So I ran across this article about bullet journaling by a fellow blogger recently and it was like all of my paper, scrapbooking, coloring, organizational, plannery type synapsis’ in my right brain went off in the Hallelujah chorus!

Have you ever heard of the Bullet Journal? Pinterest is full of fascinating options. Basically you’re using a plain journal to create your own organizational process… and then making it incredibly adorable! There’s symbols and boxes and squiggly lines oh my! And I fell truly, madly, and deeply in love with it. SO… I went and bought stuff to make it happen. Here’s my new adventure!

So I found all of these traveler journals at Marshalls for $4.99. My plan is to use these three books individually in conjunction with my blog, business, and family life. 1 small journal for each area. So these little 3-packs were awesome for what I was looking for! I went ahead and bought the all of the packs that were there so that I had them for the next 3 months. I figured 3 months will be enough to see if I actually love this in real life and if I’ll keep going. I also picked up this little coordinating notebook so that I could write the quick random thoughts and process how I want to include it in the bullet journal.

No bullet journal is complete without color and fun things to make them unique. I started with colored pencils and added metallic and colored pens. In the future, I’ll share more about the products I’ve found that I love but I don’t feel like I know enough quite yet to tell you with one’s I’m a fan of – enough for you to run out and buy it. For example the colored markers I bought kind of bleed through… so I wouldn’t buy them again.

So once you have all of that awesome bullet journal stuff bought you’re going to need to store it somehow. This is my solution for now with stuff I already had in my house. I use a file organizer with a handle in the center and 2 pen cups from my office. One cup hold and pens the other holds the random items I’ve picked up so far.

Now onto the good stuff. What do the pages look like?! Let me first say… I am not an artist… and I don’t pretend to be one. So I don’t love my first few pages and I won’t do them this way next time. But I promised to show you the good, bad, and ugly so I’ll show them all to you.

I don’t care for this page but it helps you get an idea of what you’ll see moving forward. Next is the monthly calendar and weekly spreads for organization. I decided to try several different layouts to see which ones I would like so I can do them more moving forward.

Next I decided to try some other layouts that might be helpful for my day to day schedule.

This will help us keep tracks of goals we’ve set for ourselves and our kids this summer.

I always have the best intentions to do or say something nice for someone else. But somehow I struggle with the follow through. I can’t wait to fill this flow chart with my gratitude and intentions so that I can act on them.

So now you’ve seen my pages. I have so much to learn. There are so many other super talented people who bullet journal much more efficiently and beautifully than I do but like anything else I’m sure I’ll get better at it as time goes on. So in case you’re now itching to start bullet journaling here’s my few tips for you.

Just start. Most bullet journals are just graph paper or little dots. I ended up buying a journal with lines… mostly because I like the idea of having some lines… it’s cool to start with what you have.

Create a scratched out idea of what you want to include in your journal before you start drawing. Because otherwise it will feel all off or out of order.

Another thing I noticed too… there are a lot of pages to make this journal for only one month. I don’t think I’ll fill them properly. Maybe it will be different for the one’s for business and blog but I’ll have to let you know later how that goes.

Ready to get started? Here’s a few links for your purchasing pleasures. Note: These links are affiliate links which means that at no additional cost to you, if you purchase these items, I will receive a small return for the suggestion.  

Leuchtturm Medium Notebook, Squared, 5.75 x 8.25 inches, Black (LBL12)– This is the standard bullet journal.

Scribbles That Matter – Best Bullet Journal Notebook Diary A5 – Elastic Band – Beautiful Designer Cover – Premium Thick Paper (Ruled)-Another journal option

Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Pens, .3mm, Metal Clad Tip, 20-Pack, Assorted (334SB20BK)– These are the recommended pens from the other bullet journal smart people. I haven’t tried them yet but I likely will.

Chris-Wang Portable All-in-One Stainless Steel 60 Apertures Stencil Drawing Template Number Alphabet Icon Tool Diy Photo Album Accessories Ruler – These stencils look awesome and I think I’ll probably get one for making my little drawings neater. Or I am considering making one…. jury is still out on that.

Stencil for Planners, Fits Journey, Happy Planner and Erin Condren – Everyday– Another stencil option.

6 Rolls of Gold Washi Colored Decorative Masking Tape – For Gift Wrapping, Scrapbooking, Creative Work – Chevron, Stripe, Arrow, Polka dot, Heart – (15mm x 10m) – By Washi.Design (Royal Gold)– Washi tape very similar to the pics above. I bought mine at Target.

me & my BIG ideas POST-02 Create 365 The Happy Planner Important Sticky Notes– Other stickers that could be a good addition and can make blocking and tagging easier and less drawing.

Alright friends… what do you think? Are you ready to start bullet journaling with me?

#sonottogether