I Don't Journal (But I Keep Buying Notebooks)

Every August, I become convinced I need office supplies.

I no longer need a backpack. Or a protractor. (Do they still make kids use those?)

But put me in front of a display of beautiful notebooks and I lose all common sense.

I buy them every year.

Not because I journal.

I absolutely do not journal.

What My Notebooks Actually Hold

One holds candle formulas.

One is nothing but to-do lists.

One lives in my event bag.

One rattles around in my purse.

One is devoted entirely to monthly sales tax calculations, which is about as un-magical as life gets.

Apparently I'm not buying notebooks because I'm trying to become someone who journals.

I'm buying them because I like having places to collect my life.

(What my camera roll captured this week)

The funny thing is...

I do keep a journal.

It just doesn't look like one.

My camera roll (peep the chaos in the photo above). Instagram (and Facebook). The Journal here on my website. Touchstones (another way I collect the seasons). Little notes in the margins of books. Lists of flowers blooming that week. Even candle names scribbled on scraps of paper.

All of it is evidence of a life I'm paying attention to.

Journaling Doesn't Have to Look One Particular Way

Maybe journaling isn't one particular habit.

Maybe it's simply the way we remember our own lives.

For some people, that's pages filled with beautiful handwriting.

For someone else, it's photographs.

Recipes.

Pressed flowers.

Sketches.

Voice memos.

Tiny notes tucked into a planner.

There isn't a right way to keep a life.

Only your way.

One Last Thought

If you've ever bought a notebook because it felt full of possibility—even if you never intended to fill it cover to cover—I think you're in good company.

Mine will probably end up with grocery lists, candle ideas, birthday reminders, and one page devoted entirely to figuring out sales tax.

And really?

I wouldn't have it any other way.

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💛 If this felt like a conversation you'd enjoy having every week...

Every Thursday, I publish The Weekly Home—a note from my house to yours.

We talk about ordinary things.

Gardens.

Home.

Beautiful objects.

Funny observations.

And the little moments that are worth remembering.

I'd love to have you there.

[Join The Weekly Home]

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