• HOME
  • Planning
    • Planner Newbie
      • New to planning? Start here
    • Planning Tips & Inspiration
    • 52 Planning Systems in 52 Weeks
      • My weekly spreads
    • Planner Index
    • Planner Reviews
      • Horizontal Weekly
      • Horizontal 1 Page Weekly + Notes
      • Vertical Weekly
      • Hourly Planners
      • Categories Weekly
      • Daily Planners
      • Discbound Planners
      • Teacher Planners
      • Planner Roundups
      • Happy Planner (MAMBI)
      • Budget Planners
    • Planner Comparisons
    • Bullet Journal
      • Bullet Journal Reviews
      • Bullet Journal Spreads
      • Bullet Journal Tips
    • Planner pens
    • Highlighters
    • Planner Stickers
    • Digital Planning
    • Household Binder
    • Stationery Shopping
    • Rachael’s Favorites
    • Blogging & Online Business
  • Graphic Design
    • Photoshop Tutorials
    • Microsoft Word
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Canva
    • Silhouette Studio
    • PicMonkey
  • SHOP
    • Shop at Etsy
    • Online Store
    • Graphic Design Resources
    • ECOURSES
    • Ebooks
      • 54 Mistakes Etsy Sellers Make (And How to Fix Them)
      • 1200 Blog Post Ideas
        • 1200 Blog Post Ideas (Exclusive Download Content)
      • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (For Any Type of Blog)
        • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (Exclusive Download Content)
    • Feedback & Testimonials
    • Planner Supplies (my sister’s shop!)
    • Shop my favorite planner supplies on Amazon
  • Learn
    • ECOURSES
      • Free Graphic Design Video Tutorials Library
      • How to Make Planner Stickers
      • How to Make Printables in Photoshop
      • How to Make Printables in Microsoft Word
      • How to Make Printables in Microsoft Excel
      • How to make digital planners and notebooks in Microsoft PowerPoint
      • How to Make Labels in Photoshop
      • How to Make Patterns in Photoshop
      • How to Make Party Printables
      • How to Write Product Descriptions
    • Ebooks
      • 54 Mistakes Etsy Sellers Make (And How to Fix Them)
      • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (For Any Type of Blog)
      • 1200 Blog Post Ideas
  • FREE
    • FREE Printables
    • Free Printables Library – Subscribers Login
  • Travel
    • Travel Planning
    • Europe
    • Australia & New Zealand
  • About
    • Browse All Posts
    • FAQ
      • What is a Printable? What happens when I purchase a printable from you?
      • Printing Tips
      • Printable Planner Stickers
      • Downloading Files
      • How to Open Zipped File Folders
      • What does EDITABLE mean?
      • Monogram Etiquette

All About Planners

Printable planners to organize your home, business and life!

January 31, 2019

7 Reasons why I don’t use stitched notebooks for bullet journaling

If you follow my blog it probably won’t come as a surprise to you when I say: I hate stitched notebooks. Why do I hate them so much?

1. Pages don’t tend to lay flat

It drives me mental having to hold the pages open with one hand and awkwardly try and write with the other – especially if I’m ruling lines for bullet journaling. To get around this I use a butterfly clip to hold the pages open but I still much prefer when the pages just lay flat on their own.

bullet journal weekly spread with habit tracker 1 page horizontal simple minimalist functional checklist list minimalism art dot grid notebook review

Related: How to choose the right bullet journal notebook for you (10 things to check)

2. Yellow paper

I don’t know why, but the majority of stitched notebooks have gross yellow paper. Highlighters look weird, pen colors aren’t as bright and the yellow paper just looks cheap.

rhodia goal book review tombow brush pen testing bleed through ghosting bullet journal supplies tips inspiration

Related: Tombow Brush Pen Testing in 8 Different Bullet Journals

3. Bleed through and pen ghosting

I don’t know what it is about stitched notebooks but the paper quality is rarely good. They’re prone to pens ghosting, bleeding through or indenting on the back side of the pages.

moleskin pen testing planner review highlighers stamps no bleed through ghosting organization bullet journal notebook honest opinion pros and cons

Related: Moleskine Weekly Planner Review 

The only exception to this that I’ve found to date is the Clever Fox planner.

clever fox weekly planner review dot grid pen holder undated lined 2 page weekly spread horizontal monthly calendar goal setting

Clever Fox Weekly Planner Review

4. Page size

Although there are some stitched notebooks in my favorite page size (7 x 9″ – like most planners) they are few and far between. I find the usual A5 or around 5 x 8″ sizes of stitched notebooks are too small – especially for list making – you have to write super small if you want to fit 2 columns.

Related: Pretty dot grid notebooks for bullet journaling (roundup)

5. Expensive for what you get

For a simple notebook with just dot grid, lined or blank pages, a plain cover and an elastic band you’d think it’d be cheap… yet they’re not. For the same price or around $10 more I can upgrade to a much prettier notebook without sewn binding. E.g. Plum Paper, Happy Planner

Much prettier, better value and discbound (add, remove and rearrange pages as often as you like!)

happy notes happy planner review bullet journal spread citrus colorful blog meal plan checklist papermate inkjoy gel icon planner stickers rainbow colorful diy bujo inspiration

MAMBI Happy Planner Happy Notes Review

6. Boring cover

Black, black, or black? How about purple? Or blue? Or pink? Apart from the Leuchtturm and a handful of others, most stitched notebooks have a boring black cover with nothing else on it.

Plus, the covers are the same width as the pages, so if you add your own tabs they stick out beyond the cover and get damaged quickly. The ribbon bookmarks that come with these types of notebooks are handy but 2 or 3 is not enough to organize an entire bullet journal.

scrivwell notebook review

Related: Review of the Scrivwell Dot Grid Notebook

7. Not all have page numbers

If you’re bullet journaling, I wouldn’t even look at a notebook that doesn’t have numbers pre-printed on the pages.

Don’t forget to check for the placement of the numbers too. The Rhodia Goal book, for whatever reason that makes no sense to me, prints the page numbers in the dot grid.

rhodia goal book numbered pages dot grid a5 size bullet journal bujo must have planner supplies

If you do accidentally purchase a notebook that doesn’t have page numbers, they can be used for drawing up bullet journal spreads.

I use my Minimalism Art notebook for sketching layout ideas

More planner reviews

  • Travel planning in a bullet journal
  • Review of the Scrivwell Dot Grid Notebook
  • Pretty dot grid notebooks for bullet journaling (roundup)

Planning tips

  • 52 Lessons learned after trying 52 different planners in 52 weeks
  • Travel planning in a bullet journal
  • Bullet Journal Ideas: 26 Weekly Spread Layouts to Try

Found this post helpful? Pin it!

why i don't use stitched notebooks for bullet journaling pros and cons planner supplies

 

You may also be interested in...

  • Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal Notebook A5 Review (Pros, Cons & Video Walkthrough)Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal Notebook A5 Review (Pros, Cons & Video Walkthrough)
  • Daily planning bullet journal style (using a Plum Paper grid dot notebook)Daily planning bullet journal style (using a Plum Paper grid dot notebook)
  • Planning using the daily plan bar method (bullet journal inspired)Planning using the daily plan bar method (bullet journal inspired)
  • Minimalist Planner Decorating: Title Ideas for your Bullet JournalMinimalist Planner Decorating: Title Ideas for your Bullet Journal
  • Trying out the Day Designer Daily Planner by Whitney English (Review)Trying out the Day Designer Daily Planner by Whitney English (Review)
  • Review of the Point Journal (similar to the bullet journal)Review of the Point Journal (similar to the bullet journal)

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Posted In: Bullet Journal, Bullet Journal Reviews · Tagged: bujo cons, bujo notebook, bujo pros and cons, bujo tips, bullet journal for beginners, bullet journal ideas, bullet journal notebook, bullet journal planner, bullet journal pros and cons, bullet journal tips, choose bullet journal, dot grid notebook, dot grid planner, is bullet journaling write for you, perfect bullet journal, perfect bullet journal notebook, should i use a bullet journal, stitched notebook, when to use a bullet journal

Comments

  1. Kayleigh says

    February 1, 2019 at 09:07

    Hi! I’ve been enjoying your posts since discovering you on pinterest.

    I also have been using the Happy Planner, but one problem I run into is that it’s not good for writing on without a table. I’ve been thinking of making the switch to a bound book to have more sturdiness for writing while I’m sitting on the couch or on the train, but I hate to lose the benefits of disc bound books — being able to remove and add pages, beautiful pre-printed designs (especially if you mix and match with other disc systems) and “archiving” old pages into their own books. Do you have any thoughts about making these books more sturdy while working on them? Do you usually work at a table? I like to use the largest size Happy Planner (11 ring)

    • Rachael says

      February 2, 2019 at 09:52

      Hi Kayleigh, I only use my planner at my desk. The Happy Planner covers can be quite thin as they’re just cardstock with just the laminate. However they do have more sturdy ‘snap in’ hardcovers such as these: http://carefullycrafted.com.au/search.php?search_query=snap+in+cover&Search=

Welcome

Welcome to All About Planners! I’m Rachael, a 20-something Aussie addicted to graphic design and all things planning. On the blog you’ll find more than 1,000 posts about all things planning including planner reviews, tips, favorite supplies and some of my past weekly spreads.

Subscribe and join 60,000+ others on the quest to find planner peace!

Follow Me

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Search

Subscribe

free printables library sign up all about planners blog image graphic subscribe

Shop At Etsy

The photos and content on this site are the property of All About Planners. They are not allowed to be used without permission from All About Planners.

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Peter Pauper Press Essentials Dot Matrix Notebook Review (Including Pen Test)
  • ARC Punch versus Happy Planner versus the Levenger 1-2-3 Punch: Which is better?
  • Clever Fox Planner Pro Weekly Review
  • Simple Christmas themed weekly spread with washi tape and stencils
  • 10 Useful printables to add to your planner or bullet journal

Disclaimer

All About Planners is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Popular Posts

  • 130+ functional ideas to use blank notes pages of your planner or an empty notebook
  • Setting up a new planner: 70 Tasks to add
  • Planner Organization: How to color-code your planner so you’ll actually use it effectively
  • Bullet Journal Ideas: 26 Weekly Spread Layouts to Try
  • 100 things to put in your habit tracker of your planner or bullet journal (plus free printable habit tracker)

Printables

  • Learn How to Make Printables
  • How to Make Planner Stickers
  • Resources & Tools I Recommend

Subscribe to access the free Printables library

Follow Me

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Privacy

Copyright © 2021 All About Planners · Theme by 17th Avenue