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In my April Theme 2020 I have included a Dutch Door. The principle is actually quite simple: you cut one or more pages in your Bullet Journal shorter and instead of a double page you just use several pages as a weekly or monthly overview. How this works exactly and what tips I can give you, you can find out here in the tutorial. I'll also give you a few helpful ideas! :)
On the picture above you can see my vertical April Dutch Door. I adapted the cutout to my monthly theme "Fireflies & Polaroids" and added some doodles. Of course this is not a must, you can also just cut the page and record todos, tasks, highlights or goals. But as you can see here, I not only had much more space available, but the cutout already shows parts of the next page (small calendar overview) on the front. This is what makes the Dutch Door so special!
How to quickly create your own Dutch Door in 4 steps
You want to design your next weekly overview as Dutch Door? I will show you how to do it best:
Think about a layout BEFORE you start cutting. I always sketch everything out in pencil and think carefully about where I want to place which element.
Define how many pages you need for your layout. This can be totally different for each variant! Also, sometimes you need a little more space and in some weeks and months you just don't.
Now you can design your layout as usual (for normal weekly overviews) with fineliners, brush pens and felt-tip pens. In case you need some more tips on the right Bujo material, check out this blogpost.
At the end it's time to cut out! An important tip: When using doodles (here e.g. the big moon), make sure to leave some space for the black border and not to cut directly on the line. It simply looks nicer afterwards! :)
How I created my Dutch Door exactly, you can see here in my short video:
Different variants, for your perfect weekly or monthly overview
A Dutch Door can be designed both horizontally and vertically. For inspiration I have put together a sample graphic for you:
Up to now, I have only ever used the vertical version, which I personally find simply nicer! But that is a matter of taste :) As you can see in the video or on the pictures, you simply cut a piece of your middle bujo side from bottom to top. This way you can show a part of your next double page.
With the horizontal variant you simply cut off half of several pages. This way you divide the page in two halves and keep only the upper or lower part, depending on how you want it. You can create a small mini booklet in your Bullet Journal. It is important that you leave the left page on the first double page and the right page on the last double page. This is a great way to get an overview of the month, you can create all weekly spreads within the Dutch Door for the entire month and still have the month in view on the page!
Feel free to write me in the comments if you have ever used a Dutch Door and what experiences you have had. Do you like the design? Do you find it practical?
Happy Journaling! :)
