Essential Journaling Supplies for Beginners

When you’re just starting out, the world of journaling supplies can feel overwhelming. But let’s keep it simple: you don’t need a drawer full of pens or stacks of washi tape to get going. In fact, the right basic supplies are often the key to building a journaling habit that sticks.

In this post, I’ll walk you through the essentials I recommend for beginners — and share a few fun extras that can make journaling feel more creative, satisfying, and uniquely yours.

Journaling Supplies: The Must-Haves (And Why Quality Matters)

So, let’s start with your basic setup: What journaling supplies do you need? Let’s keep it very simple. You only need two items:

1. A good quality journal
2. A good quality pen

Let’s Start with Your Journal

There are two considerations when picking your journal: the look and feel of your journal and the weight of the paper.

How your journal looks and feels as you use it is a very important decision. It informs how excited you feel to pick up, open, and write in your journal. The same is true regardless of what type of journaling you decide on (bullet, morning pages, art, etc.).

The quality of the finish also has to be there, particularly if you journal every day. Consider how and where you’ll be journaling. For example, if you are travelling, you’ll want a journal cover that is going to take being thrown into a bag every day. If you want to start a junk journal, the cover should hold up to a bit of bending because your ephemera will soon explode out of your pages!

How your paper handles the journaling you want to do is also something to consider. You won’t want paper that shows bleed marks or ghosting if you write a lot. Likewise, you won’t want paper that doesn’t hold your ephemera well. I’d choose 120 gsm or higher, and 160 gsm if you plan to create an art journal.

Here are some of my favourites:

• If you like to free-write or brain dump, a lined journal like this keeps things simple
• If you enjoy structure but want flexibility, dot grid journals like this are perfect for layouts, trackers, or combining notes and doodles
• Blank journals like this are ideal if you want total creative freedom — perfect for sketching, collaging, or expressive journaling
• If you’re someone who likes neatness, a square grid (graph) layout like this is great for clean boxes, habit tracking, and lists
• Art journals like this have thicker paper (160gsm or more) so you can use paint, glue, or heavier materials without bleeding
• If you’re experimenting, a basic softcover notebook like this is a great way to test your style before committing.
• And if you like pretty things (who doesn’t?), go for a journal with a cover design like this that makes you want to pick it up every day

Choosing Your Pen

There’s something about a good pen that makes writing feel effortless and fun. And it’s a bonus to the journaling experience, particularly if you want to form a habit of it.

I don’t have a specific pen in mind for you, as your choice depends on what sort of journaling pens you enjoy using. You might like a fountain pen or a set of fine points. You might even prefer to use a high-quality biro. Whatever you choose, make sure you can restock when you need to. There’s nothing worse than a pen running out mid-way through a journal entry!

Here are some of my favourites:

• If you like a smooth writing experience, gel pens like these makes everything feel effortless
• Ballpoint pens are reliable and low-maintenance, perfect for everyday journaling
• If you like bold colours, a set of coloured fine-liners is great for headings, highlighting, or creative layouts
• Brush pens are fun if you want to experiment with lettering or decorative headers
• A good black fineliner like these is perfect for outlines or writing that needs to stand out
• Mildliner highlighters are great if you want soft colour without bleeding through the page
• If you like a more classic feel, a fountain pen can make journaling feel like a ritual

How to Add The Right Extras To Your Journaling Supplies

Once you have your basics, you will feel open to a world of new journaling supplies. And you are. There are washi tapes, stickers, stamps, inserts, ephemera and more. But how do you know what to pick?

Like the rest of us, you’ll start collecting as you try new things. The ‘right’ extras are tools and supplies that will make journaling easier and more creative. These might include coloured pens or fine liners to highlight sections of your writing. Use washi tape to break up text and make your pages easier to read in the future. So experiment. Try something new next month and see how you like it.

Here are a few journaling supplies I can recommend you try:

• If you like colour, a collection of washi tape makes it super easy
• Mildliner Highlighters are also really useful for making things stand out
• Post-it notes are great for adding reminders or even adding extras to your pages
• A small ruler helps if you like tidy lines or want to create simple layouts
• Fine-liner pens come in loads of colours and are perfect for headings or details
• Stickers (functional or decorative) can add personality to your pages with no effort
• Glue sticks or double-sided tape are handy if you want to add tickets, photos, or ephemera
• Mini scissors or a washi cutter are great for crafting cleaner pages without bulk
• Page tabs or sticky flags help you mark your favourite entries or ongoing sections
• A pencil and eraser are useful if you like to sketch layouts before committing in pen
• A small pouch or case keeps your go-to supplies together so you can journal anywhere

How to Avoid Journaling Supplies That Don’t Work For You As a Beginner

It’s very easy to get caught up in buying ‘all the things’, particularly if you watch a lot of influencer videos. We’ve all been there: A beautiful washi tape is hard to resist! But are you going to use it more than once?

As a beginner, there’s a pretty overwhelming choice of supplies, with no hard and fast rules as to what you actually need for the type of journaling you want to do. So my advice is that aside from your main pen and, of course, your journal, look for a set of supplies that suit how you want to journal. And keep it basic until you feel journaling is a habit you want to stick to.

Let’s go through some types of journaling and the simple set of supplies I recommend:

• Morning pages (or a primarily written journal) – your journal, main pen and maybe a highlighter or set of fine-line pens to highlight with.
• Bullet journal – your journal, a main pen, a set of coloured fine liners, a pencil, a rubber and a ruler.
• Travel journal – your journal, main pen, coloured fine liners, a glue stick, or double-sided tape.
• Art journal – your journal and a simple set of art supplies.

I hope that’s helped. Don’t forget to check out my beginner’s guide to journaling post below for more help getting started.