A journal doesn’t have to be recorded in a book or on a computer. Here is a great journal project for collectors, pack rats, and reluctant journalists.

Here is what you will need:

• A box of ziplock sandwich baggies
• A pack of 3×5 index cards (colors are nice)
• A pen or pencil
• A Sharpie or other permanent marker
• A shoe box

Here is what you do:

1. Choose a small item you want to write about, ideally one from your day. It could be a pencil you chewed on while taking a test, a rock you found on a walk, a note a friend passed to you, dirt from your garden, clippings from a haircut, a key to a lock you no longer open, etc. If the item is big or essential in your everyday life, you could take a picture of it and use the printout.
2. Write about your item on an index card. You can use more than one card if you have a lot to write about.
3. Put the card and the object in a baggie.
4. Seal the baggie and date it with the Sharpie.
5. Put the baggie in the box. You just made your first journal entry!

Alternatively, you could also thumbtack your baggies to the wall like in this picture, which came from the movie Everything is Illuminated, the inspiration for this project. However, that would be much less practical, though also much more dramatic, than shoebox storage.

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