Back-to-School Series: Finding Affordable Office Supplies

My favorite thing to shop for is office supplies. unfortunately, most office supplies can be pretty pricey (i.e. why is a stapler $10). My addiction obsession Interest in having an endless supply of office supplies has led me to discover places that sell these supplies at much better prices than big box stores.

> Dollar Tree Dollar tree has an entire aisle dedicated to office supplies – everything from basic organization to pens and pads of paper. My favorite part: a lot of their inventory is name brand. I know it might seem superficial, especially to shop for name brand office supplies, but there’s nothing worse than buying a cheap-y set of pens that don’t write. My favorite things to buy from Dollar Tree: envelopes and note pads. Envelopes I don’t use often so I don’t see a point in spending upwards of $5 on a box of 60 envelopes that I won’t use for years (so I only spend a $1 on 60 envelopes). Note pads, on the other hand, I go through like water. I don’t mind buying 5-10 note pads at a time because my total will only be a max of $10 (plus tax).

> Amazon Raise you’re hand if you’re surprised at this recommendation. If you raised your hand, well then we just have to get to know each other better. I. Love. Amazon. When I want to window shop online, I’m either looking at home decor on Crate & Barrel’s website or at office supplies on Amazon. Now that I’ve really taken to using other supplies to organize my planner, Amazon is my go-to store for purchasing planner essentials. Rolls on rolls of washi for under $10 – doesn’t get much better than that.

> Costco I could live at this store, honestly. Buying in bulk is generally less expensive than continuously buying the same items from a different big box store (Target, Walmart, etc). I look at Costo’s office supplies section for those items that I don’t want to purchase often and that are generally pricey to repurchase. For example, my beloved PostIts. They are not cheap. A 3-pack of PostIts from Walgreens can run upwards of $7. However, a 24-pack of PostIts from Costco is just under $10. I bought that item 2 years ago and have only used less than 1/4 of the entire package. If that’s not a steal, I don’t know what is.