How I Use My Midori Traveler's Notebook - Passport Size

We had been carrying Midori products for a while, but I hadn't quite made the transition to using one for my everyday carry. Then, this is a while back now, Midori released a limited run of their Passport Notebooks in a camel coloured leather. I figured it was a good time to try it out and see how I liked it, and I could write a blog post about it to promote the limited edition colour. 

The limited editions sold out before my very eyes - I had barely gotten my notebook set up, much less figured out how it was going to fit into my life, before they were all gone! Now, with this upcoming limited edition - the Midori Traveler's Notebook in Blue, Regular size, I figured I would share a bit of how I use my TN everyday. I may very well have to switch over to the blue when they come in. I actually have two notebooks for organization. One is a Noble Notebook for business related stuff, special orders, planning ahead for projects, etc. How I organize that notebook will be a story for a different day. My Midori I use for everything else.

The inside of the notebook changes every once in a while, as my life changes. I generally have two or three inserts in at a time. I used to think I was a plain insert/notebook type of person because of all the freedom and non-conformity plain paper gives you, but it turns out I need some structure. I like the graph because I'm a list-y person, and sometimes I need two columns. I also have an agenda refill. There is a pen holder for the Midori, but I throw my notebook around and out of bags and wedged everywhere, so I'm always worried the pen will get caught on something. I just stick my pen in and close the notebook up with it, which also serves as a bookmark for the page I was just using.

Since the baby has started eating real food, I've been keeping track in the agenda insert. It's well beyond my limited capabilities to offer well-rounded "meals", so I'm trying for a well-rounded week of trying new foods. I'm using the agenda for this, which is a good size, since it's not too big, but gives me enough space to give some detail if I need to.

  I use the other two inserts for general every day stuff. I have a lot of lists of things I need to get from certain places, like the dog store, or baby clothes. I have lists of things to do around the house, some of which have been procrastinated and grandfathered in for months. I have a separate section for notes on random things I need to remember, phone numbers or addresses, things I just like to write down. The best thing about this notebook is system is that the pages of the inserts are all perforated. You don't really think about needing this until you start ripping pages out, but most notebooks are constructed by folding pages in half, and stapling in the middle. If you just tear out one page, the other half falls out because the staple is no longer holding it. This is super handy for grocery lists for Jon (since the baby, he's taken over this task, and it took me a while to figure out that he needs a list if he's going to bring home some vegetables along with all the packs of red meat), or just if I'm making a note of something that needs to be stuck somewhere else.

The plastic sleeve is also indispensable. Until this was an option, I never realized I needed it. One side has a slide zipper to hold loose things, including coins or tickets, and the other side has card slots and a full page slot. This means I also use my Midori as my wallet, and I have cards for the bank, ID for picking up packages at the post office, and I also leave my library card in it. I don't even have to take it out for scanning when I check out books myself. Having everything together means that if I go to the bank and then vaguely recall I was supposed to pick up something at the drug store or pet supply store, I can just flip through my notebook to remember.

The leather has certainly worn in over time. When I got my first few scratches on it, I was a little sad at having marred something previously un-marred, but there are so many scratches now that any more will just "even out the patina." It's grown smoother and more worn in, but I think having been worn it, it looks even better. Jon also has a Midori, a black passport one. Maybe one day I'll convince him to do a blog post on how he organizes his, but I'm pretty sure it's all just random notes in there. We are expecting the blue Midoris and the new Pan Am accessories in at the beginning of May. Every time I think about them coming in, I rub my hands together and look off into space...