25 things to put in your junk journal (the desi edition)

Ever stood over your bag at the end of a day, holding a crumpled ticket, wondering whether to throw it away? That small hesitation is where a junk journal begins.

People ask us all the time what they should actually put in a junk journal. The internet is full of lists of vintage ephemera and printables, but the best pages are made from your own life. So here's our desi list: 25 everyday things you probably already have, that make lovely pages because they hold a memory.

One small rule before you start: keep it only if it means something. If you want the longer version of that thought, read why your junk journal isn't a trash journal.

Getting around

1. A metro or local train ticket. The token from your first ride on a new metro line, or the local pass from the year you commuted to college. Write where you were going.
2. A railway ticket or PNR printout. Overnight train journeys are pure nostalgia. Note the coach, the berth and who was in the seat across from you.
3. A bus or auto receipt from a new city. It's tiny, but it's proof you figured your way around.
4. A boarding pass. Especially from a first flight, a solo trip or a trip home after a long time.
5. A monument or museum entry ticket. Keep the ticket, add the date and the one thing you remember most from the visit.

Food, chai and everything in between

6. A tea bag tag or a sugar sachet from the café where you always end up.
7. A mithai box label from the sweet shop your family always goes to.
8. The wrapper of a childhood toffee you still buy without thinking.
9. A recipe in someone's handwriting. Ask your mum, nani or dadi to write down one dish for you. This one will mean more every year.
10. A bill from a family dinner. Next to it, write who ordered what and who argued about splitting it.

Festivals and celebrations

11. The names section of a wedding card. Cut out the part with the couple's names or the little Ganesha motif instead of keeping the whole bulky card.
12. A rakhi thread or a rakhi card from your sibling.
13. A festive greeting card. The handwritten ones, not the forwarded messages.
14. A mehendi design traced or sketched from a function you loved.
15. A birthday card with the message facing up, so you can read it every time you flip past.

For more festive pages, our Diwali junk journal ideas are full of them.

School, college and work

16. An old admit card or hall ticket. Laugh at the photo, remember the nerves.
17. A school or library ID card you couldn't bring yourself to throw away.
18. A note passed in class. Or the sticky note your flatmate left on the fridge.
19. Your first salary slip (fold or blur the private bits). A page about what you bought with it is a page you'll love later.
20. A newspaper clipping from a day that mattered: your results, a big match, the morning after something big happened.

Nature and small treasures

21. Pressed marigold petals or a leaf from a temple visit, a walk or a trip to the hills. Press them flat inside a heavy book for a week first.
22. A postcard from a place you went, or one a friend sent you.
23. A fabric scrap from a kurta or dupatta you wore until it fell apart.

You and your people

24. Small printed photos or a photo-booth strip. Phones hold thousands of pictures. A journal holds the few you actually want to keep close.
25. A letter to future you. Write it, seal it in an envelope, tape it in, and write the date you'll open it on the outside.

How to stick the tricky stuff

• Bulky things (thread, fabric, petals): tuck them into an envelope or a paper pocket glued to the page, so the journal still closes.
• Things you might want to take out again (a letter, a card): hold them down with washi tape instead of glue.
• Thin paper (receipts, tickets): a glue stick works best, and receipts fade, so write the details next to them.
• Always write one line. The date, who you were with, and why you kept it. That line is what turns a scrap into a memory.

New to all of this? Our junk journaling for beginners guide covers the basics.

A good place to start

You don't need much more than a notebook, glue, tape and the bits from the list above. If you'd like everything in one place, The Moodboard Junk Journal Kit (₹1,499) comes in a keepsake box with an A5 junk journal notebook, 8 sticker sheets, 18 craft sheets in assorted designs, scissors, glue, washi tape, 2 lace paper doilies, an envelope for your pocket page and a prompt card. Add your own tickets and notes, and it becomes yours.

Prefer a plain notebook? A sturdy one like Twilight Gradient or Swiggle-Wiggle (from ₹399) makes a lovely home for your memory pages.

And for the photos you can't stop looking at

Some memories deserve to sit out in the open. Put your favourite print on your desk in a Photo Card Holder (₹199), or on a shelf in a Wooden Photo Frame (₹499).

Start with one thing

You don't have to collect all 25. Look in your bag or your desk drawer right now, pick one thing that makes you smile, and give it a page. That's your junk journal started.