What Is a Junk Journal?
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
What is a junk journal?
That’s one of the most common questions I get. And I think part of the confusion is that a junk journal can mean something different to every person who makes one.
The simple answer is that a junk journal is a journal made with a mix of everyday, found, recycled, vintage, and decorative materials. You might use junk mail, paper bags, food labels, old magazines, receipts, postcards, photographs, stickers, pretty stationery, or anything else that catches your eye.
My philosophy, and many others, is that there are no rules about what belongs in a junk journal. Sometimes the junk journal police will come after you and say, “That’s not junk!” - but, I say, you do you and don't worry about them 😉
So, What Goes in a Junk Journal?
For some people, “junk journal” really does mean a journal made mostly from actual junk: things that would otherwise end up in the recycling bin or trash.
Think junk mail, paper bags, packaging, food labels, envelopes, tickets, receipts, and scraps of paper. You can collage these pieces onto a page, layer them together, write on top of them, or use them to document something that happened in your life.
Other people like to mix their everyday finds with things they’ve collected specifically for their journals. Maybe that means pretty papers, purchased stationery, stickers, stamps, or a piece of ephemera that simply speaks to you.
And then there are vintage lovers. Old magazine advertisements, newspaper clippings (😉), vintage photographs, playing cards, postcards, book pages, and other bits of paper history can all find their way into a junk journal.
You can also add things from your everyday life and adventures: photographs from a recent trip, a coffee shop receipt from a day out with a friend, a wine label from a fancy evening, or a little note on fun paper about something you want to remember.
Seeing a pattern?
Your junk journal is whatever you want it to be. There is no right or wrong way to make one.
What Do You Actually Do in a Junk Journal?
Whatever you feel like doing!
You can make collages, write about your day, document memories, collect things you find interesting, experiment with color, play with layers, or simply stick things onto a page because you like the way they look together.
I personally mix everything together. Some of my journals are very styled, with flowers on flowers on flowers. (You may have noticed I have a thing for flowers.) Other journals are where I go when I want to play without thinking at all about the outcome, using junkier materials like cute Trader Joe’s packaging.
I usually have several journals going at the same time, so I can work in the one that fits my creative mood.
Why Make a Junk Journal?
The whole point of a junk journal, at least for me, is simply to create.
It’s a chance to get lost in the process and find that lovely creative flow where you stop worrying about whether something is “good” and start making creative movements by instinct, almost without thinking.
The outcome might be a gorgeous collage. It might be a page full of memories. It might be a completely chaotic mess of paper, glue, and stickers. All of those styles are considered junk journaling.
Junk journaling is one of the few creative practices where the process can matter more than the finished product. Meaning, a painting might begin with the same kind of creative exploration, but eventually it leaves the studio and gets hung on a wall for other people to see. A journal page just stays in your journal. It can be messy and weird. It can be unfinished or make sense only to you.
There’s something freeing about creating without an audience in mind. You can experiment, make mistakes, change your mind, cover something up, add something else, and simply immerse yourself in the page.
Is Junk Journaling the Same as a Smash Book or Commonplace Book?
They can be! When I was growing up, what people call a junk journal now - I knew mostly as smash books. I can picture the journals of the cool older girls who dressed in Delia’s - journal covers completely covered in duct tape or clear packaging tape with glitter and cut-out doodles held underneath.
Smash Books were, in my mind, a sort of punk, casual way to combine writing, photographs, memorabilia, stickers, and other paper scraps in one place. The idea was very much about capturing things as you went rather than creating a pretty or perfect page.
A commonplace book has a much longer history and traditionally serves as a place to collect and organize information, quotes, ideas, observations, and things you want to remember. A more organized, less junky junk journal perhaps.
Junk journals can overlap with both of these ideas, but one main difference is that junk journaling tends to put more emphasis on creative play, collage, and using a mixture of found and decorative materials.
So, Let's Circle Back, What Is a Junk Journal?
The only real way to find out is to start one.
Find some interesting scraps of paper. Raid your recycling pile. Save the label from your favorite snack. Cut up some junk mail. Add a sticker. Write down something you want to remember. Glue a piece of an old book page next to a photograph from last weekend.
You can use a 50-cent composition book from Staples, make your own journal, or use a beautiful fancy journal you've been saving for “the right project.” Just grab some scissors and glue and start playing on the page.
Your style will develop as you continue to make. And eventually, you'll figure out what a junk journal means to you.
Junk Journal FAQ
What are the benefits of journaling for mental health? Journaling can be a useful way to slow down, process your thoughts, and make space for reflection. When you combine writing with creative activities like collage, cutting, and arranging paper, you’re also giving yourself something tactile to focus on.
For many people, junk journaling feels less intimidating than sitting down with a blank page and being told to “write about your feelings.” You can write a paragraph, scribble a few words, make a collage, or simply play with paper.
It isn't a replacement for professional mental health care, but it can be a lovely creative practice for making a little more room for yourself in your day.
What are the benefits of handwriting? Handwriting slows you down. It gives your brain a chance to process what you're thinking rather than simply racing to get the words onto a screen. Writing by hand can also make journaling feel more personal and intentional.
And in a junk journal, handwriting doesn't have to mean writing pages and pages. A date, a sentence, a grocery list, a favorite quote, or a few words about what you were doing that day can become part of the page.
What are the benefits of getting into a flow state? Flow is that wonderful feeling when you become so absorbed in what you're doing that you lose track of time.
Creative activities like collage, drawing, painting, and junk journaling can make it easier to get into that state because they give you something to focus on without necessarily requiring you to think about the finished product.
You might start cutting out a few flowers and suddenly realize you've been working on the same page for an hour. That's the good stuff. It’s a grounding activity to add to your self-care routine.
How do I start a junk journal?
You just do!
Seriously. You don't need a special journal, a huge collection of supplies, or a perfectly curated aesthetic to get started.
You can find beautiful ephemera from shops like Found and Flowered, or you can raid your pantry and see what kind of cardboard, labels, wrappers, and packaging catch your eye.
Use a 50-cent composition book from Staples. Make your own journal. Use a beautiful fancy journal you've been saving for a special occasion. There isn't a wrong choice.
Then grab some scissors, glue, and whatever bits of paper you've collected and start playing on your page. Don't worry about whether it looks like anyone else's journal. Don't worry about having a “style” yet. Your style will develop as you continue to create.
And that's really the magic of junk journaling. You don't have to know exactly what you're doing before you begin. You just have to start.
What supplies do you need for a junk journal? You really don't need much: a journal, scissors, glue, and something to put on the page. After that, just have fun and play. Look for paper scraps, vintage ephemera, stickers, postcards, book pages, envelopes, labels, photographs, and anything else that makes you want to say, “Ooh, I could use that.”
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