Finding a planner that works for you can be so draining. I have tried larger planners, daily planners, and even those planners with cute sticker packs, but nothing seemed to satisfy my planning needs. I had heard of Bullet Journaling before but only knew it to be a checklist system with circles and arrows. It wasn't until I saw Amanda Rach Lee on YouTube that I learned bullet journalling can be much more fun and creative. I loved the idea of creating my own layouts and changing things up when a simple weekly spread got boring. I became obsessed with her videos and decided in Twenty-Twenty to start my own bullet journal (BuJo). When making my list of supplies to get started, I wanted good-quality pens and markers that would last for several years of bullet journaling. Now that I am in my fourth year of bullet journaling, I have learned a lot about supplies and what I use most.
I have been using the same supplies since I started, so here is a list of all my favorite markers, pens, and other essentials!
★ Sakura Pigma Micron Fine Liners - These pens are what I use to create outlines on almost every single spread.
★ Crayola Super Tip Markers - I love these markers. They are cheaper than some of the other brands and yet they get the job done. There are so many colors to choose from and they really add to all my spreads.
★ Sakura Gelly Roll Gel Pens (white) - White gel pens are a necessity to add detail or to cover up mistakes. Finding a good set has been difficult but these are definitely the best I have found so far!
★ Uni-Ball Signo Gel Ink Roller Ball Pen (black, white, silver) - These gel pens are also great for details. I don't love the white one however the silver and black are great!
★ BIC Wite-Out Correction Tape - This is essential! Although you may think every spread looks so perfect, a lot of mistakes are made along the way. I prefer the tape since it doesn't need to dry before you can write on it. This product works best on white pages.
★ Duck double-sided Easy Stick roll on tape - I like to paste images or other decorative items into my journal and this tape is perfect!
★ Mini Ruler
★ Mechanical Pencil
★ Eraser
★ Tombow Fudenosuke Water-based Duel Brush Markers - These are a great upgrade from the Crayola Super Tips, however, I use both sets in tandem. The brush side is great for highlighting and coloring in designs while the smaller tip is great for outlines.
★ Notebook Therapy Tsuki Pop-up Standing Pencil Case - I personally have two lilac pencil cases and absolutely love them! They stand on their own and are super easy to throw into a purse or backpack.
★ Acrylic Stamp Blocks - I use these in tandem with the monthly calendar stamps.
★ Mixed Calendar Planner Week Month Clear Stamps - These are great for the year-at-a-glance spread and any other time you need to create mini monthly layouts.
★ Stamp Pad (black)
★ Alphabet Stamps - These stamps clip together to create words or can be used individually.
★ Washi Tape - I use Washi Tape to decorate my spreads. I got mine from notebook therapy however you can find Washi Tape at any stationary shop.
Let's talk notebooks...
In my first year of bullet journaling I chose to use a Leuchtturm (A five, one hundred twenty gsm) dotted notebook in black. This was a great starter journal, however, I did not like that the pages were not white and the markers I had ghosted through the paper. I decided to upgrade to white pages and one hundred sixty gsm paper with the Scribbles that Matter dotted journal pro. This journal was awesome! It had a folder pocket in the back as well as a pen loop. This was also a significantly larger journal than the Leuchtturm since it had more pages. I thought that I could downsize since there were a lot of blank pages when I finished the year in the Scribbles that Matter book, so I opted for the Notebook Therapy (one hundred and sixty gsm) dotted notebook. This book was awesome, however, it was too small for me and I ended up having to use another journal to finish off the year. This year I am using Shop Amanda Rach Lee's Dotted Notebook (A five, one hundred sixty gsm). This notebook has all the qualities I loved in my previous notebooks and also supports Amanda Rach Lee who inspired me to start bullet journaling.
Don't be intimidated by the super-detailed designs. You can customize your journal to fit your needs! Not every journal needs to have an extravagant theme or design. I highly recommend checking out Amanda Rach Lee's YouTube channel for inspiration on getting started. I have also created a Plan With Me video for the start of twenty twenty-three if you want to see how I started my journal this year!
Setting up a planner that works for you is so important when going into college or even a new semester. Hopefully seeing what works for me will allow you to decide what works best for you! To see more from me be sure to check out @itsirrellavent on Instagram, and don't be afraid to leave a comment if you have any bullet journalling questions.
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