Regrets from My Hobonichi 2022 Purchase ~ Did I Even Use Anything? 

My minimalist heart is aching but thank you for voicing out your regrets and being real.🤲🏻

Thanks for such a relatable honest video! We've all been there. Our stationery goals are just a little out of reach sometimes. Coming back to reality, while frustrating, is also such a liberating feeling! We need to celebrate that more. I've (finally) reached a place where I'm pretty good at correcting my purchase ambitions before they happen, especially with Hobonichi season. I just buy 1 color weeks, 1 cover on cover, and then I run like heck and get out of there 😂.

I really appreciated understanding how the reality of how you use your supplies is at odds with the almost/sometimes habitual dream like quality of purchasing supplies. I only recently moved from being a collector of fountain pens, to focusing on enjoying, curating and using what I have. Its been another type of journey. So your video has helped me to stay intentional with my collection. Thank you so much for your thoughts in this space. :-)

I placed my 2023 order and it was paired down this year as well. I still love my weeks and A5. Sometimes I have to accept planner/journal failure. I get to have an art room for the first time in my life and i am overwhelmed at how much "supplies" i had stashed all over the place. As i go thru my notebooks I want to find ways to repurpose these failures, not yet what that is ????? Thanks for sharing and your not alone. Love your channel and been following along for long time now!

I bought the cousin, and hobo weeks dupe from kinbor for 2022. The only thing that I kept up on was the weeks dupe. So, this release I purchased the weeks mega (as my daily pages are almost gone in the regular), a clear cover and some extra note pages. I hear you on the consumerism. I’m at that point in my life as well.

I loved hearing how you reflected on what worked and what didn’t before this year’s purchase. I spent some time looking through old Hobo planners and covers as well as my box of Hobo extras (clear covers, memo pads, etc.) so I had a better handle on what I’d like and will hopefully actually *use*!

Thank you for sharing this! I wanted a better look at the sneaker weeks before I order it and this was perfect!

i also tried the cousin this year (and failed miserably) as well as had weeks as my main planner. that's changing now but that's because my needs have changed. many people have massive hauls and get a lot of covers/planners and while it seems nice, i know it wouldn't fulfill me. this year's lineup was underwhelming for me anyways lol. one of the a6 simple colour covers and then 2023's cover on cover i know i'll love for a long time are more than enough for me. i think this is important to talk about this during this lovely but consumerism-heavy season! it's easy to get swept up in the hype and get more things than you need and later on regret it.

I love your honesty and approach. Thank you. I also paired down to a Weeks, pencil board, and 2 cover on covers- keeping it simply going forward.

I paired down my purchases this year also. I love the cover on cover for this year and I picked up a Weeks Mega. I have one this year and am on track to use almost all the pages, less 20 or so. I use the pencil board for the Weeks and I hate when it falls out, so the way I keep it in is with an oliclip around the current week and the start of the notes pages. I use the smallest magnet so that it doesn’t mess with my writing surface. It slips around a little, but has been a good solution for on the go. I’m using the rainy Weeks pencil board this year, and I’m so glad I’ve been seeing it regularly. I’m digging the rainy vibes with out very hot and sunny weather. I’m so ready for fall! I love Hobonichi season, and I can’t wait to also live vicariously through other people’s unboxings. 😻 Thanks so much for sharing! 🤘🏼😸🧡

I so enjoy your videos and your candor on why you are not feeling working with some things. Love and light to you and your family!

Totally related to this. I had a rough pregnancy that all but stopped my planner use until about 2 months ago, and it really made me rethink everything. This year I bought 2 Weeks, 1 for home and 1 for work, and that was it. $93 for a cheaper version of the cousin is just too indulgent for a system that wasn’t even streamlined for what I need. Time for my tools to serve me instead of the other way around 😂

I really appreciated this video! Thank you so much for sharing. I almost bought a ton of stuff this year… and then I stopped and thought well, all I really want to USE is a cousin. So I only purchased the English version of the cousin and I can’t wait to set it up. ♥️

Great thing to share as it helped me think through my purchases. Also, as I watch you talk through you covers and maybe it was about your talking about journaling to your kids that made me think this but maybe one way to approach covers is to think about what you are leaving behind. I know if it was me, I would be dying to have one of my mother’s hand made covers that she not only made but adored. To have my hands touch were her hands touched would mean the world to me. So, Maybe because I’ve turned 50 that I’ve started thinking like this but these thoughts have helped me in making decisions for what to buy or what not to buy. Anyways, love your content and thanks for reading my thoughts Sarah!

That floral a6 zip is so beautiful. I recall you were so excited when you got it. Don’t worry about not using all your covers, we are all guilty of it at some point! I myself didn’t buy any covers but it’s partly because none of the A6 this year caught my eye. I do have way too many a6 covers though which I’ve sold one that I didn’t use. I do have purchase regrets not only for Hobonichi but other planners. I do want to be careful about my future purchases because I want to have less and form a stronger bond with my analogue tools. Thanks for sharing your thought process 😊

This is everything I needed to hear and see. I came to similar conclusions this year. I will say that I regret not buying the Camp cover. Even though I’m not a fan of camping, it is beautiful. I didn’t get any accessories other than the artist COCs. And I didn’t get any covers. I’m kinda proud of that 😉 I did get a cousin and weeks but that’s it.

I have sold Hobonichi Covers on eBay for more than I paid for them… especially rare or discounted patterns.

Can’t wait for the weeks video!

This was so helpful and encouraging, Sarah. Thank you! I have a cabinet of planner regrets which greatly informed my purchases this year. I've also taken the approach that if I don't love it...planners, furniture, etc., it doesn't come in the house. That's not to say that I don't get caught up and go against my gut at times, but I hate the feeling that comes afterwards when I don't use it. I purchased a Mega Weeks - my EDC (love the note pages for inventory of craft supplies, inks, Christmas lists, etc.), the A6 Techo for journaling - no new cover 😊, and the A5 5-year with herringbone cover to try - hoping that wasn't a mistake 😁 I love my A6 Red Herringbone Reflect cover so went ahead and got the blue herringbone cover for the 5-year. Thank you again!

Love this video. You’re spot on about the devaluing. And I also thought the collection was just…okay this year. (I liked the stripe cover too, but I would have loved it if the pen loops were a contrasting color. I took it out of my cart bc of that.) This was my first time ordering from Hobonichi at their Fall release event, so I went a little crazy in the week leading up to the release, choosing tons of items bc I knew the shipping costs were the same pretty much for 1 or 10 items. But when the big day finally rolled around, I found myself doing the same thing you did - really asking myself whether I needed each item. I ended up cutting the list down to (1) a regular Weeks, for meal planning, along with (2) the new plastic cover, (3) a Liberty A5 cover, for my morning pages bc it’s fun and cheery, and (4) the plain lavender A6 cover with (5) the new plastic cover design. I also bought (6) A5 & A6 notepads for scratchpads. In the end, I feel good about what I bought - not stressed like I usually do about how I’m going to use them. Thanks for the video!

I bought Hobo Weeks in Light Pink Mega this year--I have used my 2022 EVERY Day--love it for tracking my meals, and an ongoing journal in the graph pages...Thanks for sharing your decisions...hugs, Julierose🙂

Ahhh get out of my head😂 My brain went through almost identical processes as yours this year for Hobonichi purchases. Looking back…I still over purchased I think🤦🏻‍♀️We shall see. I am going through so much destashing and decluttering right now to move my office to a smaller space, I really had to be more intentional. I figure if it arrives and I just can’t do it, I will add it to my destash I guess. TFS.

Thanks for this! I’m in a bit of planner paralysis. I haven’t placed my Hobonichi order yet as I’m not 100% sure of my system for next year… I had so many abandoned planners last year! :/

Sweet Sarah I Love the Camper Life A6; I procrastinated on it and now it is too late for me. Hopefully someone out there isn't too intrigued with theirs and would be willing to resell it. Love all you do and share with us always. Xx

thanks for the advice, I just bought the mega and the a5 cousin, I agree, I probably don't need a thick mega, I use the cousin this past year and think the 2023 one will see more use.

Last year I ordered the A5 Cousin Avec, the A6 Cousin and the weeks ... The only one I actually used was the Weeks but I've changed how I want to use a weekly slim planner and so this year I did not order anything from Hobonichi! It was hard but I reminded myself of the stuff I've bought and not not used, why I didn't use them, and it made me feel better about it! Going with a TN Regular Weekly Diary and Memo and I'm going with the Roterfarden Vertical A5 planner, which is what I ended up using this year and loved. It takes time to work out what works for you, your brain, your life, and the season of life you are in. We get to change our minds, which is great, but can be expensive to find along the way! :D

I so relate to what you are saying....I've bought too much in previous years as well even though I don't buy nearly as much as some people do. I went through all my notebooks and planning supplies and it was eye opening. I was putting things away for later but not using them! I just bought a regular Weeks from a local shop and I'm not ordering direct this year. I feel so less stressed knowing I don't have to worry about extra costs with Fedex and that I will have my planner in a few days and will be all set for next year.

ah next year will be the first time i have bought anything hobonichi and i had to gight myself so hard not to buy a weeks because i just dont need it! i got a a6 planner and a cover and board + a decorated and a vlear coc and planning to use it as a sort of more suppliment to the more cut and dry bullet journal system i already use- like a place to stick in tickets and stuff, to deal with the itch to use stickers outside out my weekly journal spreads.. and watching ur video makes me feel good that i didnt go completely all out haha im still planning to hopefully get a zipper a5 cover next year if any appeal to me and i have money because i like the pockets inside and i really liked someones idea where they used a a6 planner with it which meant they just had a lot of space inside! ..im also rly hoping none of the a6 covers next year appeal to me that i just must have one.. because i dont think i need another one.. tho i do like that you can just use the covers with any notebook that fits! im currently using a a6 midori midi just to remove that itch haha

This is helpful. I decided to not buy more covers, and just keep using the one I have. I am going to buy accessories in October. I bought a weeks as a Christmas gift because I have been enjoying using it for my daily life for the past few years. You could totally sell your cover if you didn’t want it for pretty close to retail, when I was trying to see if there was more options that seemed to be what people were doing.

If it’s not too personal, I would love to see your a6 homeschool planner set up. I’m considering doing a bullet journal type planner for our homeschool this year.

Wow. I've done this for my Children as well and have found it to have become CRAZY... So, this year I was just going to re-use the parts not filled in for their next milestones until they were filled then figure something else out. Thank you Soo much for the Travelers Notebook Idea 💡 I've felt guilt not using them and I loved that System Soo much... This is win win. All the Notebooks in their entirety were making me a bit overwhelmed so I began watching "The Minimalists" trying to find a Balance 😅

Thanks for creating a video that is super honest and straight to the point. For 2023's Hobonchi release, I sat there and went through my cart and asked myself WILL I USE IT? and I took a ton out of my cart and stayed under $200 USD . I only ended up getting things that I will use and what worked for me this past year carrying on to minimal of 3 planners for 2023 (:

Thank you for the video. Next year it will be an A5 Cousin and a Weeks. Funny, I’ve always gravitated to B6 but this season in my life is busier with work and I’m in graduate school so I find I need more room that the A5 affords. With that said, I did pre-order Sterling Inks B6 planner, because that is my dream planner in B6 size. Oh, and I went back to Hobonichi’s store to buy a ‘cover only’ in one of the designer series covers 🤦‍♀️. I know that I spent way too much on shipping for just a cover, but I felt I would regret not buying that cover. 🤷‍♀️😂

So much great advice in this video! Going to use it to guide more thoughtful purchases. This year, I just went with the a5 day free, and otherwise have gone with the jibun techo - I want to like the hobo but it doesnt work as well for me...

I usually over order too but I've learned that someone else always needs a planner too so I just try and get real with myself asap so I can sell it on quickly

I felt the same way. I bought week and totally regret it. Maybe because I don't actually know what I'm doing. I'm not very good at planning. I'm more to journaling my day to day. So i'll not be purchasing any Hobo for 2023 but who knows. Maybe I'll change my mind next year. Haha. Thanks for sharing. Totally understand what you felt.

Enjoyed this video! I’d be interested in the a5 avec if you want to destash. 😊

Hopefully, you can find the time and energy to post these online for sale and can allow them to move on to a house with use and for you, without holding onto regets. But also, now that you have taught me that there are rare hobonichi weeks, i am looking at a $100 AUD rare one and I kinda want it. (Uh oh).

I did not buy as much this year. However, I find uses for covers. Mostly I just put in blank notebooks. I then use them for certain purposes. I have some my favorites boxed up mostly. Why? It is because of my autism and wanting to keep them perfect. However, I was thinking today while I was looking at my notebooks with covers on them. What happens if I die? Will my nieces see the value of them and resell them, or think they should just be trashed. That was a sobering thought for my collections. Not just planner covers, it goes with my Star Wars, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, and Winnie-the-Pooh.

I pared WAY down this year - just an a6 Day-Free, which I'll be using for the 3rd year, and one of the slimmer covers made especially for the Day-Free. I got a blue cover because it was prettier than black and matched the blue of the Day-Free! I've been carrying a super small purse and had to take the 2022 out of its cover because of the bulk. I'm hoping this new cover will fit in the purse and protect the 2023 Day-Free from getting a bit beat up.

Are you going to do a haul for 2023? I haven’t placed my order yet, I’m still debating if I want to place one or not. I’m a travellers company gal so the main draw for me is the drawer pouches and the odd notebook!

I am not buying a Hobonichi this year at all. But I did get a 2019 cover off Amazon for the A5 notebooks I’m going to use next year. That is what I wanted and need right now, so I’m happy with my Amazon purchase. Edit: I’m thinking about getting the cover on covers prints from last year and this year. I think that’ll be good to get.

I used most of the Hobonichi things I bought. NOW last year I told myself I wouldn't buy Hobonichis as they were too pricy. Well, I ended up buying an Iconiq Planner and a Midori MD One day One Page and THEN bought the Hobonichis bc they weren't working for me. OH WELL. This year I'm getting Hobonichis right from the get go.

I appreciate your honesty! I searched around and bought the milk tea hobo weeks that I’ll pair with a planner monkey co freely noted and a5 stalogy for anything in between! I currently have Cousin Avec bought July start but it’s too much space and the daily pages are too intimidating. I wish they were in half or third and then blank pages the other half! I’d prefer more blank pages, so my freely noted and stalogy will fill that void! I wanted to buy the Marie Disney themed items because they reminded me of my childhood but after having a heart to heart with myself I probably wouldn’t use it because it would make me feel like a child. My weeks I bought a cover off Etsy from Planner Room Refill in support of someone from Ukraine, so it would be a5 and my stalogy is currently in a chocolate moterm and it would feel like a downgrade 😞😔. Overthinking leads to no purchase lol

I paired down my order from a Weeks and A6 Avec to zero 😮 My weeks lasted only three months before I was sick of my pens smudging, and my Avec for journalling really limited the size for each day, so I just made the call to not order any for next year. Instead I’ve been enjoying TN regular inserts, and while hobos are special, maybe they’re just not quite right for me. Even though an English Weeks was sooo tempting..

Only bought a mega weeks that’s it now simple planner

Another great video, Sarah! I bought the Bunny Weeks for next year. Would love another video on how you have used yours😊

I ended up getting two A5 covers and two English cousins, but that's it. I don't generally purchase multiple planners. I LOVE them and WANT to purchase thirty dozen planners, but my life is just not interesting enough to warrant it, sadly lol

This will be my third year in Hobonichi. I only buy the books. I may get a clear plastic cover. My ideal planner combo is the Cousin Avec and a Jibun Techo Biz. I may add in the A6 Hobonichi Techo Avec and a Jibun Techo Days.

I am not ordering this year, for that exact reason. I have not ordered direct from hobo in 2 years, and that order was one cover, the Shan Tan A6. It has very sentimental meaning to me. It doesn't house a hobo though just a MD A6

Haha yeah buying but not end up using it...sounds very familiar for most of us! 😅 Regarding the "could this become my favorite", though...🤔 Nope, this couldn't be a criteria for me I think.... Because I usually like the things I like quite equally, for different reasons, just don't like them equally at any given point! Meaning that my favorite among the ones I have changes very frequently and the favorites just somewhat rotate? 😆 Does it make sense?Haha I just try buying the things I find myself liking for long enough (so since me liking them comes and goes in waves, if it comes around 2-3-4 times then I know that I should get it if I can afford it because otherwise I'll be thinking about it a lot. Do I expect to continue liking it each and every time I see it? Not at all... 🤓

Perhaps you can repurpose the weeks as a notebook, pen test or an interest. Like reading journal, language or other learning etc.

Haha, did I hear my name mentioned?!? I was first afraid you would say I made you buy the expensive cover, but luckily that wasn't the case 😅 I totally agree on that too many decrease the value of the individual items. There is a fine line between enough vs. too many. Sadly we usually see the line only after we have crossed it... I love the camping cover and I love that you have it because it's so you. I don't have it, because I don't do camping, but I can always enjoy it through your videos 😊

❤️❤️you forgot the weeks you gave me❤️❤️

If you get rid of that cover I've been looking for one. I have a stack of hobonichi weeks I didn't use this year

My Hobonichi order was pretty puny this year. I actually ordered from a U.S. retailer instead of Hobonichi for the first time in about 4 years. I just need a regular Weeks and the printed cover on cover. That wasn’t worth shipping from Japan.

I think we are all evaluating what to spend on these days even stuff I would just throw in my grocery cart now I’m like do I really need this so much waste to be cut there for me also oh but it’s a cute notebook lol no just say no lol

you have great taste in stationary!!!!

I decided to buy a special edition weeks because I like the layout for my needs. No Cousin Avec this year 2023 because it was too big for my needs. I will use the a6 midori one day/one page for 2023. I still have two day free A6 notebooks. I will use them for other journaling for specific subjects.