Erin Condren Back-to-School Essentials

It’s Back-to-School season, and that means school supplies for everyone from ages 5 to early twenties (we know college can take a long time). Most school supplies you can get from Target or Walmart for a reasonable price, but there are some things you should spend a little bit more money on in order to ensure quality and durability. Erin Condren has several items that students can use. However, not all of them are necessary for your kindergartner. The following items are the ones your student — whether you have a kindergartner or a college student — definitely needs from Erin Condren.

For Elementary and Middle School Students:

Lunch Totes

Your kid is probably going to take her lunch at some point, so you want to make sure you get a lunch tote that she’ll definitely want to carry and will keep her food chilled. The lunch totes from Erin Condren are made of neoprene, come in a wide range of patterns, can be personalized, and are stain-resistant. The neoprene helps keep food cool and stretches to hold whatever shapes and sizes it needs to.

Practice Pads

The practice pads are a great item for your elementary-aged child. Since young students often have to practice their handwriting for both regular block and cursive letters at some point, this is a truly functional item. These can be customized with your child’s name so she can practice writing her name, and you choose whether it’s done in block or cursive.

Designer Pocket Folders

Elementary and junior high-aged kids always need some folders to hold all of the papers they receive in class. The pocket folders from Erin Condren come in a beautiful watercolor with inspirational messages on the front and decorative, scalloped pockets on the inside. Every little girl will love carrying these in her backpack.

For Junior High and High School Students:

LifePlanner

Life can get a little crazy for high school and junior high students. With all of the clubs, sports, classes, socializing, and homework they have to do, it’s kind of necessary for your child to have a planner to keep track of everything. The LifePlanner from Erin Condren is one of the most functional planners for teenagers. It comes in three different weekly layouts and has an academic year option. This makes it easy for your child to get the type of planner she needs. With the laminated cover and wire binding, it’s lightweight and convenient to carry around in their backpack, which is important when students are also carrying instruments, textbooks, and sports gear around each day.

The LifePlanner is a great way to also help your child learn to manage her time and prioritize tasks. It can help her avoid forgetting assignments, field trips, plans, and when she has different clubs or practices. When there’s this much going on in a teenager’s life, she needs all of the help she can get.

Notebooks

Your child will need to take a lot of notes in her classes in junior high through high school, so she needs notebooks. There are a ton of notebooks out there, but most of them aren’t as high-quality or useful. The notebooks from Erin Condren come in different layouts, so your child can pick the one she needs most for whatever class. They’re perforated and come with stickers for organization — plus, they’re small enough for her to carry around with ease.

For College Students:

LifePlanner

A good planner is even more necessary for college students. With so many different class times, internships, part-time jobs, clubs, and campus events for them to keep track of, they really need a comprehensive planner. Since the LifePlanner comes with stickers and three layout options, she can easily color code her life and schedule and use the layout best suited to her personal preferences.

There are also several accessories to accompany the LifePlanner, like the different dashboards. College students have to keep track of more than school and work. They also have to keep track of finances, chores, laundry, and all of the adult things they probably aren’t used to. The snap-in dashboards can help them do that by providing a place for long to-do lists, grocery lists, and other notes.

Budget Book

Since most college students are handling full-blown budgets for the first time, your child really needs a tool to help her keep track of where she’s spending money and how much she’s bringing in. The Budget Booklet is small enough to easily slide into the back folder of her LifePlanner and has a page for her to record everything each month. It breaks down finances into all of the main categories (like housing, necessities, fun things, insurance, car, and savings) and has space for her to record how much money she earns each month. This will help her learn to manage her money responsibly and plan out her expenses before swiping the debit card.

Notebooks

College classes are 90% note taking. Your college student needs a good notebook that can hold up throughout the semester’s classes. The notebooks from Erin Condren hold up like champs, and help keep her organized. The three layouts are all very useful for college students, especially with the column for tasks in the productivity layout. The notebooks also come in two sizes and can be personalized.

Follow Terra on Instagram: @terrabrown3