Side Quest! Make A Nostalgia Junk Journal This Weekend

A brunette woman holds up a black sketch book. In digital writing, the cover of the book says "how to start a junk journal".

A junk journal is kind of like a chaotic scrapbook. Instead of perfectly edited photos and expensive stickers, it creates memories out of anything.

Suddenly, those ticket stubs and printed cocktail napkins arenā€™t junk. They are artifacts of a life worth remembering. After all, isnā€™t one personā€™s trash another oneā€™s treasure? Maybe the pieces would be ā€œmehā€ on their own, but in a single journal, the collection can spark a lot of joy.

If you are looking for your next journaling experiment, then you should really give junk journaling a try. In fact, why not make it your next weekend side quest?

Why ā€œJunkā€ is Worth Keeping

For many journalers, writing about your real life is a very private thing. Many even go out of their way to destroy their old journals. If thatā€™s what you need to feel safe enough to write ā€“go for it. Still, you have to admit it is a bit of a sacrifice. Privacy might mean youā€™ll have to forget the little precious memories of day-to-day life.

Or do you? Junk journaling is nostalgic by nature. Flipping each page, youā€™ll see real pieces of your past adventures. It allows you to be honest, but not too emotionally revealing. It might even be more honest than written entries because there is no space for denial.

All of this makes junk journaling the perfect ā€œ2nd journalā€. You can pair a junk journal with almost any other kind of wellness or personal organization journal. It makes a lovely partner to both.

How to Start a Junk Journal

To start a junk journal, you only need 3 things: a journal, some scissors, and archival-quality tape (more on that last bit later). Everything else is a fun extra. This is a ā€œjunkā€ journal after all. Itā€™d be silly to spend a ton of money on it up front.

Donā€™t underestimate your own creativity. With the right scraps and some careful arranging, your spread will come to life in no time.

Choosing Your Scraps

After you have the basics, all you need is bits and bobs from your life. Nothing is too weird to stash away for your junk journal. Actually, the off-beat, strange trinkets often make the most interesting pages.

The one rule is that it needs to lay relatively flat. Your journal is going to triple in size before you know it. Glue, photos, ribbon, wrinkled receipts, etc. ā€“they all add a little bit of thickness. Adding bigger bits like plastic bottle caps could eventually make the journal impossible to close.

But if itā€™s relatively 2D, it is fair game! A fun part about junk journaling is that it keeps you on the lookout for things worth saving. Finding hidden art becomes second nature after a while.

A hand drawn fantasy map is held up into the frame on a clip board. There is a rooster cookie jar in the back.Ā An example scrap from game night!

Arranging Junk Journal Pages

First things first, you can design your junk journal pages however you want. There is no ā€œright wayā€ to organize it. That said, many people have found it helpful to start with one idea and run with it.

Chronologically

The most common way to set things up is by date. If your regular journal is chronological, why wouldnā€™t all the others be too? Not so fast! You still have to consider a few things.

Do you want each page to stand for a set period of time (as in 1 page = 1 month)? If you are a homebody (which many, many journalers are), you might not collect enough treasures every single month. Thatā€™s why some people just wait until they feel they have a good handful. Itā€™s still chronological, just a little bit more loosey goosey with the dates.

Vibes

Vibes could mean a lot of things here: emotions, activity types, etc. You know it when you see it. This type of junk journaling is great when you want to remember that you are made of many things.

For example, itā€™s hard to remember that youā€™ve ever been happy when youā€™re really going through it. A ā€œjoyfulā€ themed junk journal page could be a great reminder! Similarly, a ā€œsocial butterflyā€ page could stand as proof that you do have friends. Use it as a tool to keep in touch with all of your parts.

A junk journal spread with a theme of "joyful effort". There is a scribble art piece in the center that says "I get to try again". Around that art is a tarot card, a cut out of a mustard bottle king, notes about a local coffee, and a pink post-it that says "Allie @ work".

Color

Contrary to popular belief, you donā€™t need to give your journal pages any grand significance. Sometimes itā€™s nice to let your journal be a place to just create. No need to do anything else but make the pages look pretty.

Monochrome junk journal pages are cool. Wildly colorful collages with all sorts of intriguing scraps are cool. There really, really is no wrong way to journal. Let yourself have fun!

Preserving Your Journal

Luckily, weā€™ve already discussed how to make sure your journals last (almost) forever. The tips in that article apply to all journals, junk included. You need to know how to take good care of your notebooks if you really want them to last a lifetime. That said, junk journals require a little extra love.

Have you ever found an old movie theater ticket in a drawer somewhere and noticed that the ink has almost worn off? Thatā€™s because ticketĀ  donā€™t usually need to last longer than a few hours. The ink isnā€™t designed to last.

Pen ink on notebook paper is predictable. Every other scrap of paper you find ā€œin the wildā€ is not. This is why you should really look into archival tapes and, eventually, page protectors. Donā€™t worry, it isnā€™t that fancy. Just look for scrapbook tape at your local craft store. Everything else can wear down different kinds of paper.

With that in mind, you are finally ready to begin your side quest. Happy journaling!