On January 1st of 2020, I bought my very first journal. At the moment, it was simply part of a New Year’s resolution—but the timing was uncanny. Throughout the tumultuous months of 2020, I became reliant on the ritual of daily journaling. This soon led to the discovery of gratitude journaling, then manifestation journaling, and by January 2021, I had developed three journal practices that I still religiously follow.
So when a friend mentioned the concept of junk journaling to me recently, I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of it before. After a spiral down Pinterest and TikTok, I learned that junk journaling is true to its name. Instead of being a place to organize your thoughts, this was a place to organize your junk. Some people have no problem throwing away the random objects they collect from events or occasions—concert wristbands, dried flower petals, or ticket stubs. But if you’re like me, you’re holding on to these small tokens in every drawer, purse, or cabinet. We can’t bear to part with them, but what use do they have? Cue in junk journals. Think of it as a less polished and structured scrapbook with a lot less pressure on perfection. You can be as messy as you want, arranging the “junk” however you see fit. It’s a way to organize the mess, all while preserving your souvenirs from both the big and small moments.
This September marked the beginning of my third year living in New York, and I had a bit of memorabilia overflow from my past two years exploring the city. To try out this new method of journaling (and also to entice me to clean my apartment), I’ve spent the past few weeks working on my first junk journal. Here’s what you can find on the first few pages:
Sticky notes
My search for junk led me to an overwhelming amount of sticky notes. As many journal enthusiasts, I’m a firm believer in the power of words. I will frequently jot down notes to myself: quotes I resonate with, daily affirmations, mantras that I hang on my bathroom mirror the first day of each calendar year, etc. Amongst these self-written messages are also post-it note messages (dare I say love notes) from my boyfriend. He will often leave these behind for me to see when I return from work, taped next to my bed, or left on my desk. I’ve surprisingly held on to these notes amidst a few apartment moves, but they have (until now) been crammed into the backs of my desk drawers for lack of a better place to keep them. The words—both from myself and my boyfriend—all taped next to each other, is somewhat of a heartwarming journal entry in itself.
Wrist bands
For a true sentimentalist, throwing away concert wristbands is simply unimaginable. Ridiculous, I know, especially as you usually have to cut them in half for removal. But parting ways with these can just seem too heartbreaking! I was excited to finally have a way to make use of them. Wristbands from Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour, the 76th Annual Tony Awards, and the 2023 New York City Marathon are all lined up next to each other, telling a story of what were undoubtedly some of my very best New York moments so far.
Doctor’s Note
On the page right next to my marathon wristband is a note from my sports doctor. Last spring, I developed a gnarly case of IT band syndrome from running, and he jotted down the address of a shoe store where I could buy sneakers to better support me once I was able to get back out there. The injury had taken me out of a half marathon I planned to race in March 2023, but with rest, strength work, and the new shoes, I crossed the finish line of the New York Marathon eight months later (and I have the wristband to prove it!). I often journal about the power of patience during overcoming an injury. Placing these two items next to one another was the perfect visual to illustrate just that.
Restaurants
One of my favorite parts of living in New York has been exploring the food scene. In addition to matchboxes (which didn’t make the junk journal as they have a home in a glass canister on my coffee table), I’ve compiled a multitude of other restaurant-branded postcards and letters that come with the check at the end of the meal. I can’t quite explain the need to hold on to these, but they pasted nicely into the pages of my journal.
Trips
I love living in the city, but that doesn’t mean it’s not exhausting. For my 23rd birthday, I drove upstate to the Catskills for a weekend getaway. It was the first real vacation I had since I moved here, and I was taken aback by the immediate physical and mental release I felt once we entered the mountains. When in Manhattan, you and your surroundings are constantly in motion. There’s a mix of chaos and excitement every turn you take. It’s why people love New York, but it’s also why we need to get away sometimes. Next to the tokens from the city itself are pieces from that weekend getaway in the Catskills, along with a few other places I have been fortunate enough to run away to.
There are some other fun pieces I’ve included in the pages, and many more to come. While holding on to these items might have once caused me to feel a bit sheepish, I now am excited to sift through the random objects I’ve collected at the end of each week and spend some time on a Sunday “journaling.”
