Spring Semester Stationery Setup

A new semester started for me this week, which means my life is once again ruled by school supplies! Last semester taught me a lot (I mean, school-wise, obviously, but also stationery-wise) about what works for me and what doesn't. I've made some adjustments from what I used before, kept a few things that worked well, and of course, got some new supplies. I'm only taking one class this semester (two was too much for a working mom with two kids home virtual learning, and I'm already glad I scaled back) but the format of this class is very different from the ones I took last semester, so some of my adjustments are based on predictions of what I think will work.

First of all, the Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter Bestseller is back for an encore performance. It worked great last semester, and I have once again put a Clairefontaine Art Deco A5 notebook in it for my class lecture notes, along with the same Nock Co A5 slim notebook to be my school admin notebook. Right now the third clip is empty. It may stay that way. This class is a literature survey, where we'll be reading, taking notes on, and discussing 22 novels. I was going to put my reading notes log in the third clip, but I realized a few things. One, I'm going to need a lot of pages for taking notes on 22 books. Two, I'm going to need something that I'll take with me everywhere. Three, I don't need to take my lecture notes with me everywhere--those typically stay on my desk. So I opted for a separate notebook.

My reading notes book is a Leuchtturm 1917 hardcover. The index and double ribbon make it perfect for this purpose. We're reading 2 books a week, so they can each have their own ribbon. I started reading the books over break, but not in the order we're going to discuss them, so having an index is very helpful for quick reference. I can carry this notebook with me, along with whatever book I'm reading. I also added a Traveler's Company clip-on pen loop, so I can keep my pen handy.

I'll carry them in these great padded book sleeves by Book Beau. I've used them for a while now, and found that they work even better for school than they did for my personal reading. They're designed to keep your books safe and protected in your bag, but I find them useful for also carrying reading supplies. With this larger size, I can fit a thick hardback novel, my reading notebook, and a few pens or highlighters, and sticky notes. That way I have a self-contained reading kit that I can grab and go.

Last semester I used a clipboard for reading my academic article print-outs, but often found that I had more reading than would fit on the clipboard, leading to a complicated folder system that didn't quite work. I dug out this Greenroom Clipfolio to try and address that problem this time. The generous interior pocket should hold some hefty textbook chapters, and I can clip whatever piece I'm actively reading to the front.

Last semester I read about 1500 pages of textbook and academic articles per week, and I went through two to four highlighters every week, for fourteen weeks. I can already tell that this semester my staple school supply will be sticky notes/page flags. I've been using the Midori film star sticky notes for my reading so far, and I'm using about 50 flags per book. I'm almost out already and class just started. I have a JetPens cart full of sticky notes--five different brands, so I can compare them.

Highlighters don't work great in novels. I'll be using them on the printouts, but for underlining and making notes in the books themselves (yes, I'm doing this, don't hate) I'm using Uni-Ball Signo DX pens in the .38 mm tips. They're fine enough for writing notes in small book margins, but the ink is saturated enough that the underlines are easily visible. They're also tiny enough to use in my planner.

I decided to downsize from an A5 planner to the Hobonichi Weeks this year. I've found that, like goldfish, my to-do list will expand to fill the space allowed. I'm hoping that by keeping my planner space minimal, I'll learn to see that the day is full when the space is full and stop trying to add more tasks. That's really not working so far. Instead I'm just running out of space for all the stuff I have to do. But I'm going to keep at it--training brains can take time.

As a side tip, if you use a Weeks and have a zipper case like mine, you're probably also mad about the ribbon bookmarks. Ribbon bookmarks and zipper cases are not compatible! The stationery world has not learned this, yet, somehow. What I do is take a strip of washi tape, and tape the ribbons to the outside of the back cover, so they're tucked inside the cover sleeve. Then I use something else as a bookmark, like the Weeks pencil board, or the Midori clip bookmarks. It works much better than trying to extract shredded ribbon from zipper teeth ten times a day.

That is my setup for this semester! As always, it's subject to changes on-the-go. Sometimes I'm tempted to stick with something that isn't working, just for consistency's sake, but if there's anything I learned in 2020, it's how to change plans.

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A Pen Addict's Assessment of School Supply Shopping

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her first novel, The Bone Weaver’s Orchard, now available where books are sold!)

Like many of us, my love for stationery began early, possibly from birth. Was there anything better, in childhood, than a fresh box of crayons? Back-to-school shopping was the highlight of the year. Better than my birthday or Christmas. Back then, the school supply lists gave general guidance on what you might need, and the list hinted at what grand adventures might await in the new classroom. I remember the first time my list had paints on it. The excitement was almost unbearable.

College school shopping was extra exciting--there were no real lists, and I was free to use glitter gel pens and fountain pens and Clairefontaine notebooks to my heart's content. No more college-ruled loose-leaf nonsense! I missed school shopping, after I graduated. The rows of bins of fresh erasers still tempted me every fall.

So, you can imagine my delight when my eldest child started school and back-to-school shopping reentered my life.

But times have changed. The list has changed. And some of the fun has gone out of school shopping. The days of picking out your own markers are over--now they give you an item number or exact brand name and type. It's more of a scavenger hunt than a selection process, and it takes place in a maze full of frazzled obstacles. What once was the biggest celebration of the year has become the biggest burden.

Now, part of that is the financial aspect. The school list alone, without any of the extras, like shoes or the requested classroom donations, runs about $300 a child. Between the two kids and all the gear they need, we can easily top $1200, if we're not careful. So we have to be very careful. Every year it gets more expensive (separate gym shoes! Calculators!), and every year, I have to develop new strategies to make sure my kids have what they need to get through the year.

My strategy this year? Screw the list. Yeah. Normally, I'm a list follower. I used to glide gleefully down the aisle from item to item, checking things off. But I'm just done. 48 sharpened number two pencils? No. That's ridiculous. Twelve red pens? I don't think so. I spent twelve years of my life editing for a living, and I don't think I went through twelve red pens in that time. He has two, still, that we got him last year, and that's enough. It's true that he might lose them, and in that case, we'll have to get more, but I hope he might learn, instead, to keep track of what's important.

He'll need new notebooks, of course, and I'm always happy to provide the classroom with sanitizing wipes or whatever else they may need to prevent the rampant spread of classroom diseases, but the supply list madness has to stop.

We're having to watch our pennies quite closely this year, and I think a lot of my frustration comes from that--that these items are deemed necessities when, really, many of them are luxuries. And I realize the high quantities on some items are because we're supplying the classroom, not just our child. And I don't believe that teachers should ever have to purchase classroom supplies, and I know how often they do, and it breaks my heart.

But I also don't feel like my eleven-year-old NEEDS a wireless mouse, so he's not getting one. He definitely needs jeans and a new coat, so we'll focus there.

Maybe I'm just being grumpy. Maybe I've got the summer break blues. Tell me, parents, do you still enjoy the school supply shopping? Or has it worn you down? How many pencils does your list ask for? How much do you end up spending on your school shopping? Do you follow the list?

I hope the magic is still alive for you. And I hope it comes back, for me, too! Perhaps it will next year, when we'll be school shopping for three, as I'll be going back to school, myself. I can't deny that one of my first thoughts when I decided to return to school was that I'd need school supplies! I wonder if we need fresh crayons for grad school...

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!