Wow, this is the 5th anniversary of this post! You’re welcome to check out my previous years’ answers: 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022
I’ve changed the questions quite a bit since I first started, mainly to make this series last longer, because I enjoy it. I was originally inspired by a YouTube video from one of my favorite beauty YouTubers.
1. What is your plan for pen and ink purchases this year?
Answer from 2025: I’d like to keep to under 30 pen acquisitions this year. With ink, I’d like to not buy any bottles without trying a sample first, or at least seeing a swatch in person when it’s not possible to get a sample. Well… you already know I didn’t succeed with the first goal. I didn’t do much better with inks. But, I did better than in previous years, so that’s a plus.
Answer for 2026: As I mentioned in my purchasing habits post, my main plans for pens are:
- Limit myself to 30 pen acquisitions
- Make the majority of my purchases from small/indie businesses
- Save up for pens before buying them, rather than buying pens and paying them off
With ink, I’d like to continue to focus on getting a sample first, whenever possible, and also not buy any inks that are really similar to ones I already own.
2. Is there a brand you’re hoping to try for the first time?
Answer from 2025: I’m going to stick with Drewnem Pisane. I’m determined to own one of their pens. I did it, finally! I now have a Drewnem Pisane pen, and it’s fabulous.
Answer for 2026: I’ve seen several posts about Ostrich Ink that have made me curious. I need to take a good look at their offerings. If they’re different enough than what I already own, I may get a bottle.
3. What pen/ink will you prioritize this year because you didn’t get it last year?
Answer from 2025: See #2. OK, that was cheating a bit, past me. But, you were able to get it.
Answer for 2026: While nothing came to mind initially, looking back at my 2025 wish list post, I would still like the Maple in the Forest from Cypress. I’ve got a lot of saving to do, but I want to prioritize asking about it before there’s no hope of getting one.
4. How would you like to change your collection this year?
Answer from 2025: I really need to get rid of some more inks. It’s time to review data and see what I’m not using. Having a lot of inks is fun until you either stick only to your favorites or have so many you can’t use them all. I actually did this! Not as many as I would have liked, but I did get rid of 30 inks which almost offset my acquisitions.
Answer for 2026: I want to compare more inks to weed out everything that is too similar. I also want to list all of my for-sale pens or consign them somewhere. They need to find new homes. On top of that, I want to evaluate my current collection for pens I can sell and list any that I identify as ready for new homes.
5. What general stationery goals do you have for this year?
Answer from 2025: I want to focus on indie brands. I’d like a majority of my purchases this year to be from indie brands rather than mainstream brands and/or large manufacturers. I didn’t quite meet this goal. While less than 50% of my purchases were from large manufacturers — since I count vintage separately — there was no majority.
Answer for 2026: I want to use my pens more. I used them less in 2025 than in 2026, and I’m not best pleased about that. I probably need to work on hand writing more of my blog posts again.
6. What product do you want to use more or less than you currently do?
Answer from 2025: I want to use my Mini 5 binder more. I’ve set it up as my health binder for this year, so, hopefully, that will get me using it. Technically, I did this. My health binder has evolved into a reference binder so I can answer questions easily at medical appointments. That means I don’t use it otherwise. But, I also set up a cat health binder, and that gets used much more often — every vet appointment — and is serving me well.
7. Do you have a resolution for your pen, ink, or paper collection(s) as a whole?
Answer from 2025: I’m trying this resolution again. Let’s see if I can manage to use every “for use” sample at least once this year. This past weekend, I went through my “for use” samples and culled about 30 to get relegated to the “for dupes” baskets, and I created a swatch notebook for just samples so I can easily see what I have available to use. I think being able to see the swatches will make it easier for me to use them. Yeah, big F on this one.
Answer for 2026: Third time’s the charm? I’ll try the “use every ink sample” resolution a third time, but I’d also like 2026 to be a year of reduction. While I won’t hold myself to a goal of a net loss of anything, I’d like to get rid of what I’m not using.
8. Do you have any ink or paper resolutions?
Answer from 2025: I’d like to not buy paper this year until I’m actually running out of what I have. I don’t even know if I can get through my paper in one year. I think I succeeded in this. I did have a couple of notebook additions at the end of the year, but they had specific purposes that my existing paper supply wouldn’t work for.
Answer for 2026: I want to keep going with this goal. I managed to get through quite a bit of paper last year, and it would be nice to go through even more. I’m close to finishing one type of paper, and I’d really like to finally do so.
9. What new pen habit or behavior do you want to adopt this year?
Answer from 2025: I’d like to get into the habit of posting my weekly and long-fill pen rotations on Instagram. I need more pen pics on my feed. I enjoy seeing pen and ink pairings from others, so I think it’s safe to assume they would enjoy seeing mine. I did this pretty faithfully, and I’m going to continue it.
Answer for 2026: It’s not new, but I think it would be good for me to go back to cleaning out my pens the same day I fill the next week’s pens. I keep forgetting to clean my pens and end up needing to clean 2 or 3 weeks’ worth at once.
10. Do you have any continuing resolutions?
Answer from 2025: I’m keeping with both resolutions, as they’re serving me well. I’ll only buy pens that I will be happy to own. And, I won’t buy any pretty ink sticks, friends’ collabs excluded. I bought 2 pens last year that fall into the pretty ink stick category, and one turned out to be a regret — although I truly thought I would love it when I bought it. Otherwise, I did really well with these.
Answer for 2026: By this point, I think I can consider both “no pretty ink sticks” and “only buy pens I’ll be happy to own” as habits, rather than resolutions. But, that leaves me without an answer to this question, since I’ve already discussed several continuing resolutions above.
What do you think of my answers? Do you have any pen resolutions? Please consider answering at least one question in the comments. I’d love to see what your resolutions are.
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