72 Cute School Supplies You'll Want Even If You're Not A Student
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Back to school shopping is in full swing, and you’ll want to add all of these aesthetic school supplies to your list of what's trending this season. Whether you’re going back to college, sending a kid to school, or even prepping for a busy quarter in the office, these are our office supply choices this season.
Best Pens, Markers, & Highlighters
Perhaps second only to a new computer, pens, pencils, and highlighters are at the top of the back to Best school shopping list. This can only mean one thing—a huge list of our favorite aesthetic writing utensils.
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Quick Drying Gel Pens
Amazon
Even though many of us turn to our laptops for writing, nothing beats a good gel pen gliding easily across the page. These quick-drying black pens are just as cute as they are functional.
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Mechanical Pencil Set
Four Candies
Why is it that only pens get all of the attention? This set has everything that you need for the entire school year—mechanical pencils, lead refills, and erasers!
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Highlighter and Pen Matching Set
BLIEVE
We love a matching aesthetic, so it’s no surprise that we would match our highlighters to our pens! This set has a variety of pastel-colored highlighters with matching ink pens for a fully on-brand notetaking experience.
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Mildliner Double Edged Highlighters
Zebra Pen
When you can’t decide what kind of highlighter you need, might we suggest a double-sided version? With one end that has a flat chisel tip, and another that has a thicker bullet tip, you can write (or highlight) to your heart’s content!
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Resin Floral Pens
JS Jewellery Crafts
This set of resin and pressed flower ink pens not only look chic, but they’ll be a comfortable addition to your writing collection.
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Polka Dot Mini Pencils
Inklings Paperie
No, these aren’t the mini pencils that you know from mini golf or IKEA! These short pencils are perfect for whenever you want to jot down a quick note or when you’re keeping your school supplies to a minimum.
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Unicorn Mini Highlighters
Formphee
These mini highlighters come in six pastel colors with a silicone unicorn head that looks cute, no matter how much homework you have to do.
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Pastel Highlighters
Mr. Pen
If you’re not a bright highlighter person, don’t fret, because these pastel highlighters come in an array of colors that will still help you mark the important things in books or essays that need your attention. Plus, these come in a super fun rectangle shape that will help you save some space in your overflowing pencil case.
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Transparent Sticky Note Pen
Diversebee
If you’re writing on transparent sticky notes, this pen is a must to make sure that any important reminders don’t smear onto the page. While there are many different similar kinds of markers available, we’ve found that this one is the best!
Best Notebooks & Stationary
The classic notebook. Whether you prefer wide-ruled or college-ruled, large or small, a large selection of stationary is a must-have when it comes to going back to school (or work). The easiest way to make sure that we take great notes in class? Having a fun notebook that we want to write in!
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Bad Ideas Notebook
Badger And Burke
Doesn’t the name say it all? This retro-inspired notebook makes taking notes in class so much more enjoyable.
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Boho Spiral Notebooks
EOOUT
This set of three hardcover college-ruled notebooks are perfect to take notes, write down ideas, or simply doodle in during class!
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Journal Spiral Notebook Set
ZICOTO
For anyone who enjoys a more minimal notebook aesthetic, this set of three is a neutral lovers dream!
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Retro Hardcover Notebooks
THiNKABLE
Can you tell that we love some vintage flare? These retro graphic notebooks remind us to keep on keepin’ on all the way to the end of the semester.
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Vintage Flower Notebooks
ALIMITOPIA
These spiral bound notebooks are a perfect choice for someone who prefers notebooks with a wider-rule.
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Soft Cover Earth Tone Journal Set
Happy Hoos
These earth tone journals come in a set of 8 (two of each color) that is just the right size for meditation, travel, or gratitude journaling.
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Lined Journal Notebooks
Comix
If you’re someone who prefers their notebooks thread bound instead of with wire, these journals are the perfect size and come in a set of four.
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Plastic Cover Notebook Set
Yansanido
These 160-page plastic cover notebooks are waterproof to protect any important notes inside.
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Large Floral Notebook
Steel Mill & Co
Large floral notebooks with plenty of room to write? We love it! Large floral notebooks that have a full line of matching accessories? We really love it!
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Mini Floral Composition Notebook
The Paper Violets
Boring black and white composition notebooks are so last year. Why not upgrade the classic notebook with this romantic floral one?
Best Planners & To-Do Lists
A tale as old as time, a great planner can be a make-or-break necessity for school. If you struggle with deadlines, due dates, and class schedules, this is one section that you don’t want to scroll by.
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To Do List & Daily Planner
Zicoto
Monthly and weekly planners are great, but I turn to my daily to-do lists more than anything. This planner combines the best of both worlds by giving you a daily planner layout with space for appointments, notes, reminders, and tasks.
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Budget Planner
Clever Fox
Okay, so there is nothing aesthetic about keeping track of your bank balance, but would it help to stay on top of your finances if it came in a cute planner? We thought so.
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To Do List Pad
Taja
A whole pad to remind you of everything that you need to do. Today. Tomorrow. And the day after that.
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Diary-Style Weekly Planner
Kokonote
If you prefer a smaller planner, this diary-sized option still has plenty of room to write with an upgraded custom feel.
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Dry Erase Memo Board
Russel + Hazel
This isn’t your typical white dry-erase board. This clear, acrylic board is a fun way to write encouraging notes, affirmations, or upcoming assignments in an unexpected, stylish, and trendy way.
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Undated Daily Planner
MESMOS
Do you stress out about having to time your planner purchase perfectly to fit with a new (school) year? This undated planner makes it simple to fill in the start date whenever you’d like.
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Simplified Student Planner
ZICOTO
Perfectly sized to fit into a backpack or book bag, this student planner has weekly views that allow you to conveniently organize your homework, due dates, and other important notes by class.
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Fruitful Time-Blocker Planner
The Fruitful Entrepreneur
If you are someone who doesn’t use time as wisely as they should (read: all of us), this planner is here to help you schedule important study sessions, meetings, agendas, and homework time to make the most out of your day.
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Weekly Desk Planner
Lamare
While Google Calendar is my personal love language, you can’t beat the analog planning of a weekly planner. Place it on your desk or hang it on your wall for an overview of what the week holds.
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Meal Planner & Market List
DreamWorks Ink
Busy students are students who forget to eat. Or, busy students are students who spend too much on takeout. Don’t let your eating go astray, instead use a cute meal planner like this to pre-plan your meals to avoid running up that grocery store or DoorDash bill.
Best School Supply & Paper Organizers
Sure, it’s great to have supplies, but where are you going to put the supplies? Whether you need to store your school stuff at your desk or in your room, or you need to be able to take them with you, these organizers are another must-have on our school supply list.
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Large Capacity Pencil Case
Easthill
You need a place to keep all of those pens, and this cute and giant pencil case can fit all of your pens, notes, highlighters, and probably even a calculator. It also comes in every color to match your personal style.
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Preppy 'Stuff' Bag
Fablinks
If you’re someone who loves a little more color, this pink pouch is perfect for you. With big chenille letters, this is the perfect bold place to put well…all your stuff.
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Checkered Wool Pencil Case
GGOOB
If you only need to carry a few pens and pencils with you to class, this slim pencil case is made of wool and oh-so-aesthetic. Not a fan of tan and brown? It also comes in a variety of bold colors!
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Plastic Pocket Folders
Mr. Pen
Goodbye to the flimsy paper folders that we all had in elementary school. These plastic pocket folders are a worthy upgrade to protect important essays, assignments, and papers to make sure that they’re ready by the due date.
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Plant Terrarium Binder
Greenroom
Plant lover? Why not decorate their binder with a few of their favorite things.
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5 Pocket Folder With Labels
Sooez
Whether it’s notes for class or receipts for your budget, this expandable file folder helps to maximize limited space and keep everything perfectly organized.
Best Sticky Notes, Stickers, & Labels
Sticky notes and labels can be like the cherry on top of a sundae. While you might not need them, it does make everything just a little bit better. In this case, we love sticky notes for their aesthetic vibes just as much as we do for their utility.
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Pastel Sticky Note Set
Zicoto
There are a lot of sticky notes on this list—seriously, though, they’re the definition of aesthetic—but this is the comprehensive set. With a variety of sizes, colors, and even page tabs, you won’t need any other notes. (That is, unless you want to.)
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Pop-up Note Dispenser
Post-it
One part desk accessory, but one part adorable kitty. Who wouldn’t reach for one when it’s there to help?
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Transparent Sticky Notes
Diversebee
Move over standard notes! These transparent sticky tabs are perfect to use in textbooks or notebooks to write yourself a note and still be able to see the text underneath. Not only that, but the thin PET-material is waterproof!
Note: Traditional pens will smudge on these, so make sure to snag the sticky note marker we recommended on this list.
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Colorful Grid Sticky Notes
Monolike
For your lunch-note love notes, quick to-do reminders, a meeting time you place on your laptop screen, or an affirmation to get you through a hectic week, these cute and unique sticky notes are a must-have.
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Washi Tape
Knaid
It’s simple—washi tape just makes things more fun. Put a strip in your notes to emphasize an important quiz question, mark an important date, or just use it for decoration.
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Decorative Stickers for Planners
HZMM
When washi tape isn’t enough, turn to stickers. These stickers come in all of the green, pink, brown, yellow, and purple hues you could ever desire. Use them in your planner, on your calendar, or to hang up cute notes on the wall. Either way, these multi-purpose adhesives are essential.
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Pastel Correction Tape
Gincevhy
Who needs boring white out correction pens when these are so much better? (Note: The correction tape is white, not colored.)
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Label Maker
MakeID
While this label maker may not look like anything extraordinary, the labels give every notebook, storage container, or planner a personalized aesthetic with the customizable fonts and designs. Get ready to label absolutely everything in your house.
Best Desk Accessories
They say that the key to studying is having a great desk space. Keep all of your school things and stationary organized and tucked away so that you can focus on that homework that’s due tomorrow.
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Colorful Wireless Keyboard
UBOTIE
Give your desk a glow-up by getting this colorful wireless keyboard. Not only do they come in a bunch of cute colors, but the sound and sensations of the keys are also soothing and make typing fun. Everyone will be asking you to drop the link for your desk accessories.
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Small USB Desk Fan
Sweetfull
This tiny 6.5” fan will fit perfectly on your desk to keep you cool if you’re sweating away studying for the next big test. With three super quiet settings and 360 degree rotation, you won’t have to worry about any papers or homework flying away either.
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Gold Laptop Stand
Cenawin
When you go to grab yourself a wireless keyboard, the logical next step is a laptop stand that makes you believe you have a cool desktop computer, but without the price tag. I also find that a laptop stand makes working a lot easier on the neck for those longer study hours.
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Desktop Organizer
Jerry & Maggie
Whether you’re taking classes from home or doing homework after a long day at school, you need an organized space to help you stay focused on your work. This desk organizer is ready to hold all your books, pens, plants, and timers to keep you on task and well-decorated.
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Colorful Calculator
EooCoo
When I was growing up, I only ever had a grey or white calculator, and this calculator is a dream that will have all of your classmates or coworkers green with envy.
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Wireless Charging Station
Courant
Most underrated purchase this year? This wireless charging station. Say goodbye to broken, messy chords with this charger. Simply place your phone down on it, and it charges magnetically without worrying about a cord barely hanging on by a thread.
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Pastel Storage Basket
Canipha
I swear by these for any desk, bookshelf, or bathroom organization. They come in such cute colors and are stackable, so they are quite the space saver.
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Mini Cloud Portable Paper Cutters
WOIWo
Cutting paper or opening mail or something in between? These mini paper cutters can go with you (just about) anywhere.
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Mini Stapler
Urradia
If you often find yourself spending long afternoons in the library, you might want to invest in a mini stapler to keep yourself organized.
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Multifunctional Desktop Organizer
Poeland
Especially in a dorm room, desktop space is at a premium. This organizer makes the best of it by giving you both vertical and horizontal storage to fit just about anything that you need at your desk.
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Stackable Drawer Organizer
OSteed
Do you want to keep your cool school supplies out of sight (and out of mind) when you’re in your room? This neatly packs everything away and looks cute while doing it.
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Acrylic Desktop Organizer
HeZone
The see-through acrylic is a great way to organize your folders, books, and papers and still see everything in one glance.
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Daily Flip Calendar
Suptec
It wouldn’t be a list of aesthetic items if we didn’t include at least one calendar.
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Cactus Pencil Holders
Leonbach
You don’t just have to use this set of cactus holders on your desk. Use them to hold makeup brushes in your bathroom!
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Rose Gold Desk Accessories
Famassi
If you want all of your desk accessories to match, this is the complete set! Whether you’re stapling, clipping, or taping, you’ll be doing it in style.
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Compact Travel Mirror
Kintion
You never know when you’ll need to give an impromptu presentation, so it’s best to have a way to sneak a quick peek at yourself before you go up to the front.
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Power Mist Hand Sanitizer
Touchland
If we have learned anything in the past few years, it’s the importance of clean hands. Whether you’re visiting a new place or doing group projects with others, keeping a bottle of hand sanitizer close by is an absolute necessity.
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Drawer Organizer Set
Spacesaver
When traditional clear drawer organizers just won’t do, step it up with these fun (and aesthetic) colored containers.
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Foldable Laptop Table
Kylinbigda
As much as we would like to say otherwise, a lot of your studying might not be done at your desk. Especially if you’re spending the school year in a dorm room, you’ll want to make the most of your space by utilizing the room on your bed.
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Standing Desk
Flexispot
While this is a more pricy item, studies show that there can be positive effects when finding a good balance of sitting and standing throughout the day. Some may not consider this the most “aesthetic” purchase, but a bamboo standing desk—paired with some potentially positive health benefits—sounds pretty aesthetic to me!
Best Backpacks & Totes
So just how will you get your school supplies to and from the classroom? Well, that depends, but we suggest having a quality backpack or tote to carry around your necessities. And no, it doesn’t have to look like you just stepped out of class—many of these backpacks and bags are upgraded takes on the classics.
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Signature Commuter Backpack
Open Story
A sleek backpack that doesn’t immediately say high school or college student? Yes, please!
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Zip Duck Bag
Baggu
Baggu is hot right now, and for good reason. The Baggu tote bags are truly big enough for all of your commuting needs, while also having a print, pattern, and even size, for everyone. I love this flower print bag that is big enough for a large laptop and then some.
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2-in-1 Quilted Metro Tote
Fit & Fresh
This woman-designed tote is perfect for just about anything—work, travel, school, and everything in between! Its 18”x 14”x 6” dimensions mean that it can hold up to a 17” laptop and with a built-in thermal insulated pocket, it can hold your lunch, too.
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Protective Laptop Shoulder Bag
Tomtoc
For the student that just needs a super functional laptop bag for class, this slim sleeve accommodates up to a 14” laptop, with a fleece lining that keeps your computer safe and sound. Additional pockets on the front allow for easy access to pens, pencils, and other important tools, while a shoulder strap provides a comfortable carry between buildings.
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Convertible Backpack Briefcase
Ecosusi
This backpack combines the best of both worlds: a backpack when you want to be hands-free, but a professional looking messenger bag when you need to stash your 16” laptop.
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Smiley Face Laptop Sleeve
BaggU
This puffy sleeve gives us all the happy vibes. With enough room for a 14” laptop, this protective laptop sleeve will make you smile every time you reach for it!
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Traveling Laptop Backpack
Momuvo
This backpack is designed with the college student in mind! With a USB charging cable and a convenient pocket for your power bank inside, as well as a USB charging port outside, you’ll be able to charge your electronics on the go. Add to that a traditional headphone port — you have a hands-free experience anywhere that you’re headed.
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Puffy Laptop Sleeve
Comfyable
This puffy laptop sleeve feels like your computer is being hugged by a cloud, just the way we like it.
