NatStatWeek- My favourite stationery: Notebooks

Sorry for another late post, I had a busy and stressful day yesterday- we had to take our cat to the vets (she's ok now!), I got an email saying I didn't get the job I really wanted and thought I'd get, which upset me a lot, and then I found a vacancy for another job I've been looking for, so I spent an hour applying for that and got an interview, but I used to work there so I'm 99% sure they'll give me the job. After all that stress, I spent the evening playing Sims 3, which is what I do when I'm upset or stressed, and I completely forgot about the blog post!!

I have lots of notebooks. Lots and lots! Probably more than I will ever need!
I'm not very good at using them because whenever I start one, with a purpose for it like for drafting a novel, or for an Egyptology project, I change my mind about what to use it for after 3 pages and then feel like I've ruined the notebook! This doesn't happen with Filofaxes, because I can just take a page out and start again!
But I still LOVE to buy them, collect them, look at them on my shelf!
Most of my notebooks are unused (in fact, I'd say 80% of them!), and I think the rest are unfinished. Maybe one day I'll use up my current stash, but I don't think I'll ever stop buying them, so I think it's a never-ending situation!

My favourite ones are the pocket Moleskine-esque (actually Blackwells bookshop knock-offs!) ones, which are filled with notes, to-do lists, assignment lists, essay ideas, etc etc from university! I used to keep it in the front pocket of my handbag, and I'd just grab it and scribble whatever was on my mind- they truly are brain dumps! I loved to flick through the pages and see them full of writing. I used to read through them while walking home from uni, and put a diagonal line through the to-dos that were done, ideas that had already been implemented into essays, notes that weren't needed any more. I loved how the paper became indented onto the other side when I wrote with a biro. I used a 4-colour pen, and sometimes I colour-coded, sometimes it was random. I LOVE these notebooks, because they truly are my brain on paper. Random, eclectic, messy- and only I can make sense of it!

Personal Notes etc

Uni notes

Here's my rather large collection of notebooks on my bookcase and in my basket by my desk!

 

Smaller, pocket sized to A5 sized notebooks. Most of these are unused, and too cute to use!!

Bigger notebooks, from A5 to A4! I use these for research notes, language learning etc, so they get used more than my pocket notebooks. I'm not as precious about them as my cute smaller notebooks!

 

NatStatWeek- My favourite stationery: Mechanical Pencils

I really love mechanical pencils! I like writing with pencils anyway; they are very useful as it doesn't matter if I make mistakes, I don't have to worry about colour-coding, it doesn't go through cheap paper like some inky pens do, and my handwriting looks quite good when I write with them!
    But I often drop my writing implements (I carry too much at once!), and regular pencils break really easily! Continually sharpening blunt pencils, or especially annoying broken leads, is frustrating and often difficult to do when you are on-the-go, or don't have a sharpener or a bin around! Plus I don't really like the bare/varnished/painted wood that pencils are usually made of, and they are too thin for me to hold comfortably in my fingers.

But I love mechanical pencils! They don't break as easily as normal pencils, the leads last for ages, the barrels/bodies are generally easier to hold and more comfortable for your fingers as they are similar to pen barrels, and they are relatively economical.

 Zebra Mechanical Pencils, 2 of a set of 5- zebra print, leopard print, and the other is tiger print.
These are really cute because they look like normal pencils, but are made from pencil instead of wood. They even have the metal part and the eraser at the top, and the 'wooden' bit at the bottom where the lead comes out. You push on the eraser and the lead gets pushed out like a normal mechanical pencil.

Lamy Safari red mechanical pencil- I love the Lamy Safari fountain pens, so I extended this to the Lamy mechanical pencil! It's a bit slimmer and smaller than the fountain pens, but has the same great design.

My favourite mechanical pencil- Uni Kuru Toga!! I LOVE this pencil! I also have one in pink.
The ingenious thing about these pencil is that the special mechanism inside, made of cogs and wheels, rotates the lead a tiny bit every time the pencil is touched against the paper. This means that the lead never gets blunt, so you don't have to turn the pencil in your fingers to use the sharper side of the lead, which means the lead doesn't snap off!! The nib stays perfectly not-too-sharp + not-blunt all the time! The diagram below demonstrates. This means that you don't have to keep rotating the pencil in your fingers to get the sharp lead- which takes some getting used to, as you unconsciously do this when you use a regular pencil or even a regular mechanical pencil!
It's such a good invention, it changes the way you write so much!!

NatStatWeek- My favourite stationery: Sticky Notes!

(Sorry for this post being late! ;b )

I have a lot of sticky notes (a.k.a. Post-It notes), but how can I not- they're so useful!!
I use them for taking quick notes that I only need temporarily, for lists etc on my dashboard/WO2P and other places in my planner, and for more permanent info in my Egyptology research filo, which I can move from page to page as I work, and then stick them down again to store them.

I actually prefer cheaper sticky notes because I mostly use them for temporary things, so I don't want to use expensive (i.e. Post-It brand) ones, when I'm only going to use them for a couple of things and then throw them away. So I don't mind if they don't stick very well!
But for things that need to stick for longer- e.g. in my Egyptology filofax- I use 3M brand's Super Sticky Post-It Notes!
I really like cute and novelty sticky notes, but when they're limited edition (e.g. seasonal ranges from Paperchase) or ones I won't be able to get again (e.g. grid Post-Its from the USA sent to me by Kristin), I feel like I can't use the, so I keep them in my stationery box and I don't use them!

Here are some photos of my collection :)

These are my main sticky notes in one of my Hello Kitty boxes :) A mixture of Martha Stewart, Post-It Super Sticky, cheap ones from supermarkets etc, and other ones. I take this box to my desk so I can use my sticky notes there, or with me when I'm working in bed with my filos or books :)

The sticky notes drawer in the set of drawers on my coffee table. It's basically the same contents as my Hello Kitty box duplicated, but missing a few as I can't fit them all in. The big pink one is my new Post-It block I got quite cheap from Staples! I love this drawer as it is so useful when I'm sitting on my sofa, it's within an arm's reach so I don't have to get up ;b (Lazy me!!)

Martha Stewart Avery sticky notes and tabs sent from the USA by Amy! I feel like I shouldn't use them as lots of them are discontinued and I can't get them again, but I've got some others I bought from Staples here in the UK which I'm using, so I might start using them after those!

These are my novelty and cute sticky notes, mainly from Paperchase, but also others I got as gifts, e.g. Hello Kitty :)

NatStatWeek- My favourite stationery: Pens!!

It's National Stationery Week in the UK!! I think it should be international really, so everyone around the world, come and join us celebrating!!

 

To celebrate, I am doing a series of blog posts this week, showing you my favourite stationery items!

Today: Pens! 

I really love pens, they are some of the greatest tools for me. Besides paper and my laptop, I really can't think of anything else that I NEED for my working life (university included), hobbies, projects and personal life. 

I really think that pens are some of the best things to invest in. I don't mind using poor quality paper, cheap sticky notes etc, but pens are something I prefer to spend money on to buy quality. If you buy cheap pens which are of poor quality, you could end up with a pot full of pens that don't work well, and feel obliged to use them up. But if you buy quality, those pens will last you ages, won't dry up, won't fade, etc etc. And you will enjoy using them!

My aim is to get rid of all my cheapy pens (I recently gave loads of cheap biros to my mum, who doesn't care about good stationery, she will use anything!!), and only have great quality pens that I actually need!

Some pens I don't really like, e.g. gel pens, which always skip for me :(

My favourites!

Fountain pens:

Lamy Safari Aquamarine, Safari Pink, Al-Star Raspberry, Vista, Safari Apple Green, a Waterman pen, Rosetta Magellan, and Parker Urban Pink. (I also have a Al-Star in Purple, but I can't find it at the moment!)

I LOVE Lamy fountain pens, specifically Lamy Safari, Al-Star and Vista. I have a couple of more expensive fountain pens, and some more on my wishlist, but I love my Lamys more than any of them! They are lightweight, pretty colours, I love the design, and the strong clip! I have to have quite lightweight pens because I only have small hands. The Parker and Rosetta pens are too heavy for me, so they make my hand hurt and my writing poor- but the Lamys are perfect.

My other favourite writing pen:

Uniball Eye Micro in black!
I use this when I'm not using my fountain pens. I love it because it is a great writer, it never skips (ever!), it doesn't tend to bleed through cheap paper (including Filofax paper), it's permanent and it's waterproof, which means you can use a highlighter over it and the ink won't run!

More lovely pens:

A Vera Bradley ballpoint pen from the lovely Kristin; a big chunky resin/glass ballpoint pen I bought years ago from The Works; a pretty Swarovski lilac ballpoint I won from Karina; a Hello Kitty Liberty ballpoint; and an Egyptian Exhibition souvenir ballpoint pen from The British Museum where the mummified body moves through the Book of the Dead's judgement scene to the sarcophagus as you tilt the pen!!

Favourite coloured pens:

Stabilo Point 88s in the pen wrap my mum helped me make!
I love these pens, the colours are so vibrant and they work great for my colour-coding! They bleed through cheaper paper a tiny bit, but it's worth it :)

Multi-coloured pens:

Pilot Coleto Lumio with black, blue, red and pencil inserts (I have a pink Coleto with green, light blue, purple and pink, but I can't find it at the moment!); Muji 3-colour plus pencil multi-pen; Zebra 4-colour pen; Bic Fashion 4-colour pen.

More coloured pens:

This tin pot contains lots of assorted coloured pens, including my favourite felt-tip pens, from Crayola; sparkly gel pens; two more Muji multi-coloured pens, and some more coloured biros :)


Tune in for more posts this week about my other favourite stationery items! 

March Organisation Challenge: The Results!!

Hi guys!

I'm finally getting around to showing you the 'After' of my March Organisation Challenge!

I managed to finish the challenge on the last day of the month, and I'm really proud of myself because I thought it would take me until the first few days of April! 

Since then I've managed to keep my room quite tidy and I love how organised it is compared to how it used to be!

I haven't gone with the minimalist approach, because I don't think I could ever be one! I love my 'stuff', and I do try to get rid of the things I don't need, but I think most of what I have I need, and the rest of it has sentimental value!

So my room might look like it has a lot of stuff in it, but now the majority of those things are organised, and I just love it!

The things that still need sorting I'm in the process of doing, I have a list in my Filofax which I implement into my weekly to-dos, so I hope my long-term projects in my room will be finished soon!

I decided to make a video because I wanted to show you more than photos can do! Please enjoy :)