If you want to start a commonplace book or if you’re already keeping one, you’re going to love these highly customizable Commonplace Book Journal Inserts!
Hi, what’s up!?
Welcome back to My True Life and if you’re new here: I’m Kaya-Quintana and I love all things journaling, planning, bullet journaling, collaging, stationery and of course: using my commonplace book.
I started my first commonplace book in 2020, because I realized I have a very curious mind. I love learning and discovering new things. I’m addicted to documenting and archiving experiences. I realized that constantly trying to remember cool facts, interesting information and ideas took up too much brain space. Making it harder for me to focus on daily tasks.
That's why keeping a commonplace book is the best solution ever! Because now I can archive everything I don't want to forget in one place and I don’t have to constantly remember it all. I simply check my commonplace book whenever I’m looking for inspiration, motivation, an idea, a source or a reference.
But I ran into a few problems...
Those problems annoyed and frustrated me so much while commonplace booking, I decided to design and produce the My True Life’s original ‘Commonplace Book Journal Inserts.’ This gave me the chance to tackle all of the challenges I have using a normal notebook as a commonplace book, and now I can enjoy using the commonplace book process again. Yay!
So these are the problems I ran into with commonplace booking and how I fixed them for you and me:
❌ Notebooks are bound
You can’t reorganize the pages. I mean you can, but you’d have to rip pages out and glue them back in the right places. Which is why I bought myself an A5 ring binder. This gives me the freedom I need to create my own system with inserts. I can switch everything around by theme, subject, location or page number. I realized that this works really well for people like me, people who archive a lot of information on a daily basis.
✅ Which is the reason why I designed Commonplace book journal inserts, instead of releasing a bound notebook that doesn't give you any customization or personalization options.
❌ Terrible paper quality
Then I ran into another problem, because most journal inserts are made of very flimsy paper and the quality is quite bad. If you are an avid commonplace booker like me, you probably flip through your book a lot. You use stickers, ephemera and glue. Thin paper won’t hold up with all of that weight. It will crease, crinkle and rip.
❌ Aging and yellowing paper
The paper I used in the past has already started yellowing around the edges, even though I store my commonplace book in a dark place.
❌ Ghosting and bleeding
I also really love using different pens and inks depending on my mood or the commonplace book entry subject. But most available journal inserts are not thick enough to prevent ghosting and bleeding.
I fixed those problems
And this is how I did it with the My True Life Commonplace Book Journal Inserts by using:
✅ 170 GSM archival paper. FSC®-Certified, Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF), and OBA free (no optical brighteners).
✅ Thick, durable paper with minimal risk of bleeding and ghosting. Tested with a wide range of fountain pen inks, gel pens, pencils, fineliners, markers, and highlighters.
❌ Modern journal insert designs
I personally don’t like those super modern and minimal journal inserts that most brands make. It's because I associate keeping a commonplace book with a more retro, vintage and academic feeling. It's the reason I created my signature archival-style layout. This design is perfect for everyone who loves that nostalgic "I was just in the library" feeling, or the dark academia, romantic writer aesthetic.
✅ My signature archival-style
But don't be fooled, this is not just a cool design! It's also very practical for writers, students, researchers, and creatives who love a simple archiving system with lots of room for personalization and creativity. The top of the page has a header which is perfect for archival purposes. On the bottom right you can find a spot for page numbers. This allows you to create your own system and order.
Whether you want to archive everything per subject, theme, place, location, date or page number. You can even create a key with a color coded system using dot stickers. Something else you will probably love is the fact that the pages are double sided for customization and creativity.
For example: document inspiring quotes, facts and ideas on the front. Use the back of the insert to glue in a mood board, stickers and ephemera. Then use the 'Commonplace Book Journal Inserts' to create your own system for archiving all your thoughts, best ideas, sketches, favorite quotes, and interesting facts.
Some extra cool features you don't want to miss
✅ Soft cream-white tone with a gentle-on-the-eyes sepia-colored design.
✅ Each page features a fine 3.28mm grid, perfect for writing, sketching, or gluing in photos and ephemera.
✅ 1 set contains 40 pages (20 double-sided sheets) for €18, but you can get a 10% discount if you sign up for the newsletter. And remember that this is 170 GSM paper, so you get a nice thick stack of ‘Commonplace Book Journal Inserts.’
✅ A5 sized pages (5.8 x 8.3 inches / 148 x 210mm), fits most standard and popular A5 ring binders up to 6 rings like Filofax binders.
✅ You can choose a set of 'Commonplace Book Journal Inserts' with 6-hole punches or the unpunched version if you like customizing your pages.
I know, sounds good right!? I hope these Commonplace Book Journal Inserts give you the freedom you crave. A way to use your commonplace book for years to come, because you actually enjoy putting it together exactly the way you like it. If you buy a set, most definitely let me know what you think about it. You can also reach me on Instagram and TikTok @mytruenl or send me an e-mail at hello@mytruelife.nl.
Now off you go! It's time to put your new My True Life 'Commonplace Book Journal Inserts' to good use.
Stick to your plans,
Kaya-Quintana
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