The Pen Pal Starter Kit

I've been writing to my pen pals for several weeks now. I've really enjoyed taking the time to write letters to people all over the world. Explaining myself and why I do/enjoy the things I do makes me think about myself from an outsider's perspective, which has been enlightening. I'm also well on my well to outnumbering the junk mail that comes to my house, which is ever the goal.

Throughout this process, I've created a system that works for me in keeping my letter writing supplies organized and portable enough to take with me when I travel. I thought I'd take the time to share it with anyone else who is looking to get into the pen pal writing hobby,

Storage Clipboard

This was one of my earliest choices, and I can't recommend it highly enough. I bought mine from Walmart for about $7, so it's pretty inexpensive. You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff you can feasibly fit in here. Everything I'm going to share fits inside the case section. Because I usually travel with a backpack, it easily fits and goes with me wherever I go.

Writing Tablets

Because I write large, I like using a full-sized writing tablet. I found this one by Docket Gold I really love at Fred Meyer for about $3. I write plenty of letters using it because it holds up remarkably well to fountain pen ink. I also like that it's an Ivory color, as opposed to plain white or yellow.

If you prefer something smaller, try this one by Ampad. It's a similar color and price to the Docket Gold in a 5"x8" size. The pages are also perforated, making it easy to remove them from the spiral.

DIY Custom Stationery

My  favorite blank paper for fountain pens is HP Premium 32. It's a higher quality copy paper that has held up to the dozens of inks we've thrown at them thusfar. They can also be cut at half size to use as a lovely 5"x8" substitute. Because we have a black and white only printer (by choice), I chose to customize mine with clip art silhouettes of cats. There are also plenty of free font websites out there where you can get exactly the look you want from a monogram or custom correspondence set with your name on it. It's all pretty easy to do in Microsoft Word and to print yourself at home.

You can also get a similar effect with your favorite stamps and stamp pads. I bought this set from Joann on sale. I like the versatility of being able to make cat or knitter stationery.

Address Book

You wouldn't believe how difficult these are to find anymore. So many people use their email contacts as their personal address book, there doesn't seem to be much demand for them anymore. But part of the joy of writing pen and paper letters is getting away from screens. I wanted a paper address book for the same reason. I also wanted it to be small without too many extraneous spaces, since I wouldn't be using it to gather phone numbers or email addresses most of the time. The only information I wanted for each person was their name, address, and what site, app, or forum I found them on.

I couldn't find what I wanted, so I made it out of a small composition book instead. The ones from Walmart are surprisingly good for this. I divided the pages by 26 letters, and it divided beautifully for having 3 pages (front and back) for each section. I also used small alphabet stickers to create letter tabs on each of the pages. I ended up being much happier with it than anything I could've purchased from a store.

Stamps

Stamps are the most expensive materials when it comes to writing letters. I bought one sheet each of international, U.S. Forever, and U.S. postcard stamps: $8 for the postcard stamps, $11 for the Forever stamps, and $12 for the international stamps. A grand total of $31, but they've lasted me almost 2 months so far. They also make me think about the quality of the correspondence I'm sending. It's nice to be challenged to put something out into the world that exceeds the value of a random Facebook status or Twitter update. There's something to be said for the improvement in our collective discourse when our thoughts cost us money before sending them to another person.

Envelopes

I don't spend a lot of money on these. I buy them from dollar stores and thrift stores. When you look at Instagram, it's very easy to think people expect you to make a full collage on the envelopes you send. While some people enjoy that, it's definitely not necessary. I'll usually put a little cat doodle on the back of my letters, but that's the extent of the ornamentation on my envelopes.

My only recommendation for now is to avoid licking the envelopes to seal them to prevent any potential spread of COVID-19 and other pathogens. Glue sticks, tape, letter sealing dabbers, or self-sealing envelopes are all great alternatives. It's also a good idea to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer before/after handling mail. COVID-19 specifically can live up to 5 days on paper, so keep that in mind when handling your mail.

Return Address Labels

This is a bit of silly luxury that prevents me from ruining envelopes. I write my return address in the destination spot more than I want to admit when I'm not paying attention. This way, I can label my envelopes ahead of time so I don't do that. I'm also a giant font dork and enjoy designing them, so there's that too.

Postcards

My postcards never sit very long, buy I like having a dedicated place to keep them when I travel, and a way to send them from wherever I am. Between Postcrossing, my pen pals, and my family members who are stuckin quarantine, I'm never at a loss for people to send them to. And since their postage is the cheapest, I like sending them the most!

What are your pen pal essentials? Share them in comments in case I've missed anything!