I am so excited to share my May set-up with you today. I’ve chosen a gorgeous purple floral washi tape, accented with the lavender Mildliner from the blue set. Once again, the layouts are generally the same, but the change in “scenery” with different colored accents really makes my journal feel fresh each month!

In May, my husband and I have agreed to cut back on spending, so I wanted to choose a quote for my opening page to remind me that every choice we make to not spend is more important than the few times we will choose to buy dinner out or fall victim to a good sale. This quote also ties in well with my One Word for this year, grace, so I was even more excited to use it.

This month, I am excited for things to slow down a bit at work as the Spring semester ends so I can focus a bit more on projects and ideas for the upcoming year. As of this week, I’ve been at this job for seven months, so I am at a point where I better understand my role and can better develop ideas to assist my students and department.

I still enjoyed this layout throughout April, so I’ve continued the expense/habit tracking spread for May. I’m going to be noting on the sides of each line in my expense tracker when I either spend nothing for the day or make only “Necessities” purchases like groceries, gas, and bills and “As Needed” purchases like gifts for others, car repair, and travel expenses. I don’t have travel plans yet in May, but I’m hoping to visit home soon, which may mean I have to make some travel purchases in May.

When I was setting up this weekly spread, I accidentally boxed in each day fully instead of leaving space at the top for the day to blend in with the line, so I went with it. I actually really like how this looks! This is a page that really showcases the washi and Mildliner combination – this may be my favorite one so far.

Considering how consistent my layouts have been this year, I am already considering either finding a pre-made planner with similar layout types to use next year, with my own added decorations, or creating my own planner so the layouts are already set up and I can add in other bits separately. I’m also thinking about using a traveler’s notebook system, but I really like having everything in one book. I’m excited to see where the rest of this year takes me with my journaling. I’m very glad to have found layouts that work well for me, and I hope I can inspire some of you to try some new things!

That’s all for this month’s set-up! If you want to check out my bullet journal supplies, check out my 2018 Bullet Journal Set-Up post!

If you want to check out my past montly set-ups, here’s January, February, March, and April!

I’d love to hear below about your May planner themes! Please share links to your blog, Instagram, YouTube, or other social media!

– Natalie

P.S. Here’s some referral links to some of my favorite sites. Use if you’d like!

• Ebates – This is a great way to earn cash back from online shopping (that you’re already doing) at many of your favorite stores! (Including Sephora & Ulta!) If you join through this link and make a purchase of $25 or more, you’ll get an extra $10 cash back and I’ll get $15, as well as your own referral code.
• thredUP – I love using thredUP to clean out my closet and shop for new pieces at a discounted price – sometimes they’re even brand new with tags! When you join thredUP through this link, you get $10 to spend and I get $10 to shop after you place your first order.
• StitchFix – This is a great way to try out some new items for your closet, without the hassle of going to the stores and the bonus of a personal stylist. If you sign up with this link, you’ll get a FREE styling fee (usually $20) on your first Fix, and I’ll get $25 credit once it ships.