As you might have noticed, there's a lot of really trendy and popular stationery among studyblrs and studygrams like mildliners and things like that.

However, not everyone can afford to purchase a lot of stationery, and these may not be accessible for a lot of people either.

So, I'm here to give you some tips on taking neat notes without using a lot of stationery.

Let's start with the materials I'll be using for the demo.

I'm using generic notebook paper, two Bic ballpoint pens, and a ruler.

The first tip is to use ruled or graph paper for your notes.

For people with inconsistent or slanted handwriting, using ruled or graph paper will help you keep the lines of your writing straighter and more aligned, which improves the overall neat vibe of your notes.

The second tip is to use a limited amount of colors in your notes.

Having too much color in your notes can make the paper seem overwhelming and also requires more money because, you know, you have to buy them in the different colors.

I prefer two: one for the main body of the notes and the second color for the most important information.

It's up to you to choose which color, but red, black, and blue tend to be the most readily available colors.

And between those three, I personally prefer black as the main body and red as a standout since dark blue tends to be visually similar to black.

The third tip is to choose either between a colored pen or a highlighter.

Both have a similar purposes and use, and if you are on a tight budget, it might be better to pick one.

If you're choosing the colored pen, you can underline to mimic the highlighter or make a box around the important things.

If you're choosing the highlighter, you can just highlight normally.

But either way, they have the same function, the same purpose, but at better economic cost if you just pick one.

The fourth tip is to use a ruler or some sort of straightedge to make various lines.

You don't even have to use a ruler.

You can use the edge of a box or a pad of sticky notes or something like that to achieve the same straight line.

But the reason why I'm telling you this is because having jagged or shaky lines can make your notes seem less organized.

Putting boxes around around things or using straightedges to draw out graphs and diagrams can instantly make your notes seem more organized, and it'll help you find things easier within your notes since it's all neat and all that.

The fifth tip is to keep things consistent.

Keeping colors in your note-taking method consistent across your notes can give the overall vibe of being neat.

And also, consistency is probably the number one thing that gives the illusion of being neat and putting in a lot of effort when you're really not.

The sixth tip is less of a tip dealing with the notes themselves but rather, offering different dupes and options for affording stationery.

I live in the U.S., so some of these dupes and options may not be available or be more expensive for you, so keep that in mind.

Back to school sales will be the best time for you to snag stationery at good deals.

In the U.S., that's around August and September, so keep your eyes peeled for those.

Stores like Walmart will also generally be cheaper than stores like Target.

The Crayola super-tip markers have a wide range of colors, and some of the markers in the sets have a vibe similar to the mildliners.

A plus to Crayola markers is that you can use them to write calligraphy just like brush pens, but it does have a bit of a steeper learning curve compared to a flexible brush pen.

They're so much cheaper though!

Colored pencils are also a great way to add a light pastel splash of color to your notes.

Out of the cheap colored pencil brands, I prefer Crayola.

Just make sure you underline and color with a light hand to ensure that light pastel vibe if you're going for it.

Out of all the pens available at the supermarkets, the Papermate Inkjoy gel pens are probably the best that I've found at their price point.

They dry down fairly quickly and highlight well, and they are cheaper compared to some others like the Pentel Energels.

I used up all of mine, so I don't have any to demo for you, but I like them in 0.5.

The best erasers are the white ones, and in the case of erasers, I find that it's better to spend more on the white eraser than suffer with the pink one and end up with grey streaks all over your paper.

Mechanical pencils are pretty much all the same in functionality from what I've seen, and I can't tell as much of a difference between pencils compared to pens and highlighters and other things like that.

Because of that, I find that it's easier to skimp money on this rather than the pens.

AliExpress offers a lot of cheap and cute sticky notes and washi tape and stationery things like that.

The quality can be a hit or miss sometimes, and the shipping usually takes forever, but the deals are great, and oftentimes, shipping is free.

AliExpress also sells a lot of the same exact things Instagram stationery shops sell but at a much lower price point, which is one reason why I dislike Instagram stationery shops so much, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms that I'm not going to get into right now but thank you, next.

In the end, the most important tip is to remember that your stationery does not define the kind of learning you are doing.

You do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on stationery in order to become a smart student.

In order to do well in school, you have to sit down and study for the grades you want, and no amount of stationery, whether you have a lot or a little, will ever change that.

if you feel bad about the stationery you own, please remember that!

And in the end, you can still get away with the aesthetic by calling it "minimalism" or something like that.

Your own style is your own style.

Hope this helped, and thanks for watching!

Good luck with your studying, and I'll see you in the next video. Buh-bye!