and more.
In the Leafy TreeTops is also beautifully designed with pretty layouts and colors every month. I always love seeing the new designs each year.
This planner also includes pages for gift ideas, Christmas menu planning, monthly and weekly focus and so much more. You will find it’s easy to keep your whole life organized with this planner.
One negative to this planner if you want a purse-size planner, this one is a little big (too thick too heavy to carry every day).
3. BEST WEEKLY PLANNER – ERIN CONDREN PLANNER
The Erin Condren Life Planner has everything a busy mom needs in one place to keep your home and life organized.
This planner includes:
- Pages for weekly planning
- 3 Different page layouts to choose from
- Monthly features and focus goals
- Monthly notes and reminders pages
- Inspiring quotes
- And more…
Moms love simplifying busy life schedules with the Erin Condren Life planner. Click here for your copy.
Read my full Erin Condren Life Planner review here.
4. BEST DAILY PLANNER – DAY DESIGNER
The beautiful Day Designer Planner is the best daily planner for moms. This planner is both an hourly planning and a daily “to-do” list to help you focus on your daily priorities.
Each day also has a designated space for your daily “top 3 priorities” to make sure you are getting your priorities done and hourly space for your daily activities.
This planner comes with many different cover styles.
One possible negative is that because it’s a daily planner, it’s a thicker planner and probably too large and heavy for most moms to carry in their purse. But the pretty layout will accent your desk or countertop.
5. BEST PLANNER FOR CREATIVES – THE HAPPY PLANNER
For moms that need a planner and a creative outlet, choose The Happy Planner. A colorful planner with beautiful designs and many different covers plus space to allow for creative drawings, stamps, washi tape, and stickers.
This planner is designed for moms that want to make their planner their own. Color it, design it and make it work for you.
This discbound planner has removable pages/add-in pages called extensions which allow you to add additional sections like the classic extension, fitness extension, and budgeting extension.
The Happy Planner is a great planner, but you may be disappointed with knock-off versions. I have found pages easily fall out of other versions. Be sure to get the original Happy Planner.
The layout is great for moms who like the weekly layout with 3 divided sections for each day. You can designate each section by family members, times of day (morning, afternoon, evening) or other categories that work for you.
This planner is available as a full-size planner 9.75” X8.5”.
Check out The Happy Planner and see the many different creative ways to design your day.
6. BEST CHRISTIAN PLANNER – THE HOPE PLANNER
If you are looking for a Christian planner, try The Hope Planner. This beautiful planner has is perfect for journaling and daily planning.
The Hope Planner comes in weekly and daily designs. The daily layout includes space to write a daily Bible verse and prayer requests plus daily to-do’s and appointments.
The weekly layout includes vertical weekly planning space and prayer requests, devotional habits, reminders to reach out to others and more…
Click here to get your copy of the Hope Planner and see how you can be more organized and closer to Christ.
7. BEST SIMPLE PLANNER – MOMAGENDA
MomAgenda is a great planner for moms that like to track activities for yourself and your kids/family members separate and simple. The planner has soft page tones, but no flashy or distracting designs, just easy clean page layouts.
On the top portion of this planner, you have space for the morning, afternoon and evening planning. On the lower half of the page, you can assign space for yourself, kids, menu planning, chores and more.
MomAgenda comes in 2 sizes, hardback or spiral, and several formats and colors. This planner is a minimalist planner it doesn’t have lots of features, designs or pictures. If you like simple, this is the planner for you.
You might also like: How to Organize Your Day with a Planner
8. BEST PLANNER FOR COLLEGE – DAY DESIGNER BY BLUE SKY 2020 PLANNER
The Day Designer by Blue Sky 2020 Weekly/Monthly Planner is the planner I am using for my full-time job. I chose this planner because it gives me space for a daily “to-do” list and space for daily appointments (but not hourly) and I liked the pretty layout.
As a student planner for college, you can list your daily courses on one-side plus any meetings, appointments and your work schedule. Then you can list course assignments, projects and due date on the other side for easy tracking.
If you struggle with tracking your schedule, assignments and to-do lists, check out this planner that allows you to see your schedule and assignments each day side-by-side. It comes in several size layouts and designs so you can pick your favorite color and size.
9. BEST PURSE PLANNER – 2020 MOM’S PLAN-IT
The 2020 Mom’s Plan-It Planner a simple planner for busy moms. Plus, it fits right into your purse or tote and has monthly and weekly planning pages. Each weekly 2-page spread for appointments and daily to-dos and a removable shopping list.
Mom’s Plan-It planner is best suited for moms that don’t have many appointments and only need simple daily reminders each day. It only comes with a horizontal layout. If you just want a simple planner for appointments, school activities, and reminders, this planner is perfect.
Another great option for moms who need an inexpensive but practical planner is the 2020 Amy Knapp Family Organizer planner.
10. BEST CUTE PLANNER – THE 2020 REMINDER BINDER
It’s a fun planner. It’s colorful and bright and filled with cute stickers – it’s the 2020 Reminder Binder. I found this planner a few years ago and I just couldn’t resist it, because it was so cute. I gave it to my daughter and she loved it as a school agenda planner.
This planner has monthly and weekly layouts. The weekly layouts are horizontal. At the beginning of the week, you can set your weekly priorities. It also has pages with dates to remember, holidays, contacts and more… plus several pages of fun stickers. If you like a cute playful calendar, don’t miss the 2020 Reminder Binder.
Planner Accessories
What’s a planner without your favorite planner pens, washi tape, and stickers!
Choosing the best planner can take time. Be thoughtful and pick the right personal planner and organizer for you. Use this planner review guide to find the best planner for you this year.
YOUR TURN…
What is your favorite planner? What is the feature you need most in a planner?
PIN IT FOR LATER:
Hey,
This is a wonderful compilation. Thanks for putting it together. As a mum of two, I know how crazy it gets, especially during summer holidays. I’m looking for a great planner for the holidays, and also one that will be good when the get back to school this September.
I’m checking out all the planners on your list, and I also came across ‘Mother Woman Planner’ (www.motherwomanplanner.com), and at first glance I absolutely loved it. Looks like it has everything I would need Plus it is undated which I love! Wonder if you’ve had a chance to review it and what your thought were?
Look forward to hearing your thoughts
Giselle
I just received the Amy Knapp planner as a gift, and I whole-heartedly second your recommendation! The weekly spreads have just enough room for the top 3-5 tasks that I want to fit in around my work-away-from-home job, and I love that each weekly spread has small monthly calendars showing the current and next months.
Plus, each page has perforations along the grocery list, so it can be easily removed. I don’t know that I’ll use this myself, since I usually add shopping list items to my phone, but it may be handy when hubby does the grocery shopping. The front cover has a pocket (a must for me!), and the back pages are full of little stickers. Lots of goodies in a simple planner – and I think it will be perfect for how I plan my weeks right now. I’m so excited to see it on your list!
Hi Michelle, I completely agree. The Amy Knapp planner is perfect for keeping track of all your everyday appointments and tasks. Plus, it’s perfect for tossing in your purse or tote bag – not too big or too heavy.