Handmade Recycled Notebooks I Used in College

Hi, DIYHub Community! Please welcome me as this is my first time posting here. I just want to share with you the handmade recycled notebooks I was using when I was a college student.

Back in college, I was excited to own a binder with dividers of different notebooks for different subjects. That was in my first year in the first semester.

During the second semester of my first year, I decided not to buy a binder but RECYCLE all the photocopied bond papers I was using in high school. Yep, at that time I still had my high school projects with me that I could not throw away. Even the paper and plastic folders I was using for several projects, I was thinking of reusing and recycling them.

I don't have the step-by-step photo on how to recycle the papers but here's what I did.

How I made my Reusable Notebooks?

I had several short bond papers and long bond papers. Usually, the back area of the used papers is always clean so this is the part that we intend to reuse.

• With one whole sheet of long/short bond papers, cut them into two.

• With these two pieces of paper, I can fold it again. You now have one-half of each page that is clean and ready to use.

• To bind the recycled papers, I need to create holes using a puncher and use a thread to hold them together.

• I used old paper folders as a cover. I painted it using watercolors or latex paints when I had extra. Use glue to attach the folder and the notepads. Let it dry overnight. I put several drops of glue to make sure that it will hold together.

And you can see how old is this reusable notepad, school year 2007 to 2008. That was my class schedule back then in college.

My notes, I think this was the Electronics subject.

I found nice papers with nice views in old calendars. These are the snow covers from Norway which my aunt who lives in Norway gave us a calendar with a nice view and tourist places of Norway.

You can see I was using old bond papers and I think this is from a science subject.

Not sure who you can see but looks like Isaac Newton.

Back in college, my life as a student was very minimalist. I never had any fancy notebooks and pens. I could go to school without a bag. Just a small notebook, a pen, and money for lunch. And I went to the library to study during my vacant time if I never saw any friends having the same vacant time. Mostly, I was alone because I was an irregular student. My college life was never boring as I could easily make friends with other classmates in a different class.

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