You bought the printable. Now it's 9pm, the printer is blinking, and you're wondering if 24 lb paper is a thing. (It is. We're going thicker.)
Here's everything in one place: what to buy, how to print it, how many pages you need for 3 months, 6 months or a full year, and how to actually use it once it's in the binder.
What You Need
- Paper: US Letter (8.5 x 11), 28 to 32 lb bright white. 24 lb works, but you'll see your writing from the other side. Skip cardstock for the inside pages (too bulky). Cardstock is nice for the cover only.
- Binder: a D-ring binder. D-rings let the pages lie flat and turn easily. Sizes are in the charts below.
- Hole punch: any standard 3-hole punch. Punch 10 to 15 sheets at a time so the holes line up. Every page has a 0.6 inch margin on both edges, so the holes never cut through your writing.
- Nice to have: hole reinforcement stickers for your calendar pages, and a pocket folder for appointment papers and receipts.
Printer Settings
- Choose Actual Size or 100%. Never "Fit to Page."
- Turn on two-sided printing and pick Flip on Long Edge.
- Black ink or grayscale is all you need.
- Turn on Collate when you print more than one copy.
Print by Section
Your download has the complete planner plus 4 section files:
- Set Up Once: print 1 copy.
- Monthly Pages: print 1 copy per month.
- Weekly + Daily Pages: print 1 copy per week.
- Track + Keep: print 1 copy, and reprint any page whenever you run out.
Print each section as its own job and type in the number of copies. Every section starts on the front of a sheet, so your calendar spread and weekly spread open facing each other in the binder. Don't skip or reorder pages.
No two-sided printer? Print odd pages only. Flip the stack, put it back in the tray, then print even pages. Test with one sheet first so you know which way your printer feeds.
Easiest option: send the files to a print shop like Staples, Office Depot or FedEx Office. Ask for 32 lb paper, double-sided, black and white, 3-hole drilled. All you do is add the binder.
How Many to Print: The Health + Care Planner
| Section | 3 Months | 6 Months | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set Up Once (16 pages) | 1 copy | 1 copy | 1 copy |
| Monthly Pages (10 pages) | 3 copies | 6 copies | 12 copies |
| Weekly + Daily Pages (10 pages) | 13 copies | 26 copies | 52 copies |
| Track + Keep (10 pages) | 1 copy | 1 copy | 1 copy |
| Total pages | 186 | 346 | 666 |
| Sheets of paper (two-sided) | 93 | 173 | 333 |
| Binder size (D-ring) | 1 to 1.5 inch | 2 inch | 3 inch, or two 1.5 inch |
How Many to Print: The Caregiver Planner
| Section | 3 Months | 6 Months | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set Up Once (20 pages) | 1 copy | 1 copy | 1 copy |
| Monthly Pages (10 pages) | 3 copies | 6 copies | 12 copies |
| Weekly + Daily Pages (10 pages) | 13 copies | 26 copies | 52 copies |
| Track + Keep (14 pages) | 1 copy | 1 copy | 1 copy |
| Total pages | 194 | 354 | 674 |
| Sheets of paper (two-sided) | 97 | 177 | 337 |
| Binder size (D-ring) | 1 to 1.5 inch | 2 inch | 3 inch, or two 1.5 inch |
My honest advice: print 3 months at a time. The binder stays light, and you can change what you print next time.
How to Put Your Binder Together
- Cover, How to Use and How to Print pages
- Set Up Once pages
- Your first month's Monthly Pages (they start with the month divider)
- That month's Weekly + Daily Pages (4 or 5 weeks)
- Next month, repeat
- Track + Keep pages in the back
- Pocket folder for papers and receipts
How to Use It
Once, on a good day: fill in the Set Up pages. In the Health + Care Planner, that's your health summary, care team, insurance, medications and your Bad Day Plan. In the Caregiver Planner, read the 2.30 Care System page, pick your rhythm, then fill in About Them, About Me, providers and the documents checklist.
Start of each month: write the month on the divider and the dates on the calendar spread, and use the key dots. Fill in the budget and the medication tracker (or the medications given chart).
Every Sunday: fill in the weekly spread. That's med times, appointments, refills and pickups, plus your top to-dos. Caregivers: start with the Week Ahead page so you know who's driving and who's helping.
Every day: time-block from 4 AM to midnight, write your meds by time, check off water and rate the day from 1 to 10. Caregivers: fill in Today's 2.30 first. That's 1 hour for you, 1 hour for them and 30 minutes of care admin. On hard days, use the Low Energy Day page. That still counts.
End of each month: fill in the reflection and the brain dump. Bring your calendar, symptom tracker and medication tracker to your next appointment. They'll answer "when did this start?" for you.
Any time: grab a Track + Keep page for appointment prep, labs, calls, flares, handoffs and more.
Quick Questions
Can I print it smaller, like A5? These files are made for US Letter. Shrinking them makes the writing space really small, so I don't recommend it.
Can I reprint pages? Yes. It's yours for your own use, so print as many pages as you need for yourself or the person you care for.
I can't find my download. Check the email you used at checkout for your download link. Still stuck? Reach out here and I'll help.
xo, Taylor
