Why We Love School Supplies and the Office Supply Store So Much

Notebooks, Pens and Paper, Oh MY!!

Ahhhh, I LOVE walking into any store the is time of year! They are all full of sharp pencils, stacks of pretty notebooks, their blank pages screaming of potential, and flowery pencil cases ready to organise all your supplies and look fabulous while doing it!

project made with the fantastic Hip Kit Club June kits

Some of us are simply paper people. The sight of paper, the feel of it, just makes us happy. Some people collect shoes or they travel, me on the other hand, I like paper! I prefer paper to digi any day, but don't worry, I never let my iphone out of my sight. Even still, I truly am a paper person. I even drafted this blog post out on paper before typing it in. I tried to get organised with a digital calendar once, years ago. I Lasted about 2 days until I was late for an appointment and missed another completely! I went back to paper and it hasn't let me down since!

Being a paper person can't be the only reason we love school supplies and the office supply store. I know people who don't even own a paper planner (GASP! I know, right? The horror!) and they use their phone to track tasks and appointmenets and they LOVE office supplies too. 

So, besides being pretty, what is the appeal of office supplies? What makes something as basic as paper so appealing?

Here are my thoughts, I've got 4 reasons why we love office and school supplies and 4 ways you can use those pretty little supplies that sneak their way into your cart, even if you have no practical use for them...yet ;)

Why we love office supplies :

1. Potential
   When we see those shiny new school supplies hitting the stores barely a week after school has ended for the year, our mind goes to all the potential they seem to hold. Potential projects, potential uses for them, the potential we must hold within ourselves somewhere, that we could discover if only we can find the right notebook to release it.
   That potential is there, pretty notebook or not. So tap in to it and live up to it. The world is waiting! If you need some guidence on tapping into your potential check out my class PLAN YOUR DREAMS at Big Picture classes.  You’ll learn how to determine what your goals are—whether big or small—and how to break them down into manageable steps. My tips and tricks will help you incorporate these steps into your schedule and get you on the right track to achieving your dreams! 
   
   
2. A Blank Slate
   A new notebook is the modern day version of a blank slate. All those blank pages represent a new start for us. A chance for us to change our old habits and start a fresh. This is a similar feeling to what we get around New Year's. When that calendar flips, we are magically going to be transformed into someone who works out an hour before going to work every morning, and finally writes that novel. However, the same thing happens with school supplies, we get the notebook and pretty new pen but nothing happens. No magical transformation. If you are serious about changing your habits, check out this blog post I wrote about how to successfully start new habits long after the motivation of New Year's has passed. The Biggest Secret To Achieving Your Goals
   
   
3. Hope.
   New things always bring hope of happiness, right? New babies, new clothes, new cars, new school supplies. Hope is wonderful, however, just remember that you are the only one that can make you happy, not a fancy pen or a pack of pretty labels. You make the decision of how things affect you, you can't look to external gratification to change you view on life. Be a cup-half-full person and decide how you are going to react to the things that life throws at you, the good and the bad.
   
   
4. To Be a Kid Again. 
   School stuff is generally for kids, right? And being a kid was fun, so it's only normal that we think of all the first days of school and the fun we had with our friends. Those stacks of looseleaf and binders in the store bring back happy feelings. Enjoy it and maybe reminise with an old school friend on Facebook.

Now, here are 4 Ways You can Use School Supplies and Justify Purchasing all the Cuteness:

1. Use a pretty notebook and pen to make progress on your goals. Back to School is a great time to reignite your passion for your goals. Use the notebook and pen to plan and record your progress.
   
   
2. Plan and track your lessons in Plan Your Back to School. Choose a pretty binder or notebook just like you did in school to write down all progress and notes. You'll be ready when my new class Plan Your Back to School opens on August 14th. Put it in your planner! Or sign up here and I'll send you an email when it opens.
   
   
   
    
    
   
   
3. Plan and track your lessons in Plan Your Dreams. Use another notebook or binder dedicated to my class on discovering and Acheiving your Goals.
   
   
4. Organise your Purse. Those cute pencil cases make great organisers. I have several in my purse, one for kids crayons, one for my watercolour crayons and a water brush pen and another for a mini first aid kit.

So there you have it, I hope that this makes Back to School shopping a little more fun this year. If you are looking to get organised this school year, my newest class at Big Picture classes will be right up your alley. I chat about it a bit more in this video where I also share my process on making htis bullet journal spread. Grab a cup of tea and hit play! 

To learn more about my latest class, PLAN YOUR BACK TO SCHOOL, simply pop over to Big Picture Classes.

Happy Planning!