6 Awesome Reasons Why You Should Use a Printable Calendar

Printable Calendars

In a world where our phones, tablets, and laptops can ping us with every appointment, reminder, and notification, you might wonder: Why bother with a paper calendar?

I’ve been designing and selling printable calendars for over 20 years, and I can confidently say that a hard copy calendar isn’t just “old school” — it’s practical, grounding, and surprisingly efficient.

Here are a few reasons why you’ll love having a printed calendar on hand in 2026.

printable calendar

1. Less Screen Time, More Focus

Digital calendars live on devices that also house endless distractions — email, social media, and “just one more quick check” of the news.

A paper calendar gives you a break from the screens and keeps you focused on what matters most.

2. Big Picture at a Glance

With a printed calendar on your wall, desk, or clipboard, you can see your entire month at once.

No clicking, swiping, or scrolling. It’s all right there — birthdays, appointments, deadlines, and even those little notes to yourself.

3. Perfect for Visual Learners

A hard copy calendar is your playground if you like color coding, highlighting, or doodling. ( I love having some space to doodle, take a few notes, and add a few happy stickers).

You can physically mark it up in ways that a phone app just can’t match. Plus, writing things down helps improve memory and follow-through.

4. Simple, Easy, Reliable

There are no batteries, log-ins, or software updates—just paper, pen, and a spot to hang or keep it.

A hard copy calendar works 100% of the time, even when Wi-Fi is down.

5. Versatile and Printable Anytime

The best part about my calendars?

You can print them in the size and style that works best for you — whether that’s a

  • clipboard calendar hanging in your kitchen2026 pocket calendar
  • a miniature pocket version for your bag2026 printable planner calendar
  • a hand-held planner calendar 2026 Printable Binder Calendar
  • or a full binder-sized planner to keep everything organized.

These magnetic clips work well for hanging the clipboard calendar on your fridge or magnetic board.

6. A Touch of Creativity and Style

Calendars don’t just keep you organized — they can also brighten up your space.

With clean, minimal designs, my calendars make planning functional and beautiful.

planner coversFind a cover that suits your personality and style. (I like to change my planner cover every few years just for a change.) 

***If you want to make your own notebook cover, check out this tutorial.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I receive the calendar?
Once you purchase, you’ll get an instant download link. You can save the files to your computer and print them as many times as you’d like.

***Note: If you create an account on my site, you can access these files forever.

Q: What sizes are available?
There are four different sizes to fit your planning style — clipboard, binder, planner, and pocket-size.

Q: Can I reprint the calendar if I mess up or need another copy?
Absolutely! That’s one of the biggest perks of printable calendars. You can reprint as often as you need for personal use.

Q: What kind of paper should I use?
Standard printer paper works just fine, but if you want a sturdier feel, I recommend using cardstock or a heavier-weight paper.

Q: Can I use these with my binder or planner?
Yes! The calendars are designed to fit common binder and planner sizes. Just print, punch holes (if needed), and pop them right in.

Each calendar comes with printing instructions. 

Ready to Get Organized for 2026?

My printable calendars are available in four easy-to-use sizes.

They’re quick to download, simple to print, and versatile enough to fit every planning style.

👉 Check out my calendar collection here on my website.

👉 In my Etsy shop

Stay organized, stay inspired, and keep your planning simple with a hard copy calendar this year.

Picture of Jan Howell

Jan Howell

Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.

Read More

DIY Printable Calendars – A Minimalist and Easy Way to Stay Organized

printable calendars

In our busy world, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by everything we need to keep track of. Enter the DIY printable calendars – these calendars are easy to download and print.

For those who love the tactile experience of a hard copy planner, (I’m one of them), a DIY printable calendar brings simplicity, flexibility, and efficiency to organization.

The clipboard, pocket, planner, and binder printable calendars are a minimalistic way to stay organized without clutter.

With clean black lines complimented by simple text, these calendars are designed to look nice and crisp on any paper.

I’ve been designing these calendars for over 20 years, and they just work! They’re not fancy, but they are so practical, easy to print, and versatile!

I have several different styles and sizes of printable calendars to choose from.

You can print these calendars out as many times as you want and they make GREAT GIFTS!

All of my printable calendars come with a “next year” yearly calendar on the back page. Which comes in handy for scheduling out for the upcoming year!

Downloading and Printing the Printable Calendars

Once you place your order, an email will be sent with a PDF file and instructions for printing.

 

In this video tutorial, I go over FOUR different printable calendars, and an EDITABLE WEEKLY PLANNER, and show you how to bind the planner calendar.

See the video at the end of the post

Printable Calendars Options

  • Clipboard Calendar
  • Planner Calendar
  • Full-Size Binder Calendar
  • Mini Pocket Calendar
  • Weekly (editable) Planner

Clipboard Calendar

This is one of my favorite and most popular calendars!

It measures 8 1/2 x 11 and has plenty of room to write on. Print, place in a clipboard, or hang on your fridge or wall. Now the whole family can see what’s going on!

PRINTABLE CALENDARSI use this calendar to plan my menu and hang it on the fridge where everyone can see it.

These big magnetic clips are awesome and are perfect for this printable calendar. I use them in my sewing room and my office. 

GET THE PRINTABLE CLIPBOARD CALENDAR IN MY SHOP

IN MY ETSY SHOP

Planner Calendar

This is a calendar I can’t do without. I plan EVERYTHING on this calendar!!!

The standard planner fits inside a classic 9 X 6 planner. The finished calendar measures 8.5 x 5.5 inches. (It works well in ring binders and disc planners and is great in a Traveler’s Notebook.)

The planner calendar is also available in a SLIM size that will fit in Traveler’s and Midori’s Notebooks that measure 8.25 x 4.75.

You can find the tutorial here if you want to make your own traveler’s NOTEBOOK.

Planner Calendar Binding Ideas

Check out the video at the end of the post for some great binding ideas.

GET THE PRINTABLE PLANNER CALENDAR ON MY WEBSITE

ETSY SHOP

Full-Size Big Binder Calendar

For those who need a little more space to write, this BIG BINDER calendar is for YOU!

This calendar is printed on both sides of the paper. 

The 8½ by 11 sheets open up for a BIG month-at-glance view. It’s easy to print out and very cost-effective.

I use this big calendar for my business planning and it makes a great family calendar.

GET THE FULL-SIZE BINDER CALENDAR HERE ON MY WEBSITE

ETSY SHOP

Mini Pocket Calendar

This calendar is a fun option if you want something more compact. I love having one in my purse.

printable calendars pocketThis calendar measures 6.75 inches (16.51) cm x 4.5 inches (11.43) cm.

It works well with B6 slim Traveler’s Notebooks, Midori, Fauxdori, and junk journals or can be used alone.

It’s printed on letter-size sheets of paper and simply cut down to size.

Easy instructions are included for downloading, printing, and assembling the calendar.

GET THE POCKET CALENDAR ON MY WEBSITE

ETSY SHOP

Weekly Editable Planner

This compact printable WEEKLY pocket planner is a simple and inexpensive way to stay organized.

The planner is designed so that you can see the whole week in one glance.

Hourly time slots are printed for you to schedule out each day.

The editable text fields allow you to easily type in optional quotes, notes, or reminders AND to type in the current month and year.

You can also handwrite this info if you desire. This makes it a perpetual planner that you can print out for years to come.

Print out 3 months of weekly pages at a time.

Clean black lines and classic text won’t use all your colored ink.

Easily download and print your pages with detailed instructions.

Print on 8 1/2 x 11 inches or A4 size paper.

These pages will fit in Franklin Covey’s compact planners.

The finished pages measure 6.7 x 4.25 inches.

GET THE WEEKLY PLANNER HERE ON MY WEBSITE

Printable Calendar Binding Ideas

In this blog post and video tutorial, I show how to bind the calendars using a sewing machine. I show you how to add a cute colorful paper binding and how to bind the booklet/calendar with a strip of UPCYCLED SWEATER.

Yep, an upcycled wool sweater strip.

This adds so much charm and character to these calendars.

So there you have it, five different printable calendars and ways to help plan your DAY, MONTH, and YEAR in a simple way.

Please reach out if you have any questions or have any great ideas to share in the comments below.

Happy Planning!
jan3

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

Connect:

Picture of Jan Howell

Jan Howell

Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.

Read More

New DIY 2023 Printable Calendars // A Minimalist Approach to Planning

2023 PRINTABLE CALENDARS

If you’re like me and still like to use a hard copy planner, these 2023 printable calendars are for you! They are super easy to download and print and they are so practical.

The simple minimalist style of these 2023 printable calendars is attractive and gives you plenty of room to write.

Once you have the files, you can print them out as many times as you want. (They make really fun, unique Christmas gifts)

2023 printable calendars

There are four different 2023 printable clalendar styles to choose from:

  • Clipboard Calendar
  • Planner Calendar
  • Big Binder Calendar
  • Pocket Calendar

What you’ll need to print and download the 2023 printable calendars

  • Computer and Printer
    8 1/2 x 11 paper (20 lb., recycled paper or card stock)
    Adobe Reader (If you do not have Adobe Reader, you can download it for free from THIS LINK.
  • Paper cutter for pocket calendars
  • Optional binding supplies
  • Paper hole punch for optional binder application

Where do you get the 2023 printable calendars?

You can purchase the PDF files here on my website.

Clipboard Calendar

This calendar is the most wanted calendar and I’ve been selling it for almost 28 years.

It’s just so dang simple and practical. You can use it for Meal planning, business planning, or whatever you need to schedule. Print one up for each area of your life.

Put it in a clipboard, or hang it on your fridge where the whole family can see what’s going on.

2023 printable calendars mag clipI love using these little magnetic clips. The magnet shown in the photo, I just hot glued a cute button to it. 

2023 printable calendars 2024There is a 2024 condensed calendar included on the last page of the calendar!

GET THE CALENDAR HERE

Planner Calendar

The planner calendar is something I personally use for ALL my planning.

If I were to lose this planner calendar, I would be in trouble! Everything in my life gets scheduled in here.

This calendar can fit in a ring binder, disc binder, or traveler’s notebook.2023 printable calendar notebooks

GET THE CALENDAR HERE

Big Binder Calendar

For those who need a little more space to write, this BIG BINDER calendar is for YOU!

This calendar is printed on both sides of the paper and opens up for a BIG month-at-a-glance. Easy to print out and very cost-effective. This is the calendar I use for all my business tasks.

The clean black lines and simple black script text make it a refreshing way to stay organized. Place it in a 3-ring binder, or a disk planner, or bind it with staples.

GET THE CALENDAR HERE

2023 printable calendars pocket

Pocket Calendar

I love this little calendar. It’s the perfect thing to throw in your purse or keep at your desk.

It measures 6.75 inches (16.51) cm x 4 inches (11.43) cm. and works well with B6 slim Traveler’s Notebooks, Midori, Fauxdori, junk journals, or can be used alone.

Printed on letter-size sheets of paper and simply cut down to size. There are easy instructions included for downloading, printing, and assembling the calendar.

The calendar pages open up for a month at a glance view and have plenty of room to write in.

GET THE CALENDAR HERE

2023 printable calendars bindingWhat’s fun about this and the planner calendar, is that you can bind them using colorful card stock prints, or (of course) upcycled felted wool sweater scraps.

I show you how to do this in this blog post. It really is simple and fun to do, AND they make really unique Christmas gifts.

2023 printable calendars pocket

I also have a WEEKLY PLANNER printable that is editable. You can find out more about it HERE.weekly planner calendar

There you have it, four simple 2023 printable calendars to help you organize and plan the upcoming 2023 year.

Happy 2023 planning!

jan3

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

Connect:

Picture of Jan Howell

Jan Howell

Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.

Read More

DIY 2022 Printable Calendars | Planning at Its Best

PRINTABLE CALENDARS
PRINTABLE CALENDARS JAN

2022 is just around the corner. Are you Calendar ready? If you are ‘old school’ like me and enjoy having a hard copy calendar, something you can write on and take notes on, these DIY printable calendars are for you!

I’ve been designing these calendars for over 20 years and they just WORK! They’re not anything fancy but they are so practical, easy-to-print, and versatile!

I have several different styles and sizes of printable calendars to choose from. You can print these calendars out as many times as you want and they make GREAT GIFTS!

All my printable calendars come with easy-to-follow instructions and a 2023 yearly calendar on the back page. Which comes in handy!

2022 Printable Calendars Options

Clipboard Calendar

This is one of my favorite and most popular calendars! It measures 8 1/2 x 11 and has plenty of room to write on. Print, place in a clipboard, or hang on your fridge or wall. Now the whole family can see what’s going on!

I use this calendar to plan my menu and I hang it in my kitchen on the fridge where everyone can see it.

PRINTABLE CALENDARS MAGNETIC CLIPThese big magnetic clips are awesome and are perfect for this printable calendar. I use them in my sewing room and my office. You can get them HERE.

GET THE PRINTABLE CLIPBOARD CALENDAR HERE

Planner Calendar

This is a calendar I can’t do without. I plan EVERYTHING in this calendar!!! It has clean minimalist lines complimented by simple print, this 2022 PLANNER CALENDAR looks nice and crisp on any paper.

Remember all those important DATES and APPOINTMENTS, and plan your month all in one place! This calendar fits inside a classic 9 X 6 planner. (Works well in ring binders, disc planners, and is great in a Traveler’s Notebook).

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE YOUR OWN TRAVELER’S NOTEBOOK, you can find the tutorial here.

I show you how to bind the calendar in this video tutorial below.

GET THE PRINTABLE PLANNER CALENDAR HERE.

Full-Size Binder Calendar

For those who need a little more space to write, this 2022 BIG BINDER calendar is for YOU! This calendar is printed on both sides of the paper. The 8½ by 11 sheets will open up for a BIG month-at-glance view. It’s easy to print out and very cost-effective.

I use this big calendar for my business planning and it would make a great family calendar as well.

GET THE FULL-SIZE BINDER CALENDAR HERE

Mini Pocket Calendar

This calendar is a fun option if you want something a little more compact. The clean lines complemented by simple black print make this calendar the perfect size for all your minimalist needs.

Remember all those important DATES and APPOINTMENTS, and plan your month all in one place!

This calendar measure 6.75 inches (16.51) cm x 4.5 inches (11.43) cm. Works well with B6 slim Traveler’s Notebooks, Midori, Fauxdori, junk journal or can be used alone. It’s printed on letter-size sheets of paper and simply cut down to size. Easy instructions are included for downloading, printing, and assembling the calendar.

In this blog post and video tutorial, I show how to bind the calendars using a sewing machine. I show you how to add a cute colorful paper binding and how to bind the booklet/calendar with a strip of UPCYCLED SWEATER. Yep, an upcycled wool sweater strip adds so much charm and character to these calendars.

GET THE MINI POCKET CALENDAR HERE.

Another handy planning printable is the:

Weekly Editable Planner

This compact printable WEEKLY pocket planner is a simple and inexpensive way to stay organized. This planner is designed so you can see the whole week in one glance. Hourly time slots are printed for you to schedule out each day.

 

The editable text fields allow you to easily add optional quotes, notes, or reminders AND to type in the current month and year. You can also just handwrite this info if you desire. This makes it a perpetual planner that you can print out for years to come.

Print out 3 months of weekly pages at a time.

Clean black lines and classic text won’t use up all your colored ink.

Easily download and print your pages with detailed instructions.
Print on 8 1/2 x 11 inches or A4 size paper. These pages will fit in Franklin Covey’s compact planners. Finished pages measure 6.7 x 4.25 inches.

GET THE WEEKLY PLANNER HERE

So there you have it, five different printable calendars and ways to help plan your DAY, MONTH, and YEAR in a simple way. Please reach out if you have any questions or have any great ideas to share in the comments below.

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

Connect:

Picture of Jan Howell

Jan Howell

Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.

Read More

2020 Printable Calendars: Simple Minimalist Style

I just turned the last page on my calendar; where did the year go? Only one month until 2020. Are you calendar ready? My 2020 printable calendars are ready to roll. These simple minimalist style calendars are something I have been designing for over 25 years, and I can’t stop, because not only do I keep getting requests for them, I NEED THEM! 

They are SIMPLE, functional, and have lots of room to write on. I’m a doodler and like to write down notes, so I need some open space. I also don’t like a lot fluff on my calendars, so the minimalist style really appeals to me.

I know a lot of you out there prefer a more modern way of planning, and use a digital calendar. I’m old school and still enjoy a hard copy to write on. So, if you’re like me, and like a paper calendar, you may be interested in these easy to print calendars.

2020 printable calendars

Clipboard Calendars

The clipboard calendar is one of my most wanted calendars. You can use it in so many different ways.

Meal planning, business planning, whatever you need to schedule, you can print one up for each area of your life. Put it in a clipboard, or hang it on your fridge where the whole family can see what’s going on. 

I love these little magnetic clips.

There are three different clipboard calendars available this year, color script, black script and the watercolor calendar. You can read more about them HERE.

By the way, I do have planner stickers with my watercolor artwork available in my Etsy shop.

Planner Calendars

The planner calendar is something I personally use for ALL my planning. If I were to loose this, I would be in trouble. Everything in my life gets scheduled in here.  I like it because it can fit in a ring binder, disc binder, or traveler’s notebook (which is what I prefer at the time). 

Get the details HERE.

Pocket Planner Calendars

This pocket calendar is perfect for those who don’t like big and bulky. They measure 6.75 inches (16.51) cm x 4.5 inches (11.43) cm. and works well with B6 slim Traveler’s Notebooks, Midori, Fauxdori, junk journal or can be used alone.

I have them available in the watercolor style or simple black script.

Here is a video tutorial showing how to bind the planner calendars with fabric and upcycled sweater fabric. They are soooooo cute! 

These make really fun charming and original gifts! 

See the tutorial on how to bind the calendars.

So are you 2023 calendar ready?

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

Connect:

Picture of Jan Howell

Jan Howell

Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.

Read More