As much as I’ve surprisingly LOVED the extreme heat we’ve had this summer (the heat… not the humidity-I hated the humidity), the past couple of days have been much cooler. I’m talking high 60′s-low 70′s. That weather just boosted my desire for it to be fall. That is my favorite time of year – I love walking around and hearing the crunching of leaves under my feet. It also gives me a slight desire to go back to school, even though my last first day of school was two years ago (YIKES-I feel old!)

This weather also gets me in the mood for shopping. Not just for buying cute fall clothing, but for school supplies – regardless of whether or not I need them.

My favorite thing to get for school was either getting a new planner or refills for my current planner. The Day Runner Windsor QuickView Organizer is a purchase on which I definitely would have splurged. I love planners that have storage compartments and also a place that you can store your pen. The address book sections are great – especially when I was in college and my friends were constantly moving – so it was nice to update it yearly. Of course the page marker was probably the most convenient feature, and came in handy when I wanted to draw a replica of the classroom in my notes.

Another thing I enjoyed was color coding my binders, folders and notebooks for different courses. Can you tell yet that I have a slight case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? I enjoyed getting the bright colored binders for my fun classes and any type of view binder for classes that weren’t as much fun – so I could create a fun design to put in the cover and change it up when I got bored.

As much as I like mechanical pencils, I usually find many wood pencils sitting around my house, so why not use them? Except at times I would find that I didn’t have a pencil sharpener, which can be a problem. Of course you can always whittle away to the lead with a knife, but I’m not great at that, so I prefer electric sharpeners.

And of course, no matter how many pens I had left over from previous years, I would always want to stock up on brand new pens. My favorite pens were always the Papermate FlexGrip Elite Retractable Ballpoint Pen. Ever since that fateful day my freshman year of college when I forgot to bring a pen to art class to take notes and my roommate lent me one of hers, these pens have been my favorite for taking notes. I love the grip barrel and how smooth it writes with the Lubriglide ink system.

Well, if any of these items seem appealing to you as you’re hunting for back to school items either for yourself or your kids, have no fear. BuyOnlineNow’s Back to School Sale is your one stop shop for great discounted school supplies. Get your shopping done early and enjoy the last few weeks of summer!