If you want to organize your notebook but you don’t want to deal with sticky tabs or other items that poke out from the edges of your Moleskine notebook, this simple hack is for you. Using a marker, you can create sections simply by coloring the edges of your notebook. Be sure to use a water-based or a non-bleeding marker if you don’t want the color to seep into the pages.
If you prefer a monotone look, you can color every other section of your journal with a black marker.
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1. Select the pages for your first section of your notebook
- 2. Slide a clean piece of paper into the notebook behind the last page of your section. Make sure the paper sticks out on the top, bottom and the side. Push the paper as close to the binding as possible.
- 3. Fold the paper that is sticking out away from your section. Add a second piece of paper in front of your section and fold it the opposite direction. These pieces of paper will protect the other pages in your Moleskine from being colored and will keep your sections straight.
- 4. Once you have inserted both pieces of paper, your notebook will look like this. Before you color the edges with markers, be sure to squeeze the pages together tightly. If the pages are not compressed, the ink might find its way between the pages. You can also compress the journal between your hand and the edge of a flat surface using even pressure.
- 5. Apply color to the edges of your pages. Repeat for the top and bottom edges of your journal. Remember to squeeze the pages tightly.
- 6. A Completed, organized journal.
Journaling Arts 
This is really a brilliant idea. I have read God-knows how many Moleskine how-to guides, and this is one of the first that has shown my something simple, yet totally relevant and useful.
Thanks man!
Thank you, Trenton. I love simple fixes so this works for me, too. I hope to come up with more soon. If you have ideas of your own, feel free to share them any time.
Cynthia
Cynthia, what type or brand of marker did you use for this hack? I truly love this idea and plan to use it with my Moleskines (yes I have quite a few of them).
Thomas
Hi Thomas,
I used Tombow’s Dual Brush Pens for the edges, but I would imagine that any water-based markers will do. The brush pens have a brush shaped tip which was easier to use on the edge of the pages than a traditional marker tip. A chiseled point would work well, too. Permanent markers may work, too but might bleed too deeply into the page, so be careful if you use one.
Cynthia
Thank you for the info. Cynthia, sorry it took a while for my reply. I have been deployed to the middle east for the past few years and have not had much time to get back.
Thank you for your reply and for what you are doing for our country. I truly appreciate it. I hope you were able to find a marker that would work for the edges of your journals.
Cynthia
What a great idea! More permanent than the Levenger Page Nibs I use.
Glad you like it! I have trouble with little tabs falling off and getting smashed, so this works better for me. Being able to make a custom color palette helps, too.
Cynthia
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