Blogmas Day- 7 : My Favourite Stationery Items of 2020 - Planner + Hobonichi Techo + Traveler's Notebook + Journals + Pencil Case.

 Hello Loves! 

Wanted to quickly share our (my sister's and my) favourite stationery items of the year. 

Unlike other years, where we buy a lot of stationery items like pens, stickers, washi tapes etc. from stores based out of Japan, Malaysia, Australia etc., this year, thanks to the pandemic, we've not been able to order much international stationery at all! 

Shipping to India from foreign countries is only available via courier and that almost always translates into ridiculously high customs fees even for tiny items like pens, stickers etc.! Not worth ordering any of these right now. 

However, not buying new supplies meant that we could dip into and use up so much of our existing stationery supplies! We've done a really good job of using up several stickers, washi tapes and pens that we already owned! So, a sort of a win-win! 

So, anyway, these two planners have been our steadfast companions this year, not so much as planners per se, but as memory keepers. 

This is my planner from Alicia Souza. I have been documenting my days and doing a little bit of planning in it. 

This is a pretty good planner. It has the right amount of space for each day and also has a monthly layout for important events/ appointments etc. Plus, it also has habit trackers for tracking one's menstrual cycle,  hydration etc. So, that's all pretty good. The paper quality is decent as well and the illustrations are cute. 

The only annoying thing about this planner (for me) was that each week did not start on a fresh page. It is a teeny tiny peeve, but it annoys me when a new week starts from the same page! 

This is the cover of my sister's Hobonichi Techo. She has been using a Hobonichi planner since 2013. She uses it as a memory keeper and has a different planner for her work and home planning. 

She has not really done a ton of memory keeping this year, but hopes to do better next year! 

The tan pencil case has been my sister's constant companion since she bought it in early 2019! It is from an Etsy store and has a pretty floral print inside. She loves it because it is cute and spacious and fits her various pens, pencils and brushes! 

My journaling too took a slight hit in 2020. 

I journaled sort of regular from January to April. 

Then took a break from May-September. 

I missed it but I felt too bogged down by life to spend any time writing down my feelings or spending time lost in my thoughts. When I figured I could handle a deeper dive into my thoughts and feelings, I went back to my journal. 

I journaled in an A6 sized traveler's notebook all of 2020. 

I went through a couple of inserts and changed the dori every couple of months for variety and fun. 

This (above) is an insert from Kikki K, one of my favourite places to buy stationery. 

I love the minty and summer vibes of this notebook. 

More journal pages. 

I use stickers from all over the place to decorate. 

But mainly from Etsy shops and La Dolce Vita and Bon Bon Stickers. 

Traveler's Notebooks are the best way to journal and keep all your yearly inserts in one place. 

I love love love this gorgeous plum coloured leather dori from a place called Meadowcraft on Etsy (I don't think this shop exists anymore) I used it for the second half of 2020. 

Some more beautiful inserts. 

From The Ink Bucket and Kikkik. 

I used this gorgeous navy blue dori from The Black Canvas in the first half of the year.

I used this bow from The Planner Society to decorate it. 

One of my BIGGGGGG Stationery loves was finally getting an Ikea Raskog cart for my stationery supplies. I've wanted one for absolutely ages and we got one right before the lockdown started and we set it up and used it to store our planners, journals, most used pens and highlighters and kept the bottom most shelf for a majority of our washi tapes. 

I love it so much. 

It's so convenient. 

Useful. 

Takes up such little space. 

Easy to assemble. 

 

So glad I finally bought it. 

This is my shelf. 

I keep my pencil cases and my planner on it for easy reach. 

Such a good addition to my life. 

I got mine off of Amazon. 

When it came to pencil cases, this guy right here was one I used pretty much alllll year round. 

A hardcase unicorn pen and pencil case. 

I got it off of Amazon and it's cute, spacious and a great way to keep a bunch of pens and highlights in on place. 

I also love this pink organiser that I bought from Ali Express for under 10 dollars. 

I use it to store my glitter markers and other gel pens. 

Slim.

Pretty.

Useful. 

Between the two of these I was totally sorted when it came to my pencil case needs. 

So, those were our favourite stationery items from 2020. Hopefully, we can get back to buying pretty washi tapes and stickers next year! Sigh. 

Take care, fam! Stay safe!