What is the best way to maintain a journal over a long period?
August 3, 2013 11:29 AM   Subscribe

To those who have kept a journal for more than, say, 20 years, how do you manage the physical (or electronic) output? What methods of organisation and preservation have stood the test of time for you? What should I be doing now so that in 20 years I'm not buried by paper or files?
posted by hoverboards don't work on water to Writing & Language (8 answers total) 18 users marked this as a favorite
 
The paper stacks up, an inch or so a year. A big, strong box will hold 20 years of paper pretty easily. Preservation-wise, just keep it from getting wet, and it'll last as long as you do. Oh, avoid colored ink.

Electronically, you might make a megabyte or two a year. I cut over to doing it digitally over a decade ago, and the new stuff fits easily on thumb drives. I store it in text files named by year. It's not overwhelming, unless the pile of years in a folder bothers you. Make periodic backups.
posted by the Real Dan at 11:58 AM on August 3, 2013


I haven't journaled like this but I do have lots of files. However I suggest having both online storage and an external harddrive. Online storage is easier to access regularly so you could upload things as you complete them. Then you can add files to the backup drive when it suits you - maybe every month or so - depending on how much you write. (I don't have online storage other than my website which I back up on my computer and harddrive, but I would do it if I were writing more often and they were personal journals that couldn't be rewritten.)

I would keep any digital storage like a harddrive or flash drive in a fireproof/waterproof safe. I keep my computer backup there. They are inexpensive and are a good investment anyway for paperwork. I think ours was $40? A small safe of this kind will easily fit a harddrive. I sugget a harddrive instead of thumb drives as it will all be in one place and less easy to misplace.

Keep in mind though that technology will change, and you may have to update storage at some point in the future. This is also why I suggest a harddrive as it will be all in one place and easier to transfer if you need to. I personally wouldn't keep paper, but if you write on paper more often then you will want some sort of plastic or waterproof storage. I still suggest scanning and backing them up digitally if you want to have backups. Also keep them out of the sun and maybe get a higher quality paper and use a permanent ink so if it does get damp it won't bleed the ink.
posted by Crystalinne at 12:19 PM on August 3, 2013


I've tried many different paper formats over the decades. Looking back, I'm wishing that I had consistently used those old-fashioned composition books (with the black and white marbled cover). For some reason, they just seem nicest, and they're always easy to get. But I also like the idea of some kind of loose-leaf notebook, for adding, removing, and reorganizing.

Storage needs to be dry and MOUSEPROOF. Those little rodents think journals are the most delicious things ever.
posted by Corvid at 12:43 PM on August 3, 2013


I got a large metal file box from somewhere (kinda like this, except not) and I keep my written journals (and random scraps of paper) in there.

I would recommend actually printing out any electrical stuff and keeping it in there too. I've lost years of entries because I kept them on a 3.5" disk that got corrupted.
posted by Lucinda at 1:35 PM on August 3, 2013


I use "Letts of London 10x" book. The line spacing is tiny (fits a lot of writing) and they are well-bound. They have the year printed on the spine; for extra $ you could get it monogrammed. They're a little pricy but totally worth it.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:13 PM on August 3, 2013


Nearing 20 years here-- paper journals since 1996. I have moved a great deal in my time, and they've always come with me. It's honestly never occurred to me to do anything other than arrange them chronologically on a shelf in a bookcase wherever I am at the time. Perhaps in nearly-20 more years I will have to find another solution. Or perhaps I'll just have two shelves.
posted by Because at 10:32 PM on August 3, 2013


Ah, forgot to mention that I have always used blank books that one can purchase from any bookstore; or, in times of financial difficulty, cheap-ass hardbound sketchbooks. And that my handwriting is tiny, and I have learned to use lines as a suggestion rather than a rule when I am forced to buy a lined journal for lack of other options.
posted by Because at 10:35 PM on August 3, 2013


I'm only about 12 years into my consistent journal keeping, so maybe I shouldn't be responding, but part of the appeal of keeping my paper journals is watching my collection grow. I was inspired early on by this picture of Anais Nin. Doesn't it look like she's being buried under (or at least behind) her journals? I wanted to be buried under my journals, too! I'm currently on my 59th. I number (and title) each one, and keep them in a special cabinet I bought just for them.
posted by dearwassily at 2:24 PM on August 5, 2013


« Older What is causing these horizontal yellow lines on...   |   Upsetting glove situation... how do I get them off... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.