The one thing that really frustrates me about myself is my inability to stay organised when I am such a lover of stationary. For the past month at least, every store has had multiple discounts and offers on 'Back To School' it truly makes me miss the start of a new term. You'd get a new bag, new pens and pencils (that are all gone by week 2) highlighters, a calculator, even stuff you knew you weren't going to use but because of that fresh feeling you just HAD to purchase.
Well, I totally got that feeling a few days ago when I stumbled across my old (incomplete, of course) Bullet Journal from 2 years ago. It made me just want to re-organise myself for the millionth time and what I love about this system is there's no rules. You create the pages, you create the content and I forgot how much I enjoyed doing this when I had the motivation to do it so I am revamping my BuJo.
I'm being smart about this however, instead of outright going out and buying a new journal, I'm putting myself a trial by using my old book with a few pages still left. If I prove I can stick it out and be committed to Bullet Journalling for the next 4 months, I will have a fresh start-over for 2019 and purchase a brand new book. (Eek!)
A gal can't be completely well-behaved though, I may or may not have invested in new stationary just to excite me. Well, I say 'invested' I got it all from Poundland! I honestly couldn't believe the range they had and for a fraction of the price of other retailers. I know most people like the branded items because of the quality and the showing-off aspect of it. 'Oh I'm just pulling out my Parker pen and Sharpies' We've all been there. But that doesn't bother me for my own personal use but they do actually sell brands such as BIC, Papermate and Pritt and they're still £1! Here's what I got:
A pack of Poundland 10 Highlighters, 4 BIC Fine Liners, 10 Poundland Fine Liners, A Pritt Stick, 6 pack of Washi Tape, Pen holder, Stickers.
Let me just highlight something. I honestly recommend that you go to Poundland and have a little nosey for a Pritt stick and branded pens because retailers such as WHSmith and The Works, both I love by the way, are selling these for double the price and for the same product? Surely there's something wrong with that, right? As for the rest, I did put these to the test to prove that sometimes, you're just paying for the name.
The only comparison with the BIC and Poundland Fine Liners are certain Poundland ones do bleed the tiniest bit, but that's nothing to turn your nose up at and they are definitely a dupe of the Stabilo Fine Liners. Just a little tip too if you are going to purchase them, they also do an 8 pack so don't be fooled and pick up the 10, 2 extra pens for free, why wouldn't you? The stickers, I simply got for my 5 year old self and the Washi tape, I was sooo excited for because 2 years ago when I last wanted some it was so rare to find!
So anyway, back to my Bullet Journal trial. Here's a sneak peek of (my lack of) artistic skills.
I actually find the mood tracker so cute, I grabbed inspiration off
@AmandaRachLee for the theme and idea. I've also put my food I've had
this month and i'm keeping track of my fruit and water intake.
this month and i'm keeping track of my fruit and water intake.
A monthly log. I base this solely around work so I know what breaks
are coming up and also my ongoing expenses.
Finally, my daily log. My working week is Fri-Thurs so I've
adapted it to suit me and also included my rota for that week.
Finding a layout that works for me is important and i'm swaying towards
this for the future.
this for the future.
It's completely basic for now and unfinished, I need to use my new pens to make it look pretty but this is kind of the jist of a Bullet Journal if you didn't know. I watched a thousand videos dedicated to other people's journals and the inspiration you can get is unreal. You can log as much or as little as you want to do with your lifestyle, and that's what makes them so great.
Would you consider starting one?
Katie x
