Junk journaling looks like it needs a cupboard full of supplies. It does not. Most of what you see in a finished spread is paper you already had, held down by three or four things you actually bought. Here is the short list, in the order it is worth buying.
The four things you genuinely need
1. Something to bind. A book to work in. This can be a bound notebook, or loose pages held on discs so you can add and reorder as you go.
2. Something to hold the loose bits. Ticket stubs, tags, offcuts and photos need somewhere to live, or they migrate to the bottom of a bag. A pocket page solves this.
3. Something to stick. Washi tape for anything you might reposition, and a glue stick for anything permanent.
4. Scissors. That is the whole tool list.
Everything else is decoration, and decoration is the part you can collect slowly.
What you can skip at the start
You do not need a die-cutting machine, a stamp collection, an ink pad in nine colours, or a guillotine. You especially do not need a second journal to practise in before you start the real one. The practice journal is the real one.
Bound book or loose pages?
A bound book is simpler and cheaper to start with. The trade-off is that a junk journal gets fat: once you glue in an envelope and tuck things inside it, the spine fights you.
Disc-bound pages avoid that. Pages lift off the discs and snap back on, so you can reorder a section, pull a page that is not working, or add room where a spread has grown. Our 5x7 disc-bound notebooks work as a base, and you can move up a disc size later when the book thickens.
Pockets, and why vellum
A pocket page holds the flat things you are not ready to glue down. Vellum is worth the small premium over paper for one reason: you can see what is inside without emptying it. Ours are laminated, so the edges do not soften after a few months of being opened.
Browse the junk journal supplies collection for pockets sized 4x6 and 5x7.
Washi tape: how much is enough
Two or three rolls. Genuinely. One neutral you will use constantly, one pattern you love, one metallic or foil for edges and corners. A wall of washi looks wonderful and gets used at about the same rate as three rolls. Start at washi tape and add as you find gaps.
Die cuts and ephemera
Die cuts are the fastest way to make a page look finished, because someone else already did the cutting and the composition. They matter most on a page where you have text and nothing to break it up. A few go a long way.
If you would rather start with one box
The Junk Journal Starter Kit is the four-item list above in a single purchase: a 5x7 disc-bound notebook, two vellum pockets, two die cuts, and coordinating washi tape.
Keep reading
• How to use washi tape: 10 beginner ideas
• How to store planner stickers and washi tape
• Planner discs for discbound notebooks