Every Day Essentials for the Successful Blogger

because we wrote down one night everything in it
~ Adrian Henri

In a follow up to sharing my blogging workflow I thought I’d give you a behind-the-scenes peek at my EDC (every day carry). These are the items I take with me when I’m out and about for my blogging and journaling. This has been on my to-do list for ages. I was finally inspired to write it by a conversation with my friend and fellow mental health blogger Aimee Wilson.

Aimee: What’re you doing?

Martin: Right now, sorting what to bring out with me tomorrow. I carry so much in that green bag of mine, but it’s all essential blogging and writing stuff! I keep meaning to do a blog post about all I carry.

Aimee: That’s so funny because the new post I’m writing is about all the essentials for blogging!

Martin: No way! Really?

Aimee: This is why we’re best friends — we have so much in common!

You can read Aimee’s Essential Items for Bloggers on her blog I’m NOT Disordered. We approach things differently (compare Aimee’s post inspired by a Hidden Histories event with my more prosaic account) but with her permission I’ll use Aimee’s organisation of items into stationery, notebooks, technology, and tech accessories. To these I’ll add personal items and the bags I carry everything around in. I’ve listed everything I normally have with me, with buying links where possible.

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Stationery

• Black pencil case (Blackwell’s Bookshop) containing:
  • Lamy Safari fountain pen, blue, Extra Fine nib, blue ink
  • Lamy Studio fountain pen, black, Extra Fine nib, black ink
  • Lamy Studio fountain pen, brushed steel, Medium nib, red ink
  • Parker Jotter fountain pen Medium nib, black ink
  • Rotring Tikky mechanical pencil 0.5mm
  • Steel propelling pencil
  • Ballpoint pen - The Living Leader
  • Ballpoint pen x2 - Hilton Hotels
  • Lamy ink cartridges (black, red, blue, purple)
  • Parker ink cartridges (black)
  • Steel 6 inch ruler

• Lamy Safari fountain pen, charcoal matt black, Extra Fine nib, black ink
• Lamy Safari fountain pen, white, Extra Fine nib, brown ink
• Pink Pentel EnerGel gel pen, black ink
• Tipp-Ex Mini Pocket Mouse 6mm correction tape
• Rolson mini tool (screwdriver bits)
• Glue Stick 20g (Tesco)
• Scissors (Flying Tiger)

• Stewarts Luxury mints tin 50g (Gretna Green) containing washi tapes and safety pins
• Aluminium business card case (personalised with world map washi tape) containing my business cards (Vistaprint)
• Writing paper
• Envelopes
• Assorted postcards (Paperchase)

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Notebooks

• Midori Standard Traveler’s Notebook, brown
  • Traveler’s Notebook Lightweight Paper 128 pages plain insert (#013)
  • Squared paper insert (Flying Tiger)
  • Homemade card folder (notes etc)
  • Homemade clear zip pocket, made from a Tesco pencil case
• Midori Passport Traveler’s Notebook, brown
  • Traveler’s Notebook plain inserts (#003) x2
  • Various homemade folders and pockets
• Moleskine Classic Collection Ruled notebook, 240 pages
• My Little Journal of Gratitude (Paperchase)

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Technology

• Samsung Galaxy S9 phone
• HP Sprocket instant colour printer
• Paperang thermal printer

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Tech Accessories

• HP Sprocket instant colour printer paper
• Folding aluminium phone stand
• VTIN Bluetooth headset
• EASY ACC 15600 Power Bank 15600mAh
• Charging cable: USB to USB-C
• Charging cable: USB to Lightning
• Bluetooth keyboard (Maplin)

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Personal Items

• Bisodol indigestion relief tablets
• Paracetamol 500mg tablets
• Ibuprofen 342mg tablets
• Comb
• Mints

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Bags

Apart from the printers (I would take one or the other, not both) all of the above fits — just — into my trusty Lorenz Multi functional canvas bag/holdall. Clipped to the outside I have two brass binder clips and a small compass which is more decorative than functional — but you never know when you might need to know which way is north!

I also carry a cotton “Always Take the Scenic Route” shopping bag bought from Mountain Warehouse in support of the Sreepur Village in Bangladesh.

If I need more space the Lorenz fits perfectly into my Jack Wolfskin Berkeley 30L Daypack.

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What Do I Do with It All?

That might seem an awful lot to carry around with me all day, so what do I do with it?

I keep a personal dairy in a series of Moleskine notebooks. My current diary is always with me so I can capture my thoughts and ideas whenever I am moved to.

I use my Standard Traveler’s Notebook for work notes and for drafting blog posts. The lightweight insert is ideal for blogging; the thinner paper means I have more pages to write in than with a regular insert.

My Passport Traveler’s Notebook is for memory keeping. I keepsake days out, holidays, and other special occasions. I decorate the pages with washi tape, stickers and stamps, also photos printed on my HP Sprocket or Paperang printers.

The gratitude journal was a recent gift from a friend and I keep it with me as a prompt to acknowledge and record moments of gratitude and appreciation through my day.

I love letter writing and keep a few sheets of writing paper, envelopes, and postcards in my bag.

The adjustable stand and Bluetooth keyboard turn my phone into a mini laptop when I want to type up my rough drafts. The stand is also great for selfies, time lapse videos, and video calls. I use my Bluetooth headset to listen to music, for voice and video calls, and recording audio blogs.

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One Final Note

The Adrian Henri quotation at the top of this article has meant a lot to me since I first encountered it years ago. A fuller quotation from what is quite a long poem reads:

room gone now
room preserved forever
because of you
because of me
because we wrote down one night everything in it
because it looked like you
even when you weren’t there
room rented now like my dreams
to someone else

The idea of writing down the contents of a room in exhaustive detail remains extraordinary to me. It’s something I’ve thought about but never attempted. This article is my modest tribute to Henri’s genius.