Summer is wrapping up. July and August for me were just as productive as June.

There were a few new things for me this summer and today I am going to talk about one of them- Midori Traveler’s Notebook.

Midori Traveler’s Notebook is a notebook system from Japan, and it’s basically a leather cover and various inserts that one can combine. The starter kit contains a high quality leather cover with rubber bands to hold the paper and the notebook itself together, and a blank notebook. The various inserts are then added (the number of inserts is limited since the leather cover is not very wide) . Among the inserts options are planner (monthly or weekly); grid, lined or blank paper for journalling/note taking (for blank notebooks there is also a light paper version available, with more pages);  sketchbook; zipper pouch, kraft paper and kraft folder, card holders etc etc.  There are also accessories, such as folders to hold full notebooks, pens and pencil holders, paper clips and more.

I decided to use my regular sized Midori Traveler’s Notebook as a combination of three notebooks I used to have on me most of the time- a weekly planner(insert #019), a personal journal (#003)  and a sketchbook(#012) . I also added a zipper pouch (#008) and a kraft folder(#020). Total 5 inserts. I also got some sticker pockets (#023) which can be used for photos and small cards.

 

This entire set up cost me around $100, since I bought all the inserts from the original brand, but there are many knock offs on the market and Etsy is full of listings for inserts with various grids, paper in all colors and designs. There are also non-leather covers available from various makers and it is possible to find a cover at a low price in case if someone wants to try out the format and see if that’s for them. I personally haven’t tried any of non-brand inserts, so I can’t recommend anyone in particular, but the prices are generally lower and Etsy folks customize a lot as well.

Additional fun things that I got include stickers, washi tape, watercolor paint with a waterbrush and pens in different colors.

So far I’ve been using my monthly planner for 9 weeks and I enjoy it a lot. It was a big change from my Leuchtturm1917 notebook that housed my bullet journal, because on the A5 blank pages  I was spreading out as much as I pleased. Midori has a grid and just general lack of space forced me to be more contained. Strangely enough it didn’t impact my being organized much, I simply chose to write only important stuff down. I had to move my meal planning elsewhere, although I could squeeze it in as well. I found that I became a much more visual person in the recent year and started to heavily decorate my planner pages too.

The diary I used for two months now. 1 blank insert is enough for 1 month for me . I write a lot and also started to do some art on the spreads at least every other day. I also used it as a travel journal on my day trip and it was lots of fun.

I am very pleased with the sketchbook insert , the pages hold watercolor quite well and the paper is white. The long/tall narrower page was a challenge to get used to, but I am using it comfortably after a while.

Zipper pouch is a huge plus, I only wish there were zipper pockets on both sides, rather then a pocket and a zipper, but overall I am rather happy with it. The kraft folder is my least used insert I think, but it held my boarding passes well on my trip, and I slide bookmarks and flyers there.

My notebook is quite bulky with all those inserts and thus quite heavy. Since I like large purses it’s ok. I do consider a passport size notebook which Midori also makes to carry around with smaller bags, but haven’t purchased it yet.

The paper quality is great, I do wish the notebooks laid flat, but with paper stapled together it’s not possible. So I just throw a bulldog clip in my pencil pouch as well.

I am greatly inspired by various youtubers (such as tiffy butter and Seaweed Kisses)  using Midori notebooks for their travels and just regular journalling. I do like how it works for me so far and appreciate the convenience of having it all together under one cover.

As always, see you on instagram @greenrainart ( go to #greenrainartmidori   for journalling updates) and  “art” pinterest 🙂