Ideas for a New Notebook

We’ve all been there. You’re scrolling through social media, ignoring responsibilities, and you see a post with the coolest notebook you’ve ever seen. OR you’re in the store “browsing” and you come across the notebook. You know the one that is going to change your life. 

You buy the notebook. You get home. And then you don’t touch it because you

1. Don’t want to “ruin it” or

2. Don’t know what to even do with it. 

Open that notebook. Get out a pen. You’re going to use it. And here are some ideas of what to do. 

Reading Journal

Have a never-ending list of books to read? Want to keep track of your library at home? Books turned into poor film adaptations? Quotes from your favorite book? You have those things. Write it down in a reading journal. 

Tarot / Crystal Journal

Interested in the metaphysical? Started the practice of a daily pull? Write down what you learn in a journal. 

Coffee Notebook

If you visit cute shops around town or want to try different brands at home, a coffee journal is the perfect place to keep these things. If you really want to kick it up a notch, you can decorate with coffee sleeves or napkins. Receipts are ephemera! 

Wishlists/Gift lists

When you see something in passing but don’t want to add it to your “Save For Later” keep a wish list. Then when it’s time to treat yo’ self, you don’t have to try to remember what it was you wanted to spend money on. It’s good for morale!

If it’s gift giving time, a notebook is a perfect place to keep track of who you bought gifts for and if it’s arrived. 

Media Notebook

With 100 streaming services, it’s hard to remember what is released when. A media notebook is a great place to keep track of shows you’re watching, movie release dates, and quotes from the show. Also, a good excuse to buy Bridgerton-themed stickers. 

Recipes

Yes, there are digital places to keep those notebooks. But what about the family recipes that haven’t been written down? What about the blogs that get shut down and vanish without a trace. You know if you open TikTok to try to find that recipe again you’ll get sidetracked and forget why you opened the app in the first place. Write them down in a recipe notebook!

Hobby / Current Obsession Book

Are you a hobby collector? Each hobby could have a book OR if you’re a fickle, just stick them all in one notebook. Supplies purchased, projects to try, video game progress. All of it is fair game. Put it in a notebook. 

Junk Journal

If you want to get crafty, it’s not trash anymore it’s junk. Take that junk and put it in a notebook. Cute store bags, stickers you’ve been neglecting to put down, random magazine clippings. All of that! Glue it down. 

Commonplace / Chaos

Commonplacing is the practice of collecting.

a personal compilation of knowledge, ideas, quotations, and observations collected by an individual.-

balzardesigns.typepad.com

Quotes, things you’ve researched, fun facts. All of that is a commonplace. You’ve probably been doing it and didn’t know what to call it. That is the best way to fill a notebook. And if you want to kick it up a notch, combine a junk journal and a commonplace and make it a Chaos journal. Anything goes. NO RULES. 

What’s your favorite way to use a blank book?