Types of Journals and some Recommendations

As you all may know, I love journaling, and I have one of almost every type of journal there is. (I told you about the traveler's notebooks I use in a recent post.)

So, I realized I hadn't really talked about the types or physical forms that journals can take, based on their purpose.

For example, for simply writing about daily life, a notebook of any kind will be fine, even a plain spiral bound one. (I will say, though, that, these days, I am more likely to actually write in my journals when they are pretty or interesting looking.)

If you want your pages to hold up over time and not turn yellow, a high quality journal with acid free paper is nice to have.  Also, if you'll be using markers or fountain pens, paper thickness is important. Less important, (but still important to me!), is paper color. Some journals have cream pages, some have white, and some have ivory pages.

So, I've done a little shopping for you, and here are some of the different journals that I can recommend, based on the type of journal you want to start.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I will earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. Thank you!

Daily Life, List books, or Bullet Journaling

Scribbles that Matter (light ivory paper with a dot grid, 160 gsm weight), and Archer and Olive (bright white paper with dot grid, lined, or graph, 160gsm weight), are brands that have great reviews and are of exceptional quality.  The paper in those is super thick, smooth, and there's no bleeding or ghosting from markers or fountain pens.  Also, they lay flat.  Scribbles that Matter and Archer and Olive are more pricey than the average journals, but I think that has mainly to do with the excellent paper quality and overall quality of these.  Dot grids are really nice for bullet journaling.  I don't really do bullet journaling per se, but I like how the dot grids keep my lettering somewhat straight, without being too noticeable.

Here is a less expensive, but still high quality dot grid notebook.  The paper is a thick (not quite as thick as the above, but still very thick), cream white, acid-free paper.  It comes in pretty colors.  An excellent value!

If you don't need super thick paper,  Michael's craft store, (no affiliation), has some great little journals made by Artist's Loft. I have a few of these, and I like them a lot. They are even less expensive than the pink one above, and come in different page styles (dot, grid, lined, blank, lined.)  The pages are much thinner (80 gsm), so more prone to bleeding and ghosting from markers and fountain pens. Still, they're nice little journals.


For a really elegant writing experience, this lovely leather journal would be a step above. More for keepsake journaling special memories, rather than bullet journaling or planning, this one would make a great gift too.  The paper is thick and acid free.  (The journal is real leather, so something to be aware of, if you have concerns about that.)

As I mentioned above, I've been using traveler's notebooks a lot for my daily journaling.This is my favorite one. It was a splurge, (although I got mine on clearance), but it's beautiful and functional.  When you buy a traveler's notebook, it's not the same as buying a journal full of pages - you are basically buying a cover and one notebook insert. I purchased additional inserts on Etsy. The inserts can also be purchased separately at Scrapbook.com, among other places, and here's another tip - The Moleskine Cahier size notebooks fits this size cover too, but the paper is thin (70gsm.)

Art Journaling, Photo Journaling, or Sketch Journaling

For art journaling or photo journaling that you won't be doing every day, you  might prefer blank pages with paper made for all kinds of media. I have this mixed media sketchbook  for art journaling.

A mixed media sketchbook will handle a lot of different media, both wet and dry.  This one has 40 pages, which is enough pages for me, as I don't art journal nearly as much as I write.




Here is a hardback version with 64 pages.

Planning

For planning, I just bought an empty binder.  It's purely functional, and I don't draw in it or decorate it. But it's still pretty throughout, because I printed off the free 2020 Planner pages, from Organized Dream, (no affiliation), and they are gorgeous.  There are pages for Daily Planner, Blog and Business, Budget, Meal Planning, etc. And, did I mention they are free??  I use pocket dividers, that I bought separately, for the sections, and I just include some notebook paper for notes.

Here's the 1 inch binder I'm using.  I got it at Office Depot/Office Max, (no affiliation.) As I'm sure you've noticed, I tend to like florals!

This next one made it a little hard to choose, but in the end, the pinks and greens coordinated with my other supplies better.

Of course, if you stroll through the discount stores, there are plenty of other pretty journals and planners.  The quality may not be as high, but really, any notebook will do to keep your memories or plan your days.

And, if you need some ways to fill your blank journals and notebooks, I have some ideas here.

I hope you've enjoyed this little sampling, and I hope you will join me this year and commit to keeping a journal of some kind!

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