Silk + Sonder Subscription Review May 2024

Silk + Sonder is a monthly planner subscription that makes planning, reflecting, and achieving easy and fun by delivering a new pen-to-paper experience every month. Each planner features new layouts that are "inspired by positive psychology, bullet journaling, and self-help books." For an annual plan, the cost is $15.75/month. There are also quarterly and monthly plans available.

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

Silk + Sonder May 2024

The saying "the days are long, but the years are short" has become increasingly true for me as a mother of two boys. Lately I have been reflecting on just how fast this life has been going by and I feel a bit out of sorts about it! With May upon us in just a few days, staying organized is the only way I feel I can try and keep up. These reasons (and more) are exactly why I need Silk + Sonder in my life.

While Silk + Sonder is a journal, it is also a planner, stress reliever, focus improver, mood booster, and productivity increaser! Centering around a new theme each month, this book has it all, and aligns with my needs perfectly. With 60 pages of amazingness, I look forward to opening this journal each day, and have found it to help keep my anxiety under control.

Trust: Firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.

May is the last month of school, so the fun really starts to begin. With MCA testing behind us, and warm temps ahead, everyone seems to be a little more cheerful. The Silk + Sonder theme for May is "Trust" and it has really inspired me to let go of my worries and start this month of renewal in a positive and uplifting way. Now, let's dive in!

One of my favorite aspects of Silk + Sonder is receiving a new planner each month. Starting "fresh" has been really helpful, as yearly planners make me feel overwhelmed. While this does feature an entire year calendar, it is too small to start filling, but big enough to reference for the future. To start my month, I fill in my calendar with dates I already know, and watch the month fly by! (Thank you, sports and work!) Staying organized is a huge help in managing my anxiety, and being able to quickly reference this calendar at the front of this planner is exactly what I need.

On page 6, we are greeted with a "Future Log." This includes two small calendars for the upcoming months. With just enough space to write small notes, my calendar generally stays pretty open. Our summer is usually packed full, but because we haven't received our baseball schedules yet, it's still pretty open. On the opposite side, you find a page of graph paper in which you can do what you choose! I typically write notes, lists or random information down in these spots, and appreciate the inclusion.

Page 8 offers a space to reflect on the previous month. With an area to write down your wins, challenges, and favorite moments, this is a great way to learn what works and what doesn't. This page is one of my favorites, as it shows all of the month's accomplishments. It also features an area to write things down that you want to start, stop, and continue. April was a great month for us, filled with fun, but I am very much looking forward to warmer weather for May!

I love the inclusion of the monthly intentions page. Here, you set intentions for yourself, and watch yourself flourish throughout the month. With six categories and six boxes to complete, there is plenty of room to jot things down. This isn't necessarily a to-do list, but a place to get yourself off to a good start and remind yourself of things that you would like to work on. As you can see, I've added big things, as well as "low hanging fruit" to keep things achievable, yet goal-worthy.

Like I mentioned above, this is more than just a planner, and these trackers are proof of that. Page 10 and 11 offer a mood tracker and habit tracker. We are given space to fill in what our typical moods are, and fill it out throughout the month. This is great for tracking patterns especially for me and my anxiety. I love the fact that these are customizable to track exactly how you want in such a pretty way! Silk + Sonder typically ships a week and a half before the next months starts, so I haven't started tracking May yet, but fill up these entire sections by the end of the month. A great way to keep yourself accountable, I have really found it helpful in goal tracking and completion!

Page 12 offers another tracker, this one being for sleep. Because I typically go to bed and wake up at the same times I don't generally fill this out, but it's here if you need it. The opposing page, however, is another one of my favorites. Page 13 offers a Gratitude Log to jot down what we are grateful for each day of May. I love going back through and reminiscing on all of the things I have to be grateful for in this wonderfully chaotic life!

Because this month's theme was "Trust", we received three prompts regarding this topic and how it resonates with us. These prompts were very thoughtful and had us reflect on how we define trust, how we build trust in ourselves versus with others, and a time we put our trust in something or someone and it paid off. Page 15 offered a "Letter" activity in which we are to write a letter to someone who broke or nearly broke your trust. While I haven't filled out this activity yet, I have been thinking about this in my head, but don't have a specific person or scenario I can think of to write about. Thought provoking, eh?

The next activity was a fun one that was new to me. This "Reframing Activity" has a spot for "self-limiting beliefs" along with "actions to build self trust". This activity was actually harder than I thought it would be, so reflecting on each of these activities on the daily is really thought provoking and helpful. The opposing side features a poem about trusting yourself. So incredibly true, this poem was quite inspiring and flowed so nicely!

Page 18 and 19 offer two more fun activities: an adult coloring page, and a "Self Portrait" page where you draw your most trustworthy self. While I love the adult coloring page (and was actually able to complete the entire thing this month) I didn't really feel like drawing a self portrait. Maybe in the future I will give this a whirl, but right now I'm skipping it.

Every Silk + Sonder journal comes with a recipe, and though I typically don't try them, do appreciate the thought. This month's "Greek Stuffed Sweet Potatoes" actually looked really decent, but I didn't have any of the ingredients. Has anyone tried this recipe out yet? How did they turn out?

On the opposing page, we received a "Trust Jar" and it was definitely one of my favorite inclusions. With a jar containing space to list the people, places, and activities that instill a sense of trust, I had a lot of fun with this. Adding a flair of color, I didn't add a lot of items, but really enjoyed the infusion of positivity.

Blank sheets are always helpful and a great place to do some long division, write notes, and jot down addresses!

Each month we are given some sort of mind puzzle, and this month it was a picture workout. The directions were to look at the photograph for one minute, and write down as many of the items in the photo that you can remember. After that, you are to take a deep breath before you start and actively focus on the photo for another minute and see how much it helped. This was a very interesting brain break, and I enjoyed it! Obviously, I did much better the second time around! Also included were last month's crossword puzzle answers, and a new riddle.

The opposing side features an expense tracker. I've mentioned before that I use a google doc, so I don't fill out this page, and that's okay! Feel free to use this planner as you see fit!

While all of the activities are really useful, helpful, and great, I tend to put most of my time into these calendar pages. With sections for meal plans, to-dos, habits and activities, shopping lists, and specific day sections, I write everything here. It keeps me on schedule for each day and feeling accomplished, and there is NOTHING more satisfying than crossing out an item on my list.

Tidying up with one last quote, the dictionary definition of "Sonder", and the back cover, that's all there is to it. I have come to find that a key part of my day is when I sit and fill out my planner with my cup of coffee, though these last two weeks have been without that! This quiet time happens before the kids are awake, and I can snuggle Scout and Buxton all to myself! Now that we are in the 4th quarter of school, our routine is ramping up again, and I MUST be intentional about carving time out to adhere to this schedule that helps ease my anxiety and create a more positive life.

The Verdict

As we embark on the month of May, our schedule really is getting packed, but I feel a lot more organized with the help of this journal. Silk + Sonder is a lifesaver, and without it, I'd definitely be lost. This month's planner was especially beautiful, and the theme of "Trust" was perfectly chosen. I continue to be impressed with this subscription, and can't wait to see what's in store for June.

I typically tend to allocate about 15-20 minutes a day to this journal and flip from front to back reflecting, adding to, and processing what I have previously written. By the end of the month, my brain feels much more organized and stable. The beauty of this planner is remarkable, and the packable size means I can tote it around in my purse. Being extremely impressed with all aspects, I am really looking forward to discovering more about myself, all while staying organized and offering myself a little daily quiet time and important self-care. 

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Your subscription will start with June as your first month but there is an option to add on May for 50% off at $10.99. A note from Silk + Sonder on shipping:

You can expect your SILK + SONDER issue to arrive 2-5 days before the 1st of every month.

Check out our list of the best women's subscription boxes for 2024 to see which boxes were recommended by MSA readers like you!

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