Washi tape can be used for much more than just decoration in your planner or bullet journal. Here are some of my favorite ways to use it.

If you’re not sure what size washi tape to get, I recommend:

3mm (skinny washi tape) – for bullet journaling as it doesn’t take up much space on the page. It’s also good for covering up the black border lines between days in a planner

5mm – most bullet journal notebooks have a 5mm dot grid so this washi tape fits perfectly. This is my favorite size for days of the week washi tape

7mm – less common size, I like to use this for borders at the top and bottom of the page

15mm – this used to be the only size that washi tape came in. I rarely buy this size anymore as it’s too big (for me), for anything other than borders

If you only have 15mm washi, wrap half around the top of the page to make it look thinner

7 Tips for using washi tape in your bullet journal or planner

1. Days of the week washi tape

Apart from checklists, my favorite functional washi tape!

There are a few brands offering this washi tape now, see this post: my favorite days of the week washi tape

Sunshine Sticker Co.’s 5mm washi tape is my current favorite.

If you can’t afford to buy every color, just get the black text on white background version, then you can use highlighters over the top to make the washi tape whatever color you want.

Most days of the week washi tape are 5mm to fit the most common dot grid size that bullet journal notebooks come in. The We R Memory Keepers washi tape is 15mm but as you can see in the photo below, it takes up so much space (so I rarely use it).

Bullet journaling with washi tape in the Scrivwell Dot Grid Notebook

2. Fill awkward gaps

Most dot grid notebook have a 5mm dot grid, yet even those with the same page size, seem to have a different number of dots horizontally and vertically. I almost always end up with an awkward gap where one of the rows on a weekly spread or monthly calendar would be much larger than the others. So instead, fill the gap with some washi tape and make it look like it was part of your layout all along…

3. Borders

A plain black border is fine… but some thin washi tape will just give it that something extra, especially if you’re writing everything in black pen.

Whistle and Birch weekly planner spread using the study layout

Christmas themed weekly spread with washi tape and stencils

4. Layer with stickers

These days of the week stickers are from the handwritten Happy Planner journaling sticker book. On their own they can be a bit plain so if you want to add color, add a strip of washi tape behind.

Quick and easy washi tape and highlighters weekly spread

Layering washi tape works well for headings too

And for borders..

If you have an awkward space, try 2 different sized washi tapes. Solid washi tape on it’s own might be a bit plain, but it looks good when you match it up with pattern washi.

2 different color washi tapes works well too. Some color combinations:

Pink & purple
Pink & blue
Pink & green
Pink & orange
Purple & blue
Purple & green
Purple & Orange
Blue & green
Black & pink
Orange & blue

15 habit tracker tips & ideas to try

Because washi tape comes in so many patterns some other options are:

2 patterns together e.g. stripes and dots
Use a pattern washi tape and a solid color washi tape that matches one of the colors used in the pattern washi tape e.g. rainbow chevron that has blue, red and yellow matched with a blue, red or yellow solid washi tape like I did below:

5. Covering up mistakes, expired dates & sections you don’t need

Most washi tape is see through so I almost always use glitter washi tape for this (pairs well with any color too!)

Using a monthly calendar for weekly planning

Customising the Milligram Family Planner

6. Habit tracking washi tape

If you do a lot of monthly spreads, invest in some dated washi tape. You can get monthly washi tape in vertical and horizontal format for habit tracking.

If you don’t want to turn your page, cut the dates strip in half:

Sunshine sticker horizontal black text on white background washi tape

Or get the vertical version