Back to School Essentials & Organization

Hey Everyone!
With school just around the corner, i thought that now would be a good time to share with you a couple tips for choosing a back to school bag, choosing your school supplies, how to decorate your locker, and just a few tips for starting the new year.  I'm going to warn you now so that you can prepare yourself, i think that this is the longest post I've ever written. 

Bags
As for bags, I recommend back packs. They fit a lot and distribute weight evenly.  Personally, all through out high school I used a tote bag.  Although the one i often used was super cute for Autumn/Winter and fit all of my essentials, it was extremely heavy and uncomfortable to carry on my shoulder.

Basically, when choosing a bag you want to look for something that is big enough to carry your binders, textbooks, pencil case, and other essentials, but small enough to actually fit in your locker.  Your bag should fit comfortably on your shoulder(s).  There are many different options for a school bag, a tote, messenger, wheels, etc.  Just choose one that fits your style and works best for you.   

I think that pencil cases can definitely be included under this category.  I have two different pencil cases.

1) One is a black, double zipper really plain pencil case from Staples which has pencil crayons in one pouch and markers in the other.  This case stays in my locker on the upper shelf.  In high school, you don't usually need your pencil crayons on a daily basis, so when i need them for one of my classes, i know where they are.
2) My next one is just a basic black and pink cylindrical case from Aritzia.  This is the case that I carry every single day to every single class.  I keep it stocked with pencils, pens, highlighters, an eraser, white out, a mini ruler, a sharpener, little sticky notes, and a glue stick.  It basically carries all of my class essentials that i would be completely lost without!  

School Supplies
I don't know about all of you, but i love back to school supply shopping!  I think it's so fun to go around Staples Depot or Walmart looking for cute supplies and things that you think are 'essentials' which you never end up actually using! This is a pretty basic back to school supply list which can definitely be adjusted to suit you:

Binders (I use one 1.5 inch binder for 2 classes)  

Dividers

Lined Paper

Graph Paper 

a Calculator (Scientific Calculator is an essential of you're in high school)

 a regular sized ruler (Mine is a ruler and a hole puncher which can go into your binder from Staples Business Depot)

No. 2 Pencils 

At least one black, blue and red pen 

White-Out 

A glue stick

High lighters (at least 2 different colors)

Colored pencils ('pencil crayons')

Markers 

A flash drive (Essential for high school) 

Erasers

Scissors

Pencil Sharpener

At least one pencil case

Protractor 

Backpack 

Post it notes 

A lock for your locker (if needed)

Extras: 
a magnetic Mirror

Magnets

a magnetic White board

Organization
Keep your binders in order.  Your binders are like your babies in high school.  All of the notes you need for tests and exams are in there, so keep it organized!  Different sections/units should be separated by dividers and labelled.  If you don't have dividers, you can create title pages for each section.  This is your chance to get creative and fun.  Keep every note you take in your binder.  Loose papers make for a disaster as they can get lost of ripped or stolen.Also, keep a healthy sized stack of lined three hole paper at the back of your binder for taking notes.  Nothing is more annoying then an unorganized person running around the room asking everybody for paper.  


Take very organized notes. Organized notes are easier to study off of then sheets of disaster with writing sprawled all across the pages in a jumbled mess. Use highlighters and colored pens to organize your notes.  Highlight important information, and DATE YOUR PAGES.  


Lastly, keep your locker organized using all of the tips above.  Keep your binders and textbooks on the top shelf so that you have easy access to them.  


Advice
For school, keep your makeup and clothing appropriate.  The majority of catholic and private schools have a uniform, but for those schools that don't have uniforms, they do have a dress code.  Be sure to read it and follow it.  You can still look super cute without breaking school rules.  I know that a lot of schools only allow you to wear little to no makeup, which kind of sucks because it does limit your creativity, but you can still make it work!  Choose neutral eye shadow, mascara, a little eye liner, foundation/concealer/powder, a non glittery highlighter and a nude or pinky lipstick/gloss. This creates the ultimate classy back-to-school appropriate makeup look.   

For my post on what to carry in your everyday school purse, click HERE.

If you have any questions, or need some advice leave your question in the comments below, or you can contact me through e-mail and i'll be sure to add your question and my response to this post, or if it's private, i'll be sure to respond to you as quickly as I can.