My Homemade ‘Faux Dori’ Journal
This is my ‘Every Day Carry’ journal. I made it small enough to go everywhere with me. It fits in (most of) my pants’ pockets. I included a wallet. Which means it has to go with me, as the wallet holds my ID which I am required to have with me at all times. It measures 4½” x 6¼” x 1¼” – my pockets are fairly large!
The contents of my journal are organized as follows; each section represents around ¼ of the journal’s total thickness:
- Bullet Journal, 100 pages. Apica CD10-NV notebook (A6)
- Personal Journal, 100 pages. Apica CD10-NV notebook (A6)
- Sketch pad, 80 pages. Homemade.
- Wallet, 8 pages. Homemade from 100lb Cardstock.
Note: see updates below, for how this has changed over time.
My wallet insert holds a total of twelve ID / Credit / Debit / Membership cards and includes two pockets for cash. I would have preferred to have been able to fit 6 cards in a two-page spread, but with an A6 journal the pages are not tall enough.
I made the wallet with 100lb cardstock reinforced with sticky tape and glued with PVA glue. At first, I was concerned that my cards and ID would fall out, but in five months of everyday use, it seems to be holding up just fine.
Close-up showing how the contents of my journal are organized. Each section represents around ¼ of the journal’s total thickness of 1¼”.
Updates
- After six months of use, I decided to drop the wallet section from my journal. The wallet made the journal too big for an Everyday Carry item, so I switched to this: Ridge Wallet and Journal.
- After a year, I reviewed my journal use and decided to move the sketchbook and personal journal into a separate Journal cover. With the extra space in my everyday Carry Journal, I added a new notebook exclusively for ‘collections’ (a bullet journalling term for specific related content). That has meant that I can use much shorter Bullet Journal entries, much more in line with the original Bullet Journalling concept, and my notebooks last longer. Two wins!
Copyright © 2016 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.