I love shopping for school supplies. New school supplies fill me with so much optimism for the new school year. I make promises to myself to be more organized, to have a clean working space, and to start studying for midterms before the week they’re held. While no item has ever turned me into the individual in my project group whose handwriting is a consistent font and who always starts assignments as soon as they’re assigned, there are some items that do make working and studying a more pleasant experience. Here are some things that are sturdy, efficient, or just plain pretty.
1. Vertical File Sorter
$10.29 at Staples.ca
I have a 3-tier silver mesh office tray with pull-out trays that I bought from Ikea because it looked sexy and professional. It turns out that every time I put something in it I ended up forgetting about it. It still looks good, but it’s not for urgent to-do items. During my last job we moved to a new office and the most exciting part of it was ordering new office supplies. My coworker ordered several of these simple vertical file sorters, and I could not believe its magical organizational powers. File are distinctly separated and in plain view. Documents are easily accessed and filed, and horizontal surfaces are cleared. No more piles!
2. D-Ring Binders
$2-$10 depending on page capacity at office supply stores everywhere
D-ring binders are the only way to go, people. The O-ring ones bend the edges of your pages and the teeth are more likely to miss each other when closing. D-rings keep your pages nicely stacked and makes it easy to tell when you’ve reached the binder’s capacity. They are more expensive than O-ring binders, and it’s not obvious why, but I’ll guess that it’s because they are more awesome.
3. Pierre Belvédère Academic Planner
$20 at Chapters stores or Pierre Belvédère for list of retailers
I am very picky about planners. Everything has to be just right: the layout, the spacing, the size, you get the idea. I’ve used some decent ones in the past, but they’ve had some rather dull covers. On a recent trip to Chapters, I came across the prettiest academic planner, and lo and behold, everything was perfect on the inside too. I searched and searched, but I could not find an online retailer for these planners, but here are some pictures to give you an idea.
Here’s a close-up I took of the planner:
It has a padded cover with embossed flowers and birds that give it a nice textured feel.
The pages open up to a whole week, divided into hours for each day. I love that a calendar of the whole year is shown at the bottom of the pages. It’s an academic journal, which means that it begins in August and ends in August the year after. The back of the planner has color maps and plenty of pages for notes and phone numbers.
Below is a picture of a store that carries a nice selection of Pierre Belvédère products. You can see the one I purchased on the desk. They come in such beautiful colors. I love the one in yellow. I sigh in sadness that Chapters only has the planner I bought.
- Image from priscillalives.blogspot.com
4. Mountain Equipment Co-op Deluxe Bookbag
$39 at Mountain Equipment Co-op
Mountain Equipment Co-op makes quality products at great prices, and I love that it’s Canadian. Everything I’ve ever purchased from MEC has lasted and lasted. Case in point: backpacks. I bought a backpack at the beginning of highschool and I used it everyday until fourth year university. Nothing was wrong with it, I just wanted a new one. In fact, my boyfriend is currently using my old one. My current backpack looks very similar to the one shown, but every year they come out with new designs that replace the old ones. It comes with a laptop pocket, and has enough compartments for functionality but not too much for it to look busy. It has a 30L storage capacity, and its length and width is perfect for someone with a small frame like me. Despite its moderate size, it’s able to hold an incredible amount. I’ve stuffed mine to capacity and it remains comfortable to carry. The two mesh pockets on the side are great for water bottles and umbrellas. All in all, this is the best deal you will find for backpacks.