I have never been a crafty person. You could say I’m artistic in the way that I love to write, read, and admire art, but when it comes to the art of crafting, I’m no better than a toddler. I want to be good at tye-dying shirts, building Legos, and creating my kids’ school projects, but my attention to detail is limited (to put it nicely).
When I heard about junk journaling from a viral post on social media, I was transfixed. I’m a disorganized person in general, but I collect things from my travels (and know exactly where they are, even if they’re in piles). I realized that junk journaling could be the perfect addition to my life, especially after reading how beneficial it could be for the whole family.
So, what is junk journaling, and how does it differ from standard journaling? More importantly, how can the whole family get involved to bond? Let’s find out.
First Things First: What Is Junk Journaling?
Unlike traditional journaling, where you put pen to blank paper, junk journaling uses mixed media, various materials, and altered books. Junk journaling may sound chaotic, but it’s a wonderful and fun way to collect small materials and thoughts and add them to pages.
Example: Let’s say you have a journal that’s now the designated junk journal. While on your walk with your kids, they adorably picked you fresh flowers, their candy wrapper, and their map of the trail. Instead of tossing those small things, you and the whole family can tape or glue those momentos to a junk journal in any way you want, while writing down some of the memories of your walk.
Junk journaling is a fun way to keep even the most basic of memories. From the outside, your journal may seem chaotic and messy, but it’s filled with small and big, sad and sweet memories for the whole family.
How To Include The Family
Believe it or not, there are several benefits to scrapbooking or junk journaling as a family. The owner of Eat Play Say and pediatric speech-language pathologist, Jordyn Koveleski, explained that kids collecting momentos for their junk journals allows them to intentionally connect with and explore the world around them, as noted by Parents.
“When kids are collecting things, such as a napkin from the restaurant, a leaf from the park, or a sticker from a museum, they’re engaging with the world around them in a really intentional way.”
Koveleski beautifully shared that when intentionally collecting something, they notice details or observe things they may not have noticed before, because they’re looking for ideas for their junk journal. More importantly, gathering to make a junk journal brings everyone in the family together.
How to Include the Whole Family
- Pick out the journal together (make sure it has a lot of blank pages).
- Collect as a family. Whether you’re on a hike, on vacation, at the store, or at the bowling alley, look for momentos that could fit your junk journal.
- Allow your kids to create freely. They may want to express themselves on individual pages, too.
- Make sure everyone from the family adds something to the junk journal, whether it’s a memory or a physical object.
A junk journal is a fun, creative memory holder. Each page will have fun, bright, or simple pages that show the kind of days, excursions, or trips you have as a family.
Here’s How To Make A Junk Journal
Now that you know what a junk journal is and that it’s actually much more than just “junk,” let’s dive into how to make one.
Core Tools & Materials
- A journal with blank or colored pages.
- You could even do a book with printed pages if you wanted dimensions for your pages.
- Pens, pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils, gel pens, paint…
- Stamps, stickers, tape, a stapler, glue, or a glue stick.
- Wrapping paper, tissue paper, colored postcards, etc…
- Fabric scraps, ribbon, stickers, stamps
- Personal photos
- Moments from your day or travels (brochures, maps, leaves, flowers, food wrappers, receipts, etc…)
Don’t overthink what goes into your junk journal. The core theme is to be present and have fun collecting memories.
Have each family member (or a designated member) collect things from your day that were meaningful or helpful. Have fun putting the pieces together in your junk journal before writing a few blurbs about what made the outing special, chaotic, and beyond.
Be present, collect, reminisce, and have fun as a family. Soon enough, your junk journal will be full of wonderful, colorful moments.
