Don’t Throw It Out–Modify It

Today’s quick how-to is actually a really fun project.

I got a planner for this year and it was spiral bound.  That makes it great, unless you keep the planner in your back pocket like I do.

I thought about replacing it with one that would still open after I sat down (the carnage my back side caused the spiral binding was a bit embarassing…), but I didn’t want to throw my current model out.

What I ended up doing–thanks to a suggestion from my wife–was cutting out the binding and sewing through the holes with leather sinew (the fake kind).  It made it much more durable.

My only complaint is that the margins on the pages were not made for this new binding style–so, I have to really open the book to write down stuff in the middle of the month.

If you need help with the binding, try the “stab binding” instructions here.  Search around–there are some seriously decorative methods, if you want to jazz up your planner.