My name is Sharon and I have a problem … I can’t stop buying stationery!! I know I’m not alone, and is it really a problem? Its not really, is it? I mean its all useful stuff … right??
Anyhoo, in the spirit of back to school time (as a student or in my case, as a teacher) I’ve done the obligatory back to school stationery shop. Now this isn’t a definitive list of everything you’d need (as stated above, being an addict I keep myself in a steady flow of stationery purchases throughout the year), but I’ve found some pretty nice items that I thought I’d share, that others might find useful too. I’ll include the prices at the time of purchase (baring in mind that a lot of this stuff is on special offer given the time of year), and links to specific items where I can. As far as I know, these stores are UK based stores, but I’m sure you can find similar stationery items in any stores in your country.
Wilkinson’s Stationery
Anyone from the UK will know that Wilko’s have a fantastic stationery selection. My copper desk organisers are from here, and they do really cheap files and folders, as well as really pretty stationery sets. For this spending spree, I managed to stick to two items. An A4 refill pad for £1, and a home box file for £4.50. I actually have a box file at home that I use to organise bill and important paperwork, so this could be an option for you. You could also use it to organise paperwork relating to a specific project you are working on. This one I plan to use at work. In my job as an A level teacher, I don’t always teach in the same classroom, and so often have to carry handouts from room to room, or need to collect homework on and carry it to my work base. I’m hoping that this will provide an easier way of carrying all that paper while keeping it organised, making my life a little easier. I’ll let you know how it goes! if you have any other uses of this box file, leave it in the comments below!
Ryman Stationery
In some ways Ryman’s can be expensive, but again I went there during their back to school sale so picked up some good deals, this time more pen related. First up I bought the Zebra Ballpens in Rose Gold for £1.39. These are plastic black ink pens with a cap, but I thought they’re a little fancier than your basic Bic. They write quite nicely too.
Next up I bought some Pentel Dry Wipe Markers for £2.99. As I’m not always in the same classroom, I can’t rely on the equipment I need being available. To make sure can always use the whiteboards, I carry my own pens.
Finally, the best for last, I picked up the Stabilo Swing Cool Pastel Highlighters for £6.99. Now, this may be a slightly excessive purchase (I did warn you all that I have a problem) as I already have the normal Stabilo Pastel Highlighters. However, I just love these colours and use them to colour code my classes, and this slimmer design is much easier to fit into a pencil case. You can of course just buy the four pack, or you can buy standard highlighters much cheaper than this. But if you like these, I’d grab them while they’re on offer!
Sainsbury’s Stationery
Sainsbury’s is usually my danger zone for notebooks. They have some absolutely beautiful design collections in there and are partly to blame for my notebook addiction! But this time, I stayed away from the notebook aisle and picked more organisation related items instead. I regularly use index tabs, either as signifiers for my wall calendar or in my notes and textbooks. These were reduced to 75p so I got two packs.
I don’t know about you but I always seem to rip the paper dividers that you can buy. My teaching folders (the master copy of all of my handouts that I use) is quite full so dividers don’t seem to last long. I’ve not tried these plastic dividers before but I thought I’d give them a go, see if they hold up any better. These were £1.50 for a pack of 20, which I think is quite reasonable.
These last products are ones I’m most excited to try, I think it’s such a good idea! I found these Snopake Polyfile Ringbinder Wallets that you are punched so you can keep them in your binder! They are so much stronger than normal plastic wallets and have a bigger capacity. (I couldn’t find the link for these ones, so I’ve linked the Wilko’s alternatives instead, these are cheaper at 75p each).
I hope this has given you some ideas for your own stationery shopping. I’ll be uploading more specific posts on organisation, so keep an eye out for those!
Sending love and good vibes
Sharon xo