how long do you keep your bullet journals?

[MamaSprout]

I've been doing some form of bullet journal for a few years, and since I go through 2-3 a year, I have quite a stack. What do you all do? Keep them? How? Just in a box?

[Annie G]

After Mom passed away we ran across some little notebooks where she jotted down some thoughts. They mean the world to us because it’s her words. Some of it is heartbreaking because she was looking back on her childhood (her parents were immigrants and poor and also favored her brother) and her early marriage (she got pregnant at 16 and she and Dad married and made it work but it was tough).  But there were also wonderful entries- after a family gathering or after seeing her grandkids or something.

I say all that as background as to why I keep my bullet journals. I use one leuchtturm journal a year and it’s filled with gratitude pages, struggles, quotes I currently enjoy, drawings, and documentation of daily stuff. It has my spending logs, monthly pages, books read, movies seen, etc.  

Maybe one day my kids or grandkids will want to read through them. If not they can toss them. But I want them to have the chance to know what’s going on inside my head. I wish mom had written even more.

[elegantlion]

I have planners and journal all the way back to the early 90s. They're all in one bankers box in my storage closet. One day I'll go through them and toss out anything I'd rather not be seen by others. I found a gem a few years ago. It was the note of the when we first took ds to a movie theater. He saw Star Wars and slept through most of it. He's a huge Star Wars fan, so that's kind of special. 

[MamaSprout]

I think I'll just put most of them up in a closet. The kids can read through them for a laugh and recycle them later if they want. I had a few false starts the first year just using notebooks I didn't like so, they are only maybe half full from that year, making it a bulky stack. Now I've got a system that works for me and fill them up with planner stuff, vacation notes, kids weddings, etc, so there's no way I want to throw them out. Since we're not doing any holiday stuff until this weekend, today is kind of a bonus time I can organize a little.

Thanks!

[sassenach]

In the top of my closet. I have found myself referring back to them more than a few times, so I think I'll keep them until that stops happening. I do go through them much less frequently than you. About one every 9-12 months.

[MamaSprout]

I'm going through two a year now, but they are the thinner moleskine paper cover notebooks, so they don't take up much space. I was surprised how many mementos I've stashed in them.

I hear ya on the Dickens books. Some are a real slog. No worries about what's in my planners, though. I'm pretty honest with everyone here and now. I can't say it's a path I recommend for everyone, lol. It doesn't always make me popular.

[Tsuga]

Until I move. That's usually when the cost exceeds the benefit.