Back to School Sales and Stuff

I do not see the appeal in shoe shopping. I do not get excited about shopping for clothes. But every year, starting in late July, you can find my excitement about shopping reach epic highs; it is no coincidence that this is also when the Back to School shopping sales begin.

Even after I quit going back to school and long before my own children were heading off in that bright yellow bus, I looked forward to BTS sales. I can spend hours wandering the aisles of the local office supply store. I seriously debate the attributes of various pen options.

I do not carry a purse, but I spent hours trying various laptop bags. At one point, I even requested a sales person remove a floor model of a laptop computer similar to my own, so I could be sure my 15.4 widescreen would fit smoothly in my top choice. At other times, I have been known to bring along my own laptop as I searched for the perfect bag. I was never interested in purses, but I have a "travel" laptop bag, a daily laptop bag, and then I have the laptop bags I rarely use or let the hubby/kids use.

When it comes to my choice in pens, I prefer blue ink. I also prefer a pen that glides across the paper. The way the ink flows is as important as the way the pen feels in my hand.

I have a well stocked office with a variety of paper available: printer (in various colors), notebooks (secretary and reporter sized), looseleaf (wide and college ruled), and various notepads and sticky notes. My well stocked office includes various staplers, tape dispensers, a wide assortment of writing utensils (including crayons, colored pencils, markers (wide, narrow and Sharpie), dry erase markers, blue ink, black ink, red and green ink too....

For folders, I prefer the two-pocket variety with the fastener in the middle for everyday use. I buy the plastic type OR I decorate the plain paper variety and seal it with clear contact paper to make it sturdier. I also use a lot of 3-ring binders to organize items for the long-term.

I haven't even started to mention my scrapbooking supplies....

My back to school shopping experience just keeps getting better. This year, in addition to the regular supplies, I am also carefully considering displays of jump drives, blank discs and storage cards (SD and compact flash).

If you'll excuse me, I hear there is a sale that I just can't miss....