Junk journaling: the origins and its rise in popularity today

TikTok has a way of reinventing ideas as the “new” trend, bringing longtime practices to light, and junk journaling is no exception.

I discovered the concept of junk journaling two months ago when I looked up ‘journal’ on TikTok. I expected ASMR videos of writing journal entries to pop up, but I found creators sharing the content of the pictures, drawings, stickers, wrapping paper and more in ‘junk journals.’

I love scrapbooking, so what struck me about this practice?

TikTok is a platform that heavily focuses on creative expression, DIY content and repurposing materials. Over a year ago, Karli Predieri, a senior education major, found people doing it on TikTok and decided to make one of her own.

“Junk journaling is basically just taking, anytime you go somewhere – on a trip or something – you take little pieces. I do a lot of receipts and coasters,” Predieri said. “Whatever I’m doing, I keep stuff. It’s a way to look back on all the things I’ve done throughout the year.”

Photo by Josie Zimmerman | The Miami Student
Zimmerman shared some of Predieri's junk journal spreads.

Junk journaling has deep historical roots. According to Justine Jenkins, historians claim that journals and diaries existed as far back as the Middle Ages. During this period, the ability to read and write was reserved for the upper class of society.

The practice dates back to the 19th-century tradition of scrapbooking, where families recorded their lives and events through mementos. This was done to capture significant life events, such as weddings, funerals, and childbirth.

Around this time, printing companies emerged, and beautiful art and designs became more accessible in cards, postcards, and even advertisements. The invention of the camera in the 1820s only further encouraged the documentation of everyday life.

By the end of the 1800s, families were gathering and sticking their items into any book they had, including ledgers or blank books. Flash forward to the 20th century — stores committed to scrapbooking began cropping up in the 1990s and 2000s.

Photo by Josie Zimmerman | The Miami Student
Zimmerman decorated the cover of her journal.

TikTok user Johannaclough described junk journaling through her junk journals in the last 10 years.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

“Traditionally a book [is] made out of various papers (originating from ‘junk,’ which is where it gets its name, but can be a mix of anything you want),” the caption read.

Often when people think of journaling, they think of keeping a diary. Predieri shared what makes junk journaling unique: it uses things that would otherwise be thrown away.

Photo by Josie Zimmerman | The Miami Student
People who participate in junk journaling have a lot of creative freedom with their designs.

“You’re taking a lot of what you have and a lot of stuff that you would typically throw away, and you’re making it into a keepsake and something to reflect on,” Predieri said. “I add pictures also, which helps me remember the event.”

Since learning about junk journaling, I have incorporated it into my own journal life by decorating my diaries, Bible and recently my first junk journal. Gathering stickers, saving cards and papers, and making use of scraps puts my body at ease.

Something about it feels freeing – there are no hard and fast rules about junk journaling. People can just paste whatever they want onto a piece of paper and make it pretty without perfection as the main goal.

Photo by Josie Zimmerman | The Miami Student
Zimmerman uses different scraps to put together her junk journal.

So why junk journaling? Why do the TikTok girls gravitate towards the practice of immortalizing trinkets and scraps that would otherwise be thrown away?

Predieri has a love-hate relationship with today’s world transitioning everything to technology.

“I really like that junk journaling is like a tangible thing, because I have something to look back on,” Predieri said. “I love that there are digital pictures you can look back on, but there’s nothing like having something tangible in your hands that you can look at.”

Junk journaling holds the appeal of tangibility in a digital age, where most people keep their pictures on their phones and sometimes never develop them into physical frames. Social media also plays into this curated depiction of life, whereas junk journaling embraces authenticity.

Physical proof of life events feels different for Predieri compared to what is stored behind a screen.

“Especially with AI and whatnot, a lot of stuff can be edited,” Predieri said. “It doesn’t feel as personal to me when you’re doing it online…and it doesn’t feel as unique as doing it physically.”

zimmer82@miamioh.edu