With 'junk journaling,' trash and scraps get a second life. The hobby is a helpful, calming tool, say therapists.

From a camping trip, Amanda Harper held onto a postcard that she picked up from a gas station, the label from an empty pie filling can and a map of the area she stayed in with her husband and friends as mementos. She then taped the scraps into her over-stuffed journal collage-style. The finished spread of the many random items is somehow aesthetically pleasing. More importantly, it’s a creative way for her to reminisce on happy times. “I've had a pretty tough year, personally. My dad was very ill in the beginning of the year and then I have been dealing with infertility and trying to get pregnant,” the 35-year-old tells Yahoo Life. “It just feels like this is something that really gives me a sense of peace.”

With this new pastime called “junk journaling,” Harper is just one of many taking trash and turning it into a personal treasure.

What is 'junk journaling'?

Junk journaling is a form of scrapbooking with keepsakes from daily events, big or small. The difference is that it can be done in any type of notebook and aims to capture a state of mind, as journaling would, rather than a specific aesthetic. “The whole idea is that you use stuff that you collect just by living your life,” says Harper. “Junk mail, ticket stubs, parking receipts, stuff like that.”

Some things have more meaning than others, like pictures included in a spread dedicated to a memorable trip. The others, like business cards or remnants of a takeout bag from a restaurant, might take on more meaning when documented among other things in the journal. For Harper, she says it all contributes to a “little picture window of what my life was like at this time.”

The pages are also decorated with stickers, glitter tape and doodles.

How is it beneficial?

“Junk journaling offers a unique opportunity to creatively organize chaos. We all collect memories and emotions that don’t fit neatly into specific categories,” Attiya Awadallah, a psychotherapist and creative arts therapist at Lenora Therapy, tells Yahoo Life. “By using these scraps — both literal and figurative — people can find beauty in what might otherwise be discarded or forgotten.”

She says that it can bring a sense of calm to an individual by engaging them in a tactile experience that “invites imperfection.”

For Harper, the activity feels like “a massage for the brain.” She says that diving into this hobby has helped alleviate a lot of her anxiety. “It feels really good to just do something tactile with my hands and spend less time on my phone.”

Another creator who has shared her junk journaling experience on TikTok said that letting go of the desire to make each page look perfect has been a pivotal part of the journey. “I don’t care what it looks like in the end because I had fun doing it,” she said in one video. “The more that I practice this, the easier it became and the more I was able to actually have fun and relax and enjoy journaling instead of stressing about how it was going to turn out.”

The act of scrapbooking is known to be beneficial for mental health, according to Awadallah. “The physical act of cutting, arranging, and gluing engages both the mind and body, offering a sensory experience that promotes relaxation,” she says. “It has long been used as a therapeutic tool because it encourages mindfulness, drawing people’s attention to the present moment and allowing them to focus on the task at hand rather than worrying about the past or future. The act of arranging materials in a visually appealing or meaningful way allows for a form of emotional release, and the finished product often provides a sense of accomplishment and pride.”

Having a space to hold memories for future reflection is also important, says Kristie Tse, psychotherapist and founder of Uncover Mental Health Counseling. “Holding onto memories through junk journaling can serve as a meaningful anchor, preserving moments that shape our identity and providing a tangible connection to our past experiences,” she tells Yahoo Life. “It can evoke positive emotions, offering comfort during challenging times.”

But she warns that not everything needs to be saved. “It can also be overwhelming if the items evoke painful memories or if there's an inability to move forward from past events,” she says. “In my practice, I've guided clients to balance this by selectively choosing which memories to keep, ensuring they support rather than hinder their growth. By curating their collection with intention, clients can maintain a positive connection to their past while continuing to evolve.”

Getting started

Accessibility is key to the draw of junk journaling because anyone who wants to do it can. Awadallah says that it’d be particularly beneficial to people “who struggle with anxiety or those who feel overwhelmed by life’s unpredictability,” adding that it can be “a great complement to emotional processing.”

Harper says that someone can spend as much or as little time and money to get into the hobby. Her recommended starter pack would include a journal and some junk, of course, as well as glue or tape. Fun scraps of paper, stickers and photos can all be added to spruce up the page.

“It’s just something that can be fun and easy to do and doesn't have to cost a lot of money,” says Harper. “You can feel that it’s good for you, in a way that you’d feel after taking a walk.”