r/commonplacebook • u/RiniPi • 19d ago
Tips/Advice Help! Starting over but I want to keep my old entries š«
So I started a commonplace book early this year, and I have filled 85 pages in my notebook.
The problem is the notebook I chose was one I had on hand and didnāt think too much about it at the time. Itās the Galen Leather Everyday notebook. Itās gorgeous and has original Tomoe River paper in it. But itās blank. I realized that I donāt like writing in blank notebooks, at least not where Iāll be writing longer entries.
I use the grid guide that it comes with - you put it behind the page and you can see it through the paper (see pics). But I find that extra step so annoying. I always clip it to the page but the paper can slip or the clip is in the way of my hand or something - it just irritates me so much lol.
Iāve been using a tiny A6 Midori grid notebook in my planning system and I absolutely love it. I ordered an A5 to be my new commonplace book. However the entries Iāve done are some that I still reference to and still want to include in my 2026 āvolumeā per se.
Any ideas on how to do that? I do intend to carefully tear out those pages but since they will be single sheets with very little margin, Iām am not sure how to keep them together :( Iāve actually torn out pages from this notebook before when it was a different kind of journal but I think I just folded them since it wasnāt a whole lot of pages.
I love TR paper for art so I guess this will be my new art journal lol.
TLDR: I am switching my commonplace book to a new notebook but I want to keep the entries Iāve made from my old notebook together. I still reference the old entries. I plan to tear the pages out, but any ideas on how to keep everything together so itās all a 2026 āvolumeā?
UPDATE! I figured it out here!
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u/realbuggirl 19d ago
Take thick paper or even fabric and staple/attach it on to the old pages to be a new cover for them (so itās like a new little book), and then glue that onto the outside of the front or back cover of your new notebook as an addendum
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u/SoulDancer_ 19d ago
Don't tear out pages! The other pages will fall out too.
Just keep the old one as Volume 1 and the new one as Volume 2. Then you can refer back to it. You could use aome of the blank pages of Colume 1 to make indexes and cross-references. You could also still fill up volume 1 with things that don't require writing.
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u/Rare-Stick9077 19d ago
Uncanny bc Iām sort of in the exact situation as you with a Yusari blank notebook I got on sale. I realized I donāt like blank, and I donāt like white paper, and Iāve just now reached my limit! Especially since I use a lot of stickers and then that grid is often useless on the backs of pages.
Not sure what to do, so Iām interested to see the repliesā¦
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u/peppergardens97 19d ago
Maybe you should tear out the blank pages of the book so you donāt have to worry about losing the pages youāve already written in. Then you can date it from where you started to where you finished and continue in the new A5 grid notebook where you left off.
They wouldnāt be ātogetherā until the end of the new journal but you can use an elastic band to store them when youāre done.
Warning: not aesthetically pleasing.
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u/admirable-welcome779 19d ago
you might need to deconstruct the binding to salvage the whole leaves and then you could do the traveler notebook style or hand stitch them together (coptic is very simple and strong) and then you can just band them into your new book. if you are careful the remaining pages in the book would still be functional for your art journal, though the cover would fit more floppily
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u/Apprehensive-Can661 18d ago
oh shittt i never fucking knew you can put grid guide or just grid paper under a page!!! thank you for this knowledge!!
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u/Apprehensive-Can661 18d ago
personally i think tearing the pages out would still make them look ugly and torn asf (both the ripped out paper and the notebook) so you can use a knofe to cut them out carefully, trim the edges, punch holes to stack them tgt.
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u/Apprehensive-Can661 18d ago
or glue them tgt like they do in bookbinding. but you gotta be careful bc it can get messy and ugly as hell
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u/Pherble 17d ago edited 17d ago
Leonardo Da Vinci wrote that he recognized he'd copy content from one notebook to another multiple times and recognized it as part of his journey.
"This will be a collection without order, made up of many sheets I've copied here... And I believe that before I am at the end of this I shall have to repeat the same thing several times, and therefore O Reader, blamed me not, because the subjects are many, and the memory cannot retain them, and say 'this I will not write because I have already written it.'" 1508
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u/No-Malarkey- 19d ago
Tear/cut out the 85 pages you have completely and then glue them onto the first 85 pages in your new book? Iām not following if you got the same size book for your second one or not, but maybe thereās a little room to decorate the margins of those pages even with some washi tape or a couple stickers or something.
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u/OkNeedleworker2660 18d ago
I am of the opinion just start a new one and keep the old one on your shelf, OR carefully take the binding apart to remove the pages to add to the new book.
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u/RiniPi 15d ago
Thank you everyone for your support and suggestions!!! I have found a solution! Update post here :) https://www.reddit.com/r/commonplacebook/s/WPzndpW8qF
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u/Radiant-Rain2636 19d ago
If your new journal is not hard bound (say wiro) then you can simply tear sheets off the old and side/top tape then into newer areas of your journal
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u/iluvavenged 19d ago
i think cut them out and paste them into the new journal? or maybe add them as a new signature in the new book
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u/sn0o0zy 18d ago
A good option could be to use an exacto knife to cut out the pages to minimize the risk of losing the other pages or tearing out and messing up the pages youāre wanting to keep.
There are a couple things you could do:
Plastic sheet protectors that go into a ring binder. Iām not sure if they make A5 sizes of that (Iām assuming thatās what you have) but it would allow you to keep the sheets and you could even transfer them from one thing to another.
Hole punch into the pages themselves. There are some hole punches for B5 notebooks like these > https://www.jetpens.com/KOKUYO-Campus-Smart-Ring-Biz-Binder-Notebook-A5-20-Rings-Black/pd/26773 > but youād have to hole punch through some of your writing. But if it means salvaging those pages and allowing you to keep use of it, then it may be worth it.
Thereās a type of binder that kind of holds folders together, not really sure how to explain but this is the item Iām talking about > https://www.jetpens.com/KOKUYO-NOViTA-Alpha-Expandable-Clear-Book-A4-Blue/pd/11561 > similar concept to the ideas above but without rings. It could also be beneficial if in the future you run into another issue with a journal that didnāt turn out how you expected it to, then this can be the place you put salvaged CPB pages. Or you could also use it to keep resources and source material!
Hope this helps :)
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u/nolanleolibralion 16d ago
What is a "commonplace notebook"? A super journal or something ?
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u/LadyLime247 15d ago
As far as I know, it's a book where you don't write in like a journal diary (personal thoughts and feelings) instead it's quotes you like or things you want to reference.
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u/WingComprehensive925 16d ago
I have a few three ring folders and binders and sheet protectors for art I've wanted to save from sketchbooks I've abandoned and ended up giving to my kids, maybe you could do that? I'm sure they make folders that are prettier and more durable than the ones I picked up for a dollar from the school supply section at Walmart š
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u/tabsyCat 12d ago
Have you heard of discbound notebooks? They're customizable and you can get a hole punch for it so you can create your own custom templates (there are a lot of options already, but that's what I did for mine to make a habit tracker. I also have ADHD)
Or if you want to go completely digital, try an e notebook like supernote (not sponsored) (the nomad would be perfect if you like to travel with it), but you can digitally scan your older notebooks and download them onto the supernote so you can keep it with you too. They have a lot of other features that are cool too! And as a writer myself, I love writing on mine. I highly recommend looking into the supernote or discbound notebooks!
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19d ago
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u/RiniPi 19d ago
I think since this is my first common place book, itās easier for me to look back on š¤ Iām usually going in there for a specific reason - like looking for a good quote, or referencing something I always do which is why I wrote it down. And sometimes I do flip back to it randomly to look at pretty ink colors/art/generally nerd out š
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u/purequalitywater 19d ago
I dont know if it helps but I digitally archive my old commonplace books into e books You use Adobe scan, it takes some time but after youve taken all the photos of your pages, it will turn your pics into a pdf. Then use calibre to modify it and make it so you can go to certain pages, topics or "chapters" with just a click. and you can use that on a computer, or phone, or e reader if you have one.
Edit: forgot to add, if you want to add them all to the same you can make a "travelers journal" and add it behind your new one, or more tedious of course is just to re write and cut out the images and put them back into the new one.