This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Brita. All opinions are 100% mine.
It's that time of year again- where we all buy new packets of pencils and notebooks and head back to school.
For some of us, the must haves are things like erasers and craft glue and crayons (Um, hands up over here y'all. Coloring is underrated.) But as a college student, my must haves are a little different. When I was a freshman I had no idea what I was doing or what I needed. I bought about a million notebooks, I bought all of my books before classes started (that's a huge no-no) and I spent more money on groceries than was really necessary. But I'm not a freshman anymore and if the last few years have prepared me for anything –you know, besides graduating and eventually moving into a professional career– it's what I do and do not need to start the school year right. So here's a list of some of my college MUST HAVES for back to school.
A planner
Laugh if you want, but when you totally space on study group because you're six seasons into your latest show and don't know what day it is anymore, don't blame me! You need a planner. You NEED one. It'll help you remember all of the things you need to get done and will make sure you divide time more wisely, fun stuff included.
Good Pens
You might not be the kind of student that takes a lot of notes, and that's fine, but when you DO take notes it helps to have pens you enjoy writing with. Also, you're not in high school anymore. Pencils are obviously the better choice for math, but as a college student it just doesn't look incredibly great to be signing things or turning free-write assignments in that aren't in pen.
Pocket Folders
As a freshman, I purchased a separate one-subject notebook for every class thinking it would help me stay organized. It didn't. In fact, all of that paper and all of those notebooks caused me MORE trouble. I would end up in algebra with my Spanish notebook, or I would write English notes in my algebra notebook, or I would stick a handout in my notebook and it would slip out and be lost and by the end of the semester I had a ton of notebooks with a TON of empty and unused pages. Pocket folders give you a place to put all of the handouts and assignments you acquire for each class while taking up a LOT less room. Use one or two notebooks that are more than one subject and you'll save yourself space, money, and time looking for lost pages. An added bonus is saving a little paper. Yay for not being wasteful!
A Brita®
Speaking of trying to save space, money, time, and the environment. I love my Brita®. When I started college and bought groceries, I would buy one or two cases of bottled water. It's not terribly expensive, but over time the cost of bottled water REALLY adds up. Really. If you're drinking the amount of water you need in a day, you're going through a lot of bottles, which means a lot of cases. A few dollars every few days turns into a lot of dollars over time. To make it worse, those water bottles took up a lot of room. The case in the floor, full bottles in the fridge, empty bottles in the trash can. That adds up too especially in tiny dorm rooms, and it's not incredibly efficient or environmentally friendly. But just like I did with my textbooks and notebooks, I wised up. My first roommate and I both loved our Brita® pitcher. It takes up a lot less room than bottles, and over time, it's a lot cheaper. I pour the filtered water into a portable cup and take it with me. With the Brita® pitcher, I drink more water because one: it tastes much better than the stuff that comes just straight from the tap and two: I'm not worried about using all of my bottles before I can get back to the grocery store.
My roommate loves the water bottles for the same reasons with the added bonus of being able to take clean water on the run and filling up on campus. And you can pick up your own with no hassle at all,Brita® is available at Target.
Going back to school is bittersweet, and leaving home for college can be difficult, but it's a lot easier when you have the supplies you need to keep you on task and healthy. What's on YOUR must-have list for back to school?
So tell me- what's on YOUR back to school must-have list?
[…] Kayli’s back to school time in full swing she’s shared a post on Back to School Must Haves. I also shared a few photos of our vacation back in June including Klara’s first time in the […]