People are constantly looking for new wellness habits and hobbies, especially when the new year rolls around and everyone is working on their resolutions and goals that aim to better themselves in different areas of their life. And if you’re one of those people, you can get a jump start on figuring out what you want to implement into your wellness journey in 2025. One fun hobby that’s been circulating social media recently that can serve as a creative outlet is a type of journaling that incorporates a bit of repurposeful crafting — and like with most social media trends, it of course has a cute and catchy name: junk journaling.Â
Junk journaling is a really cool idea if you like the idea of collecting small physical reminders from your life, but you either don’t like taking photos or don’t feel like printing out hard copies. It’s kind of similar to scrapbooking, except the books are usually smaller and you include items that you usually wouldn’t think to include in a typical scrapbook.Â
Think about the types of items you might typically throw away — such as stamps, brochures, cards, labels, old ticket stubs, wristbands from concerts or festivals, and so forth. While these things may no longer hold practical use, they’re great visual reminders of what you were up to on a specific day, helping you to document your thoughts, feelings, and memories from certain moments in time. You can also include personal items and mementos that you wouldn’t typically throw away, but also have no other good place for, such as handwritten notes, birthday cards, or even your old high school student ID. You can cohesively pair the words you write with the object on the page. Some people even go all-out and have a regular journal and a separate junk journal so they can experiment with both types of journaling.Â
TikTok is filled with inspo from different creators giving tutorials on where to start with junk journaling, offering tips, providing journalising ASMR, or just sharing different ideas for “junk items” to include in your journal. For example, if you really want to enhance your junk journaling experience and connect all your senses, one user on TikTok commented a pro tip to “fill your journal with perfume samples or tea bags for it to smell nice.” Another user on TikTok mentioned how junk journaling has been bettering their life and has loved it ever since they started. “I started junk journaling in June and it’s taken over my life! It’s so so fun!!! It makes life feel like a scavenger hunt.”Â
If you’re looking to get started, it’s really not hard. Just buy a journal — the type of journal you buy is up to you, and there are plenty of options available online or at any local drugstore — and, if you want, some supplies to help with decorating (think markers and glitter). That said, the beauty of junk journaling is that you don’t really need to buy any decorations since the whole point is you are recycling the items you already have into your journal (which is great for college students on a budget).Â
Basically, junk journaling is an aesthetically pleasing embodiment of the phrase, “everything but the kitchen sink.” When it comes to how you want to junk journal, the sky’s the limit. Happy junk journaling!