What Psychology Says About Your Junk Journal Supplies Collection

[@neverwares]

What a fascinating topic to explore. I love learning the ‘whys’ behind how we do things. My personal perspective on collecting as an Autistic person is that it helps me feel secure in that I have enough of what I need in order to create the art and crafts that bring me joy. There is also a component of sorting and putting things in order that is at the core of the way my neurology works. The part that resonated most with me is the evolutionary gatherer mindset mentioned. There is just something so deeply satisfying about collecting beautiful objects, and collecting the tools to make more beautiful objects.

[@1134Press]

Yes, yes, and yes! I'm right there with you.

[@dr.laurawood8922]

I’m so glad you added in your personal experience! I can totally see the sensory/kinesthetic reinforcement of sorting being so soothing.

[@celestialsara157]

Is anyone else simultaneously listening to this wonderful conversation and browsing Temu, etc. looking at journal / craft supplies?

[@dr.laurawood8922]

😂😂

[@aprilpetit9511]

Thank you for posting on this topic. Reflecting on my collecting through a psychological lens will help me become more intentional. I have large collections all revolving around art or crafting. It is to the point that I have too much but loathe to downsize for fear of needing those things in the future. 😅

[@blackcoffeeandwildflowers]

This is very interesting. I often think about whether I am just collecting way too much. But then I see other junk journal and paper crafters and I don’t have near what they do. I think one of my issue is around my craft room being in a corner of my bedroom. I truly do not have enough space. And that might work for some people, but all the clutter has me overwhelmed. The clutter around me clutters my mind. I don’t know where to put everything that would be accessible, though I continue to look for ways to make it easier to find something I’m looking for. On the other hand, if I did have a dedicated craft room with lots of storage space, I might very well collect so much that I end up in a similar spot. 😂 I’ve never been a big collector of anything until I started creating junk journals. It’s a very interesting topic. Thank you so much for getting us to think about where we are with our collecting, and what it really means to us. Hugs ❤️🤗

[@1134Press]

I feel the same way about clutter and can totally relate! You and I are about to be in a similar boat, so please drop some tips for keeping a craft corner organized lol. I'm going to need all the help I can get when the time comes.

[@Mrs.DeeAnnNance]

Love love love this video topic! Thank you soooo much! I've not junk journaled in more than a year...but, I keep on collecting! Pretty neat to have the language to be inquisitive with my own thoughts, feelings, needs, whys... Thank you so much! ❤

[@1134Press]

Yes! Having the language is sooooo important. Thank you for sharing that.

[@t00bzayootz]

Very cool conversation about a something I've enjoyed for decades but never gave much thought to in regards to 'why' I do it or what it says about me outside of the fact that I enjoy it immensely. The information on how Jungian theory(?) would apply was illuminating especially when you think about not just your personal use of symbols but how marketing companies can take advantage of this (ex. skulls, wings, mushrooms, etc. are so IN this year!) and influence style, taste and practice. For me as years pass, I've moved from using new paper product to more found objects, discarded ephemera and secondhand materials. Budget-wise, it's allowed me to try out more quality paints, markers and other art supplies. There is a certain decadence that comes from using quality watercolors on an old dictionary page. And I never would have thought of doing this had I not exposed myself to the practices' of other artists. All in all, great video! I plan on adding Jung to the reading list in the coming months.

[@dr.laurawood8922]

Exactly! And so great about adding Jung into the mix. Tashen has a publication called “the book of symbols” that’s fascinating to read all the different meanings, with much driven from a Jungian perspective! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@TJtheBee]

Very interesting to watch from a perspective of a collector - I very much fall into a post-modern, Adam Savage-esque philosophy about collecting objects, which is that each object tells a story, and each story is important to the person who made the object and the people whose hands it has passed between. Which is to say that I am a giant nerd and I like THINGS. :P

[@1134Press]

lol! Nerd is a compliment in my household.

[@sandrafisherhayes3219]

@@1134Press mine too lol 😄

[@Gothlite-i1l]

I was convinced by a well-loved journal maker to buy an enormous amount of stuff in the early days of this craft. True, most were from thrift stores and I did not spend over $30 on any one 'big' purchase. However, when I started buying digitals from Etsy, I realized I had to stop. I became a true JUNK journal maker, but I still had to work through the sheer amount of things. I'm to an age now where Swedish Death Cleaning is uppermost on my mind and I'm tirelessly trying to use it all up so my daughter isn't left with tons of paper goods and old books when I die.

[@1134Press]

That's an important perspective. I appreciate you for sharing!

[@brendaberry6648]

I’ve told my family that it’s all just paper so just recycle or burn it!

[@DeetasDiary]

Yes! Finally, this topic. I am an/a art/creative/junk journaler and I collect. No clothes collection, no tchotchkeys or trinkets collection for me, but lots of journaling-connected fodder. Thank you for making this enlightening video!

[@1134Press]

What category in the journal fodder (love that term by the way) do you feel like you collect the most?

[@DeetasDiary]

@@1134Press I feel like I collect old book pages the most. (I love the smell of them.) My stash has: vintage book pages, old prints, little photograph negative cases from the 70's and 80s, vintage textile, lace, throwaways from quilters, a box of beads, another for buttons. I think these are the usual journaling stash, nothing extraordinary. Having said that, I resonate with Dr. Wood's mention of Evolutionary Psychology (track 14:16). I think I am expressing the magpie in me!

[@1134Press]

@@DeetasDiary Yesss shout out to vintage ephemera.

[@DeetasDiary]

Always...😄

[@catcauldron217]

Several times I’ve thrown everything out only to gather again and again. I love it and I hate it🤪😂😜😢🍷

[@bridgetjones8339]

I have questioned my sanity along the way of my junk journaling passion. Between the collecting and the sideline into gelli printing and other art media, sometimes I feel like I’m all over the place. Also, I feel a reluctance to part with a lot of my special vintage finds which I normally would never have purchased before I started doing this in the first place. I have tons of stuff now and now I have difficulty staying focused and making choices sometimes when I’m working on a project bc there’s so many directions I could go it’s overwhelming.

[@brandiperelli4090]

Thank you for this, what a great conversation!!! I 100% absolutely love deep dives! Since early days I've collected, beads, paper, tea cups, ephemera and more in recent years lots more photos and books. What really resonated with me is the part of transformation. Just some aspects beads for me has for 52 years helped me in creating jewelry, paper well...sky is the limit, tea cups recently have been turned into vessels to hold garden flower's and books have my whole life been very special and precious to my heart and where the most transformation has transpired for myself as a mom, wife, grandma, artist, human and spiritual person. Back in the day my three kiddos and I would visit the library every three weeks and we would borrow the max amount of books. To me education is key to life. I have now at this point in my junk journal collection I'd have to say is mostly books and paper. After that is ephemera. In my head the past unlocks our legacy or perhaps someone else's. I love how junk journaling can give a voice to that. Lastly, my mom was very instrumental in my brother and I both creating our own identity in life and one of the ways she supported me was in my love of vintage/antique collecting. I remember that starting at the age of 9. She was a gem!!!! Thank you again, I really appreciate you covering this topic!

[@1134Press]

Hi Brandi! Thank you for sharing that. It seems like you've had a lifetime of collecting and being surrounded by people who value the same. That's awesome.

[@brandiperelli4090]

@ ❤️

[@denisecope]

That was so fantastic. Many thanks to you and Dr. Woods! All the theories resonated with me, but most all the idea of integration. I came to junk journaling after my husband died, and it has given me a way to find and reclaim my own self.

[@1134Press]

Hi Denise! Thank you for sharing that and I send my condolence for your lost. I'm happy that journaling has found you!

[@dr.laurawood8922]

What a meaningful way to work through all that comes with grief and loss (another topic I’m totally passionate about). Thank you for sharing ❤

[@1487marta]

Great idea for a video. Captivating!

[@1134Press]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@dr.laurawood8922]

So glad you found it captivating, thanks for listening :)

[@susanclancy-kelly9319]

What an interesting take on collecting scraps of paper and 'stuff' for junk journaling. why do I keep them? Its part of a junk journalling hobby that brings me joy! I do keep my scraps corraled into three small drawers which sit into an upright storage stand. This puts a limit on how much I can keep & forces me to consider whether I have room for it.

[@kristinev7671]

Great video! Subscribed.

[@RedDogGirl67]

Fascinating! Thank you for doing this. Lots to consider!

[@annekenlon]

So, so interesting - thank you so much for sharing this with us!

[@1134Press]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@sandrafisherhayes3219]

This is so weirdly appropriate and timely wimely Bree! Could your post be my wake up call to consider/examine my own collection of art supplies? My floor space is almost non-existent lol, I'm running out of storage space and for every sketchbook/journal I manage to fill another 10 awaits my attention! I've got it bad lol 😄🤭 I consistently justify my purchases and tell myself...well, you know, pens run out, markers run out, paper (every kind) is used up...I will always need all of the above. But how much DO we actually need? Also it makes me happy to create. I mean creativity and art are a balm to the soul and essential for our mental health and wellbeing, yes?Now my screen has frozen so something is telling me I need to take a break.

[@1134Press]

lol! I can relate, Sandra.

[@sandrafisherhayes3219]

@1134Press 😄❤💚

[@kristinehulet1997]

I have few impulses to collect but have many fascinations. When I did collect it made it easier for my family to give gifts which gave them more joy than my personal joy hence a motivation perhaps? Now with paper craft supplies and scraps I am developing more discretion as time goes on because as a pragmatic I now know what will get used. Craft space is also limited and I choose not to allow craft sprawl to stress relationships.

[@kristinehulet1997]

Thank you for curating this discussion. Not sure if everyone wants to analyze personality quirks or motivations.

[@dr.laurawood8922]

@@kristinehulet1997thank for all you shared and…well …I’m always on board for analyzing and examining and so glad Bree asked the question! I find the examination and clarity can also help people make choices around their collections too. Glad it speaks to you as well ❤

[@tempestdiamond]

Deeply appreciate your deep dive into the topic! Great video! ❤

[@robinsutton4952]

When I sewed, I bought material and patterns I knew I wouldn’t make, but I had them. Same with knitting and crocheting. Years ago I started stamping, which led me to card making. The next leap was junk journals. Now I’ve gone down the digital rabbit hole. I do try to incorporate everything. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. At 68, I can justify this addiction and still sleep at night. Although, when the time comes, my son will probably say, “WHAT WAS SHE THINKING”?

[@vondatalley2810]

Loved it!

[@1134Press]

Thanks, boo!

[@christinesanchez4801]

Whew! Balance, learn balance. Then you really see you. The need to have is huge also for me. However, what I value and find valuable to me, lets me help me evaluate and the reality of what or how much you really do involve yourself in your craft/Art. I do hope everyone can get to the belief that the permission and knowledge you are ok can only come from you and the Reality we are all human and move differently at times and it’s ok

[@dr.michalhemmo-lotem8546]

Thank you for a great perspective on this topic 🙏🙏🙏 I would also like to add another term to the discussion - passion. Jan Lakan the psychoanalytic expert about passion gave a very interesting perspective on the topic. If you would look at the gap between what you need to what you actually have that gap represents passion. So I often look at that like the number of shoes I own versus the number I need or the number of books or the number of creative materials... thank you again personally I would be very happy to have a KZbin video on each and every model she mentioned it was very interesting and also a lot to digest

[@1134Press]

Thank you for sharing that!

[@dr.laurawood8922]

I’m so glad you brought up Lakan! There are so many more theorists in each of the paradigms I wanted to cover and so much more to say! Maybe a part two!! ❤

[@Yaya7773]

Thanks! 😊

[@starsupernova1057]

this is so good 😊 🙏 thank u for making this video. I collect mostly art supplies like paints, markers, fabrics, patterns and beads. but I also collect books and tarot decks. I strongly feel that collecting is part of who I am 😁, unfortunately I am often misunderstood for it.

[@FT56777]

This was interesting, thanks! I owned a quilt/knit shop about 15 years ago in my late 30’s. A large amount of my customers were retired women and the one thing I heard that amazed me the most was their need to get rid of all the stuff they had collected over their life. It was like they were getting ready to die and not burden their families. These women were not in their 80’s, they were in their 60-70’s. As a collector I didn’t get it, I’m a little more understanding of their point but my feeling is I spent my whole life gathering and now I want to enjoy it. I have a wall of cubbies neatly filled with beautiful fabric and even if I never sew again my pleasure is looking at it or touching it. Same goes for my yarn collection, my ephemera, and all my books! These things bring me beauty and joy, I would be an empty artist without them. As far as the lady talking about the function of a teapot and why she collected them I think it’s pretty simple. The pot was a pleasing shape and had a cute cat, she liked it, it clicked and then the collecting began. Seeking and finding items is such fun, it doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. ❤

[@dr.laurawood8922]

Thanks for your sharing! It seems like you fall in the camp of what Freud was thought to say which is “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar” -for some people the pleasing joy and not needing to make meaning is enough and for others a deep dive into the why gives great meaning and intensifies the pleasure. I know for me the teapot was much more than just I liked the shape but a deep representation of so many aspects of me-and knowing that has made it all the more pleasurable. Isn’t it fun how different people approach life? That’s what I love about people. Thanks for sharing ❤

[@mhtammi]

Thank you for letting me know I am not alone😂 after I started junk journaling, nothing is sacred. 😊I have downsized and lost my craft room and I am bereft. 😢

[@1134Press]

I'm cherishing every moment I have left with this little room. Tell me I'll survive the move! lol

[@mhtammi]

@ I had to take over the linen closet (who needs towels and bed linen), the buffet in the dining room (had too many dishes anyway), closet in the spare room, and a family heirloom trunk 😬 luckily my hubby is okay with it.

[@1134Press]

smart.

[@99zanne]

I have already told my husband that regardless of where we go, I won’t live without a craft room. It can be a shed in the yard for all I care, but I have to have a dedicated crafting space! My art keeps me happy and sane!

[@abigailhortencia5901]

Great video❤ I am a collector🙈

[@mommerang]

Thank you for exploring this subject. I probably need to listen to it a few times to really form an opinion. I just want to let you know that every time you monologued, your audio went mono and was hard to hear. The rest of your video was stereo, including the interview.

[@marymeyer8185]

I collect a lot of things. And my ephemera and art supplies is overwhelming. I’m trying to pare down but not get rid of all of it. I enjoy it all. I see my Art friends giving things away and then needing them again. So I’m cautious about it.