My Local + Travel Bullet Journal

I’ve always been a planner. More specifically, a paper and pen planner. I’ve used everything from pre-designed planners to calendars of all sizes. A few years ago I got fed up with a drawer full of planners that didn’t meet my needs and started using blank notebooks and customizing them the way I wanted. Over time I’ve transitioned to five notebooks, each serving a different purpose. Some are used more than others. In this series, I’ll take you inside my planners and journals and share what I use them for and tips I’ve learned along the way. They are always a work in progress and these posts will be updated. Be warned, I’m not an artist and my pages are more functional than anything else.

Note: Since I’m an Amazon affiliate, I’ll link to the items I bought for those interested in taking a closer look and purchasing. As an affiliate, I make a commission on all products sold. If you buy through my link, thank you ahead of time.

I decided to create a local + travel bullet journal to keep track of information like places we wanted to visit, local events that were coming up and contact information. I had a lot of information and ideas on scraps of paper and notepads and it wasn’t working for me at all.

For the cover, I used some washi tape to write the name of the notebook, a Road Trip sticker from a travel sticker set I bought at Michael’s and something I cut out from a magazine and glued to a sticky note. I always add a smiley face sticker to all my books because they remind me of my mom.

I started out with a Leuchturm 1917 A5 dot grid bullet journal and although I loved it, I ended up using a Miliko A5 dot grid because it’s spiral-bound. I really like the see-through cover because it keeps the cover page nice and clean.

One of the first things I added was a map of Florida counties, which I printed out from online. In pencil, I write the cities and areas we want to explore. After we visit, I write it in pen. This helps me visualize the state and see where we’ve been. One of our next destinations is the Everglades and Marco Islands, which is in Collier County.  The JW Marriott Marco Island looks like a fantastic place to stay.

I have a few pages for Florida travel ideas, including their social media handles and website. Even when it’s not a sponsored or media trip, I always tag their social accounts.

Note: OMG – the ghosting! I never thought I would be okay with it but I am. I never used to write on the back of the page so it wouldn’t bleed through, but honestly, I just don’t care anymore.

When I get invited to a media trip or asked to cover a local event I create a page for it. I include my contacts name and email, hashtags to use and the coverage I am providing.

I started creating a single page for places we go and attractions we visit. I thought it would be nice to jot down some memories from the day. This page was from our visit to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park.

Here’s a page from our day at The Florida Aquarium.

This page covers my birthday weekend in Tampa at the West Wing Boutique Hotel.

I also use this notebook to make note of local events I’m interested in. This page was for all the Fall + Halloween events I wanted to take the kids to. The stickers were from pumpkins that L & L decorated. I thought it added a nice touch to the page.

This is a Disney sticker I ordered though their website many years ago. It represents our family (before L & L). I had it hung up in our family room for a long time and decided it was perfect for this travel notebook.

On the back page, I add various sized sticky notes so they’re readily available when I need them.

This notebook is far from complete and as I add more pages I’ll include them here. If you have any suggestions I’d love to hear them! Do you have a blog post about your travel notebook? If so please link to it below so I can check it out.