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If you’ve even just dipped your toes into the planner community, you’ve probably heard about traveler’s notebooks. If you had no idea there was even a planner community, this post will still help you to understand just what a traveler’s notebook is, what to use it for, and how to use one. Just a heads up, you can use these things for much more than just a general planner! So let’s dive in and I’ll teach you about traveler’s notebooks for beginners.
What is a traveler’s notebook?
A traveler’s notebook is basically a leather material book cover, that comes in various sizes (passport, pocket, personal, B6, etc.). You don’t have to worry about the different sizes just yet. That is a whole other topic. Inside, the notebook will have elastic string running along the spine. The number of elastic strings can vary greatly depending on the company that makes the notebook and/or the size of the traveler’s notebook. Usually though, the wider the spine of the notebook, the more strings it will have because it will hold more inserts. Don’t worry, I will explain what inserts are in just a bit.
Some traveler’s notebooks are simple and only have the elastic strings on the inside. You may find that others have pockets on the inside of the notebooks in the front, back, or both. Now that you know the basics of what a traveler’s notebook is, let’s move on to their use.
What do you use a traveler’s notebook for?
I was introduced to traveler’s notebooks through the planner community. People began buying the notebooks from The Traveler’s Company (previously called, Midori), who actually made the traveler’s notebook concept popular. The people in the planner community were obviously using them as a form of planner however, after the concept of traveler’s notebooks caught on, people began buying multiple notebooks and creating multiple uses for them. Now, there are countless small businesses and companies all over the internet making and selling their own version of a traveler’s notebook.
Aside from buying planner inserts and using a traveler’s notebook as a planner, many people use them as journals. Journal inserts can be purchased and placed inside the traveler’s notebook or, if you can find the correct size, bound journals can also be used in the traveler’s notebooks. People also use traveler’s notebooks for taking notes, brain dumps, bill trackers, fitness tracking, keeping notes and information for their children, keeping track of house projects, making lists, keeping their businesses organized, and so much more.
Personally, I am using one traveler’s notebook as a place to brain dump about this blog, ideas I may have for it, and my website information. I also run a small photography business and keep one insert in the front for that business information as well. There is also a monthly, weekly, and daily insert inside my traveler’s notebook to help schedule and keep track of everything that needs to get done. I have a separate traveler’s notebook just for journaling and watercolor painting.
So you see, traveler’s notebooks can be used for so much. You can use just one to hold many different inserts, like I am currently doing or buy a traveler’s notebook for each different use. It’s completely up to you. Now that you know what a traveler’s notebook is and what you can use them for, I will explain the more technical side of them and just how you actually use the traveler’s notebook cover, the elastic string inside, and the inserts that go inside of the traveler’s notebook.
How do you use a traveler’s notebook?
I mentioned earlier that traveler’s notebooks have elastic strings inside of them on the spine. Well, these elastic strings hold paper inserts in the notebook. Inserts can be found on Amazon, Etsy, and once you do your research on Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms, you can find small businesses that make their own inserts that you can also purchase. Inserts can be physical items that you purchase or digital downloads that you buy and print out yourself for your notebook.
When buying inserts for your traveler’s notebook, it is important to know what size notebook you have. This is when sizing will become an important factor in traveler’s notebooks. I may do a post all about the different sizes but you can also check out Pinterest because there’s loads of information on there about traveler’s notebook sizing that will help you determine what size is right for you.
Once you have your traveler’s notebook and some inserts to put in it, you have to know how to put the inserts into the traveler’s notebook. Keep in mind that each elastic holds one insert. If you have a traveler’s notebook that has four elastic strings inside of it, then it can hold four inserts. There are methods to add more inserts than elastic strings, but I’ll go more in-depth with that another time.
To put an insert onto one of the elastic strings, open the insert and find the middle of it. Slide the insert under the elastic string until the elastic and the middle of the insert are in line with each other. Repeat this for each insert and elastic to put multiple inserts into your traveler’s notebook.
It is a very simple concept but can be hard to word. The pictures below should help you to better understand how to put inserts into your traveler’s notebook.
If you’ve made it this far then I hope that you now have learned the basics of a traveler’s notebook. The concept of them may seem sort of confusing but in reality, they are very simple but genius systems for anyone that needs a planner, journal, or anything really, that they would like to keep track of by paper. If you’d like to see one in person, check out a Michael’s Craft Store. The ones there are cheaply made but will give you a hands on experience of what they actually look like and how they function.
If you’re ready to purchase one, here is the one I bought on Amazon a few years ago when I got started with traveler’s notebooks. The leather is amazingly soft, it’s inexpensive, and comes with its own inserts! That means that you won’t have to worry if you’ve bought the right size inserts for the traveler’s notebook and it will be easy to set up when it arrives!
When you’re ready to purchase a high quality, amazing traveler’s notebook, go to the Leather Quill Shoppe. This is where I purchase mine and I can tell you from experience, that Brett and Mandy, the owners, will provide you with a product that you will be proud to have purchased and show off to everyone! I’ve even met them both in person at their new store and home in Vernon, Michigan and they are super nice and care about each one of their customers! If you are ever near Vernon, MI, make sure you go down to Main Street and find the Leather Quill Shoppe! You won’t be disappointed!
If this post was helpful or if you have any questions or comments about traveler’s notebooks, please let me know below in the comments section or email me at brianadayle@yahoo.com. I would love to hear from you! And if you think someone else would like to read all about traveler’s notebooks, be sure to share this post!
