If you're constantly feeling overwhelmed with your messy desk,
chances are you have too much stuff to manage.
Taking a minimalist approach to your stationery can make your desk a more productive and calming space.
If you’ve been thinking of embracing the minimalist lifestyle, keep watching for tips
on how to apply it to your stationery collection.
Make sure to like and subscribe to our channel for more videos like this every week!
1.
Catalog your current collection.
It’s easy to lose track of the pens, notebooks, or stickers you might have collected over the years.
Before you can transition to minimalism, you have to know what’s in your collection .
Write a catalog of each stationery item you own.
Cataloging also lets you narrow down essential items and focus on what you need every day.
Should you have multiples of the same item, consider setting them aside to use later
or give to friends.
If you’re itching to buy a new pen, you can come back and reference your catalog to
determine if you really need it.
We recommend organizing your collection by category and keeping it in one place instead
of multiple locations around your house.
This can help you be more aware of your belongings and discourage clutter.
For example, once you can see all of the notebooks you already own in one place,
you’re less likely to buy another notebook that you don’t need.
2.
Figure out what works for you.
Embracing minimalism doesn’t mean you have to follow a rigid set of rules.
As a concept, it can be applied in many different ways.
While some people may be able to set a firm limit on how many items they own, not everyone
can downsize to that degree.
If certain pens or notebooks are meaningful to you and bring you joy, then they belong
in your collection.
You can ask yourself, “if I lost or used this up, would I buy it again?” to determine
how important something is to you.
Minimalism doesn’t mean throwing out everything you own, rather it's about learning to better appreciate
the things that bring both functionality and meaning to your life.
Once you’ve catalogued your current collection, figure out what method of minimalism works
for you.
This can include setting personal rules for how you curate your stationery collection,
such as the 1 in 1 out rule: if you buy something new, it must replace something you already have.
Or, you could set a rule to give away items that you haven’t touched at all in the past year.
Another method could simply be reorganizing your stationery and decluttering every quarter or so.
3.
Stick to high quality & refillable items.
If you do need new stationery, buy refillable and high quality items: this follows the minimalist
mindset of being intentional about the things you keep.
Higher quality stationery lasts longer and reduces the need to buy replacements.
Plus, it prevents unnecessary waste—you won’t be throwing away pens or binders every year.
We recommend investing in fountain pens like the TWSBI ECO Fountain Pen; it’s simple
yet elegant in appearance, with a sleek, transparent barrel.
It only uses bottled ink, so you don’t have to replace plastic cartridges.
We also suggest switching to refillable notebooks like the Kokuyo Campus Smart Ring Binder Notebook.
It features rings that open so you can rearrange and insert pages.
When you’ve used up all the paper, you can choose from a selection of refills, including
graph, lined, and even study planner sheets.
4.
Buy multi-functional items.
Instead of buying every color of an item just for the aesthetic, go for supplies that have
multiple functions.
This can help streamline your collection, and you won’t be overwhelmed with options
when picking a pen to write with.
The Uni Jetstream Slim Compact Multi Pen is a great choice as it features a clean, monochromatic body design
and three ink colors
If you prefer your pen to have a little more functionality, the Meister by Point Pen in
Ruler offers a pen, pen holder, and ruler all in one.
The pen is made of aluminum so it feels sturdy yet lightweight to write with, and it works
with a wide selection of refills.
The pen holder, also made of aluminum, has an eleven centimeter ruler printed along its edge.
If you’re looking for a multi-functional pen case, we recommend the Kokuyo NeoCritz Pencil Cases.
At first glance it looks like any other pencil case, but it transforms into a pen stand for your desk!
Just unzip the case, and fold the top back.
5.
Be conscious of visual and audible clutter.
In addition to physical clutter, avoid visual and audible clutter.
Visual clutter is when your eyes are constantly taking in everything from your surroundings
and can’t rest.
Sticking to a simple color scheme can help minimize distractions.
Similarly, solid colors are more relaxing than loud or busy patterns.
When choosing a color scheme, you don’t have to limit yourself to a monochromatic
or grayscale look—mixing and matching colors is fine if the colors work well together,
like earth tones or gentle pastels.
Audible clutter may be less obvious to pick up on, but it can still contribute to an uncomfortable environment.
A source of audible clutter could be harsh binder ring sounds or noisy pens.
We recommend the Zebra bLen Ballpoint Pen, which has been carefully designed to eliminate
vibrations and rattling noises when writing.
The pen is exceptionally smooth to write with and comfortable to grip.
If you’re thinking of curating your stationery collection, we hope this video has been helpful.
Do you have any other tips?
If so, let us know in the comments below!
Thanks for watching!