There are three cures to most modern ills:
Sweat
Soil
Ink on a printed page
It’s that last one that has saved my life more than once. I started journaling when I was a kid, until I became an adolescent, got embarrassed of my kid thoughts, and threw them all out. I picked it back up during a period of crisis in college — going for pages upon pages of handwritten thoughts — until I transferred schools, got very happy indeed with a new girlfriend, and set aside my Moleksine.
When the pandemic rolled around years later, keeping a record of the days became a meditative act. After a time, I woke up and had six black Hobonichi Techos lined up on the shelf: the product of small, consistent efforts every day. They were priceless artifacts that had helped me get reacquainted with myself.
But in 2025, I’ve fallen off the horse again. So when I came across Kristin Tweedale and her extremely accessible approach to journaling (or is it scrapbooking?) a couple of weeks ago, it felt like the kick in the pants I needed to get back in the saddle. (That’s two and a half Missour-ah sayings for the price of one.)
Starting this week, Kristin is running the Find Your Voice Summer Camp, “a six-week creative journaling course to help you tell your story, your way.” It kicked off yesterday, but don’t worry, there’s still time!
I had the privilege of sitting down with Kristin for a chat on Substack Live about her journaling process and tips for those of us who aren’t always, erm, so artistically inclined. You can watch our full conversation above.
For those who are short on time, check out some of those tips below — and then keep on scrolling for Kristin’s answers to the Shelter Questionnaire.
5 Tips for Beginning (or Lapsed) Journalers
Let yourself be a beginner. Give yourself permission to not be good right off the bat. "No one's grading you,” Kristin says. “There is no failure." If you miss days or only journal once a week instead of daily, that's still success.
Start (ridiculously) small. It’s okay to start with a sticker on a page. The goal is to create quick wins that build momentum, not to overwhelm yourself with grand creative visions.
Use what you already have. You don't need special supplies. Maybe you’ve got a favorite pen, some washi tape, catalogs, magazines, or even grocery lists lying around. "Stick it in a book," Kristin says, and let it become a creative conversation between you and the stuff you love.
Embrace the mundane. Include Costco receipts, post-it notes, tissue paper — whatever catches your eye. These everyday items become "evidence of a life lived" and often hold more meaning than you'd expect when you revisit them later.
Abandon the rules. There's no requirement for complete sentences, consistent handwriting, or even words! Kristin once got in trouble in school for mixing print and cursive, but now embraces that as part of her authentic style. "You are not being graded on an English paper."
Kristin Tweedale Answers the Shelter Questionnaire
Edited for length and clarity; see the extended version in our video interview above.
What was your first adult home like?
It was an apartment in a large complex in the town next to the university that I was going to at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Me and my roommate at the time went and looked at like, I would say 20 different apartments around New Brunswick. And my mom was like, “You're not living in any of these.”
It was the first time I lived by myself, and it made me a real adult. I had to learn how to be accountable to myself and how to make myself meals — that was honestly the biggest thing, coming home from work and deciding: Am I going to eat real food today?
If you had to flee, what would you save from your home?
Besides my journals, I do have very specific scrapbooks that I would take. I also have two stuffed animals that I've also had since college, Piggy and Puppy. They're like part of the go bag.
Is there a signature meal or drink you wish to be known for?
The perfect chicken parmesan sandwich. That covers so many bases for me. Growing up in north Jersey, there’s not “Italian food”; there’s just food. And I am not Italian at all. Neither of my parents have any direct Italian descent — but Pizza Land from The Sopranos is a few blocks down the street from my parents' house, and that tells you everything you need to know.
If you could change anything about your home (in East Lansing, Michigan) what would it be?
This house is strange. It's just a weird, fun little house. It's not very large, but there are six doors. They did some really weird things to make it work.
One thing that I would change: a bigger bathroom. I would love a bathroom where I can put stuff out on the counter. I'm very jealous of people with double sinks that have a nice vanity space.
What is your favorite imperfection about your home — other than the six different escape routes that the previous owners needed to have?
Our first impression of this house from Zillow was that the pictures were bad. The entire listing was not good. But then when we got in the house, we were like,: oh, okay. This is pretty much perfect for us. It’s really about the location.
The best part about Michigan is the summer. And it's great because everybody leaves. All the students and professors are gone. The town does a really nice job of being nice to the people who stay. There's a jazz festival, an art festival, a folk festival. It's just a great place. And I feel like there's not that many great places to live anymore. And I feel lucky that we have a house that we love in a place that we love. And it's ours. That means a lot.
What was your most memorable childhood road trip?
My parents have a house in the Catskills about two hours upstate New York. Their house is quite literally in the middle of nowhere. It's literally a two-hour drive from Manhattan. If you would like groceries, a bottle of water, or cigarettes or alcohol even, it's 25 minutes to a grocery store.
And it is just a majority of that is state forests and little communities here and there and single lane roads that you can drive on forever. My dad and I would get in the car and just go. One time, the car kept overheating. Every 10 minutes, we had to pull over and cool off the car. It was the most frustrating experience, and I remember getting very emotional and upset. But my dad just said: “We don’t have anywhere to be. There’s nothing we’re going to miss.” My dad taught me how to navigate.
What is your favorite local day trip from where you live in Michigan?
Every single person who comes to visit, we take them to this place called Frederik Meijer Gardens. It is a sculpture garden in Grand Rapids, which is about an hour from here. It's one of those places where you can stay together, or you can break off if you need a little bit of space from people.
Going to the gardens in Grand Rapids, grabbing something to eat, and then heading over to the beach on Lake Michigan when it is the most warm out and everybody else has gone home for dinner: That is my perfect day.
Check out previous issues of the Shelter Questionnaire here:
Seth Putnam is an editor and writer in Chicago. He lives with his wife, son, and daughter in a 1920s home that is the epitome of a work in progress.
"Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." —Mary Oliver
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