Y'all. I just discovered this thing called trash journalling and I'm so intrigued rn... Apparently people send paper scraps, old event tickets and stuff like that to total strangers on the other side of the world???

I'd like to know more about this, like why do you do this? What kind of "trash" is acceptable and what isn't (aside from the obvious like used tissues or stuff like that, I hope people have a basic sense of decency lol)? Like, how about very personal items like letters from an ex, old diary entries, stuff like that? Do you have a specific item in mind that you'd love to get but haven't received yet? Which piece of "trash" is your favorite treasure?

And also, if anyone would like to share what their trash journals look like, feel very free to DM me (idk if sharing photos in the comments is allowed). I'd love to see what you've created! I'm into scrapbooking (would've attached photos but apparently it's forbidden? I'm so confused lmao), but so far I've only used paper scraps, letters from friends and family and stuff like that. I quickly ran into a problem though: as I keep adding layers to the pages, they get super thick and the book looks like it'll burst... How do you deal with this? Do you bind the book yourself or something like that?

I could use some motivation to declutter my space, and knowing that some of the things I should let go of might bring someone else a bit of joy would be great. So idk, feel free to hmu if you'd like to exchange some stuff or just talk about why you'd like to receive old candy wrappers from a random stranger living on the other side of the world. This is so fascinating!!!

Being a Dad with young kids is so much fun, but it can also be lonely. I love my family, and so I am not really lonely per se, but I do not see alot of other Dads that I can relate with during the day. So, it would be cool to talk with someone that is also caring for littles in another area.

I would also like for my daughter to be exposed to different cultures and languages, so we would share her art/thoughts too.

I got the idea after watching a short doc on a gentleman from Korea that stays with his kids while wife works. It was so interesting to see how they get along and manage education, food, shopping and just normal stuff as a Dad. We dont really have Dad groups in the same way Mom groups here.

Hey everyone,

I'm a 27 year-old, Latino, gay guy from Texas. I currently have a lot paper, nice pens, postage stamps, and envelopes, yet no one to write to. I'm hoping to meet someone to change that.

I love books and literature, specially the classics. A lot of my favorite writers—Woolf, Kafka, Dickinson, Lovecraft—wrote extensively in letters, and it makes me wish I had a penpal of my own; specially since I feel instant messaging has made conversations so dry and shallow nowadays.

Some of my interests include:

- Books and literature. I specially love the classics, but I also like horror and science fiction. For nonfiction I like reading historical accounts

- Folklore. I consider myself an amateur folklorist, and I love all things fairy tales, mythology, folk beliefs, superstitions, witchy things, etc.

- Working out and lifting. Currently on a bit of a fitness journey.

- Video games. I mostly play on PC. I enjoy competitive shooters and solo horror or cozy games.

- Creative endeavors. I enjoy creative writing, learning how to draw, and educating myself more on art in general.

If any of this peaked your interest and think we'd be a nice fit, please do feel free to DM me :)

Outgoing, nature-loving single bi guy here seeking long-term friendships built on depth . Something with a best friends vibe. Tell be about your online shopping and why haven't made up your mind yet, your crush/partner, what you're having for dinner. Enjoys travel, photography, hiking, good food, self-growth and the balance of home time and outdoor adventures.

I would like the kind of friend to share our wins and struggles together, relationships, work, life goals and being supportive and sending random stuff to each other. Judgement free. Open to voice notes, voice calls and video calls on other platforms if we click.

Always looking for movies, tv shows reading and podcast recommendations. Some stuff I've been into lately.. ted lasso, pluribus, carrie, mayfair witches

Hey fellow letter writers! I I'm 46M, married, a dad to both humans and animals, and I am looking to make a few meaningful connections and long-term friends. I have always enjoyed getting to know people, hearing their stories, and discovering what makes us all unique and yet similar at the same time.

I love music, LEGO, creative writing, poetry, books, and a healthy dose of sarcasm and playful baloonter. As a writer, I do have an obsession for journals/notebooks and pens. I'm equally comfortable having deep, meaningful conversations about life or laughing over something completely ridiculous. I'm hoping to find a few genuine penpals who enjoy the art of conversation. Whether it's sharing everyday adventures, exchanging random thoughts, discussing passions, or simply being a friendly presence in someone's day, I'm here for it.

Everyone 18+ is welcome and I am LGBTQ+ friendly. I believe some of the most interesting friendships come from people with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. I'm not looking for romance, just authentic friendships, interesting conversations, and hopefully connections that last beyond a few messages.

If any of this sounds like your kind of friendship, feel free to reach out and DM me! Tell me something about yourself, what you're passionate about, or even the most random thing that made you smile recently.

Hello everyone, I’m 28 years old from Istanbul, Turkey. I was looking for penpals through apps but it didn’t work so I’ve decided to here.

I’m working in an university and doing sociology phd at same time. I am married and have an orange cat.
I’m really interested in politics and try to follow up current developments especially in Central Asia and China area. So if you are from these area and talk about politics it will be awesome. Besides of that I’m completely open to every country and age.

My native language is Turkish, also I’m good at English. Besides of that I’m newbie at Italian (A0-A1 level) and Russian (trying to learn alphabet :D) So if you want to practice Turkish and writing your letter on Turkish is completely okey for me.

If you read this and want be an penpal, please DM me. Btw, I’m completely new to penpals, please forgive me if I’ve forgotten to mention anything—feel free to ask via DM.

Have a nice day everyone!

Hey everyone! As the title says, I'm a 32 year-old male from TX, US. About me, I don't know what to say but let me try. At least I can say a few things. I consider myself as an introvert. I enjoy spending my time on my own. I like gaming, listening to music, and reading. Yeah, sometimes I can be a couch potato as well. Other than this, I like walking outdoors. I work in healthcare and also get my next title. But I'm interested in other things including history, geography etc. I also try to get better at GeoGuessr. Do you play it? I also like thrifting. Anyway, I guess that's all for now. Even if I'm an introvert, I started feeling alone recently. I'm looking for some people to be friends with. I know since I'm a male, I won't get many messages but here we are. Don't hesitate to dm me if you'd like to chat. I'm open to anyone. I don't mind where you're from, what gender you're, or how old you're. Only 18+ please. Thanks for reading.

literally, that’s it. i want to print out a meme (think john pork type beat), and mail it to you. and then i also want you to mail me one back.

we can also include a letter or even an extra meme or two, no worries. i’m just feeling a little whimsy and just realized 2 seconds ago that i have free will.

oh also, i can send you a book or two, nothing in return if you don’t wanna. i have lots of favorite books and plenty sitting on my bookshelf but i’m moving out of the country next year and it’s difficult to take them all with me.

end of the day, i just wanna trade printed out memes, anything else is just a bonus!

I am a high school graduate looking for a penpal on email. This is my first step in the penpal hobby and it is a hobby I always wanted to pursue.

I love speaking to people from around the world who are of different cultures and I would love to talk about my culture as well. I am also a bit of a political history nut so if you are too I would love that too. I will be getting into med school too from January, so I would love some advice on that as well.

I would like to keep our pen palship as annomonoys as you want, i would like to know your country and about your culture and maybe if we hit off in our friendship, even about ourselves, idk it's my first time 🫣

ps. I would have liked nothing more then to write letters by hand for my potential penpals but I am too broke for that 😭, maybe someday.

Hello, I’m a Korean woman living in Seoul. Recently all my friends got married and suddenly I have more time - since my friends became more family-oriented and can’t spontaneously meet up for a beer anymore, so here I am.

I studied English, French and Politics in university and graduate school. Hence I love literature and politics and always read and write about them. My more recent accomplishment (yeah I call it one!) is that I finally learned to read the Arabic letters this month. Finally! 😂

Apart from my career, I spend my time on ballet, swimming, books, movies, art and theatre. I like good coffee and tea. A huge Swiftie, too.

So I’d love to have single friends again, those who do not have to go back to their children and familial duties at some point. And sorry, I’m not a long-letter person. Though I appreciate good conversations, I get lost when I have go write 4-5 paragraphs every time. In the past, I’ve met really great people who tend to write huge letters, and I always feel guilty for not being able to answer. I try, I open the chat, and my mind goes blank. 😭

Last but not least, please don’t complain about your own people to me… Like, “Girls in my country are all bad. So I’m here to get to know foreigners”. I’m not dating you either so stay away from me. (I’m writing this after receiving 10 messages like this)

See you soon!

hello friends!

i have had such great experiences with the penpals i’ve found here and am ready to start back up again!

i by no means have my life together. i’m not sure i’ll ever feel like i do. i want to write about the ups and downs of our lives. tell me your hyperfixations, tell me your struggles. tell me your wins, tell me your failures. tell me about your best friend and who has hurt you past recovery. i have enjoyed every letter ive received, but it felt hard to write back at times when i received a letter about someone’s structured, successful life and my response is something like, “well i ended it with my situationship for a third time and my apartment hasn’t had hot water in three weeks!” i want to be freely messy, and i want you to feel the same.

i am forever an optimist but love dark humor. i love reading, writing short stories and poetry, any and all music, old movies, tv where you’re allowed to hate the characters, crafts, animals, and so much more that i’d love to tell you over mail. i can’t wait to meet you!

Hello! My name is Gabriel, and I’m a transmasc (he/they) creature living in Philly. I am 28, a Libra Sun/Moon and Gemini Rising, and a huge fan of animals. I have lots of pets, and would love to share all about them with you!

I am also an artist, and am currently hyperfixated on Supernatural (I’m on season 7, sob). I am also a huge fan of anime, manga, and writing/reading horror. On top of all of that, I’m a furry! My fursona is a jackal named Larken, and I have a secondary fursona named Fish who is a Peryton.

I would love to have someone to doodle with and write back and forth with! I really enjoy using lots of stickers and cute paper and sharing supplies when I’m able. I have a lot of fun with the aesthetics, but I’m totally comfortable if that’s not your thing. My only asks are that you are 18+, MUST be kind about tarantulas as pets (you don’t need to like them, but I will likely bring them up and need you to not tell me you’d squish them please), and that you aren’t a Christian (nothing against Christians at all! I just have an insane amount of traumatic lore).

Hi everyone! 💕 I’m looking for genuine friendships with people I can exchange cute packages, letters, and little gifts with while keeping in touch. I’m pretty introverted and struggle with social anxiety, so making friends at events can be difficult for me. I figured this would be a fun way to connect with people!
I used to sell on Depop and Vinted, and I genuinely loved putting together cute packages with handwritten notes and freebies. Unfortunately, after about six months, sales started declining, and the whole experience became stressful. I decided to stop selling, but now I have tons of leftover inventory, stationery, stickers, notebooks, bracelets, keychains, and packaging supplies.
Instead of letting everything sit around collecting dust, I’d love to use it to brighten someone’s day and hopefully build a lasting friendship! I’m not trying to sell or promote anything. I genuinely just enjoy giving gifts, making thoughtful packages, and getting to know people. I’ve read the community rules and hope this post is okay! 💌

Hello Reddit.

I’ve had an idea for a while now, and I’m wondering if this is the place to make it happen. As we all know: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” I’ve gotten into junk journaling, and am hoping to make a journal of strangers’ junk.

So I’m calling on you. Yes, you. Here’s my plan. I want as many strangers as I can get to flood my mailbox with a memento of your day, a snippet of your life. Maybe a train ticket from your commute, a (hopefully cleaned) candy wrapper from your sweet treat this afternoon, a receipt from your trip to the mall, a napkin from a bar you met someone at for a first date? Anything works. Doesn't even have to be actual trash. And then, in the spirit of penpals, send a letter introducing yourself and describing your day. I’m going to compile them all into a single journal, proving once and for all the value of a stranger’s trash.

I would also love to get some new penpals out of this experience. I promise to respond to every person who writes. If you feel so inclined, please reach out. I would love to experience a small sliver of your life 😊

Edit: OMG this is wayyy more people than I expected to respond. Like a true trash panda, I'm excited to see what y'all send in!

Hello everyone!

I hope you all are having a great day!! I just recently moved to the northwest region of the US for graduate school, and I am hoping to make some new connections over mail! I am a bit shy and am looking to expand my social circle now that I'm in a new place (I'm also hoping to get more into the habit of handwriting letters).

I have a lot of different interests that I would love to talk about with others! I enjoy crocheting and have recently picked up knitting as well. I play MTG and used to play DnD (hoping to start again once I find a new play group)! I have been reading a lot lately and am always looking to expand my TBR list. I also play video games, even though I am not very good at them. I like to hike and camp and am also trying to get more seriously into multi-day backpacking. I love plants (especially trees) and IDing them, and I am trying to get better at birding.

If you'd be interested in being pen pals, please let me know! I'd love to discuss pretty much anything and enjoy hearing about people's lives. I also have a bunch of postcards that I've just never sent out, so if you'd be interested in getting a postcard specifically please let me know. Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a good rest of your week!!

Hi! I had a bunch of penpals before bur unfortunately lost alot of correspondences due to life events so here I am looking for new penpals!

My name is Moth, Im 23 and go by He/They pronouns. I live on the East Coast, USA, in a small queer town.

I am autistic and insects are one of my special interest! I have a praying mantis and a tarantula :]

I love to go thrifting and recently found a typewriter which id love to use for our letters!

I love to write, draw, forage, craft, sew, play videogames, research, true crime, sanrio, collect oddities and much more!

I hope to keep corresponding for a long time and to be able to make real friendships ☆

Hi!

My name is Elias and I'm from Sweden. So here is a little about myself, I am well-educated and work as an operations developer officer. I like to both listen to music and make my own music for fun, nothing serious as its more of a hobby. I am an active person who is s frequent gym-goer but don't worry, I won't try to sell you supplements or anything :)

Besides that I love traveling and have visited five continents, hoping to have visited all of them at some point in my life. One thing I love about traveling is getting to know new cultures and visit amazing historic buildings or to see beautiful sceneries.

I'm looking for a deeper sort of correspondence where we can share things and joke around a bit. I'm open to any form of correspondence but I prefer to start chatting/emailing first before exchanging letters.

Hello everyone! My name is Sage. I'm 18 years old and live in Florida. I'm looking for some new penpals! I don't have a gender prefrence but I would prefer someone who's within the United States just because international postage is a bit expensive at the moment. I also would like to keep my penpals between the ages of 18-25. I've been penpalling since middle school and just decided to pick up the hobby again seriously, and I'd love some penpals who are looking to communicate almost exclusively through letters. I love sending little goodies with the letter, such as stickers, washi tapes, memo pads, and I have plenty to share! I love fashion, thrifting, literature, philosophy, and history. I really enjoy crafting as well, so please let me know if you're interested! I do have some references of letters I've sent and things I've created if you'd like to see.

Hey! I’m Alexandria and I live in the Bay Area with my husband and our two cats. I’m looking for a pen pal or two to exchange snail mail about interesting stuff to learn new things and get to know each other. I’m into lots of things like reading, nature, hiking, yoga, pilates, strength training, animals, veganism, activism, environmentalism, philosophy, music, meditation, travel, thrifting, to name a few. I have tons of cute paper, stickers and supplies and would love to exchange cute letters and materials. DM me if you’re interested!

Hi! I’m Madison :):) I’m a Christian college student in the U. S. and I have a major itch to meet new friends or be mentored by some older ladies with wisdom and life experience 🥰

Things about me:

I love learning and growing and becoming!

I am a piano performance major with a minor in psychology and theatre. I love all things music and arts related. 🎵

Favorite artists: Childish Gambino, Vampire Weekend, Adrianne Lenker, Foster the People

I LOVE strength training and any form of exercise really. It’s taught me so much about discipline and overcoming challenges.

People give my life meaning! I haven’t always found it easy to have solid community in the past, so I’m grateful for the people that I have in my life today.

I’d love to have some female friends from around the world to share perspectives about life with! Pls dm me if you think we would enjoy getting to know one another 💕

Looking for like-minded people to discuss books.

I mostly read speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy and horror) and some literary fiction.

You can see my bookish tastes better on Storygraph on the profile maninsidethehelm, but here are some of my highlights from last year: Roadside Picnic by the Strugatskys, The Employees by Olga Raven, Monstrilio by Cordova, I Who Have Never Known Men by Harpman. And from this year: The End of Everything by M John Harrison, Lord of Light by Zezlany, the Wolf Hall trilogy by Mantel. I have a lot of classic paperback sci-fi stashed at home.

I'm open to communicate via email and letters. I live in Portugal, so for letters, probably better with someone from Europe.

Hi everyone!

I’m an introverted but talkative Colombian (once I get to know you!) living in Germany. I'm looking for a penpal to build a deep, meaningful connection. I would highly prefer (not mandatory) someone who speaks Spanish (👉🏻👈🏻), as it's my native language and I miss using it for deep conversations.

A bit about me:

- I'm actively trying to decentralze my phone. I love vintage things: I use an analog watch, an analog camera, a typewriter, vinyl, and cassettes. I'm new to the world of fountain pens (currently obsessed with olive green ink!).

- I work at a theater as an apprentice in scenic painting, so art is a massive part of my life.

- I have giftedness, which means I get frequent hyperfixations. I'm emotional, slightly nostalgic, and I love deep, stimulating conversations rather than small talk.

- When I have energy, I love reading, cafes, cycling, cultural events, and exploring social/political causes. I also strive for a conscious, sustainable lifestyle.

If you are looking for a slow, deep, and honest friendship, please send me a DM! Please include a little bit about yourself too. ✨

hi! i’m a student biologist living in wales, UK, who’s keen to start penpalling for the first time. as a way of learning about others day to day lives in different countries and sharing cute letters, stationary, etc. my main interests are vintage / antiquities (and collecting trinkets!) arts and crafts, and history. i’d like a penpal who would like to exchange semi frequent letters and cards, and preferably female (no creeps, sorry :,) i have no particular age preference but someone also in their 20s would be ideal. as well as sending little junk items / stickers / postcards from countries. even a little flyer or wrapper! thank you for reading, and please dm if interested 🩷🎀