Important Products to Organize Your College Life
When it comes to preparing for the semester, it is imperative to be organized and have supplies that support your ability to be successful in school.
Organizing is an essential skill to have in college, but it isn’t always easy to do and does not come naturally to everyone. Speaking from personal experience, I was the student in middle school whose backpack was filled with crumpled papers; I could never find any homework assignments I needed to submit. It was clear that I needed to improve the methods I was using to create and sustain a system to locate my assignments. Analogous to effective note-taking or interviewing for a job, organization is a learned behavior - and I quickly learned that I needed to improve when I got a zero on an assignment I had completed because I couldn’t locate it.
Organization can help promote academic success by ensuring assignments are completed on time and meet the high expectations all students should set for themselves. Organization helps you to track upcoming due dates. It can help you ensure you actually submit your assignments (unlike my younger self). Organization will make your academics easier and less anxiety-ridden because you know where to start and where to locate the necessary tools - and you will already have the tools at your disposal. However, you also need to have organizational resources to create a system and then maintain it over time. Below are some resources I highly recommend for any college student looking to get organized and some supplies you may want for class. In the future, I will write a post about digital tools that promote organization, so keep an eye out.
*Disclosure: If you purchase any of the items using the links below, it supports me directly by sending me an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.
Backpack
Obviously, you need to have a backpack for college, but it is important for a student to have a backpack with multiple-sized pockets; these smaller pockets help to maintain organization and to find things easily within your bag. I also prefer a backpack with an open side pocket to easily access an umbrella or water bottle.
According to Wirecutter, the TIMBUK2 Authority Laptop Backpack Deluxe is the best backpack to purchase. Since Wirecutter’s recommendation is also expensive, I found this Mancro Store backpack to be an excellent budget-friendly buy.
Desk Drawer Organizer
As someone who owns desk drawer organizers and uses them daily, I am very biased about this item. When I was in college my desk drawer needed organization. The ability to find your tools for academic success quickly is important. Desk drawer organizers will help you to know when you are running low on a supply (binder clips, staples, etc.) and be able to find all your supplies easily.
The other reason I specifically like these organizers is because they stack and are clear. These characteristics mean you can double your organization space while still being able to see each of the items in your desk. As an added bonus, you can configure and select the size of the organizers based on office supply size and on the drawer size, which you will not be able to know prior to moving into your on-campus dorm.
I recommend these drawer organizers. The first is from Seseno Store. The second is the STORi SimpleSort. The last one is the COZYWELL Under Desk Drawer.
Planner
Let me start by saying, an organization tool to track assignment due dates for each of your courses is important. Do all students need a planner? No. But, do all students need a tool and system to organize dates and homework? Yes! Is a planner one way of doing this effectively? Yes! If you are a student who thinks a physical planner is a resource that will work best for you, then these are a great option because the weekly layout has ample space for writing information.
I personally would put due dates of larger assignments (such as papers, quizzes, exams, etc.) on the bottom of the space for each day. Then I would use the other lines to denote tasks to complete that day like “Read chapters 5 and 6 for Psychology” and “Calculus chapter 7.2 problem set”
I recommend the Blue Sky Monthly Planner and the BooQool Academic Planner.
Whiteboard for Dorm
A whiteboard next to your desk is a great tool to write down quick reminders for yourself, track what is left for an assignment (e.g., History research paper needs citations to be checked, title page, and edit intro paragraph), create an Eisenhower Matrix (this will be discussed in a later post) for due dates when overwhelmed, jot down a quick paper outline, or use it to draw out diagrams from memory as you study. I also suggest students use a whiteboard to “brain dump” all the things interfering with their ability to actually start their work. This practice can help students focus on their tasks and not their distracting thoughts.
I recommend the ARCOBIS Small Dry Erase White Board. I also recommend the Kedudes Magnetic Small White Board.
Rain Gear
Imagine, it is 10:00 am. You just printed your final paper for your class, and you are walking to your professor's office to submit it before the 2:00 pm deadline. Luckily, it is very early and you planned your day accordingly. You have an exam that starts at 10:30 am, followed by a quick lunch, a group project meeting, and then a tutoring session that ends at 4:00 pm. This was the only time you had to submit the paper before the deadline. Then, it starts to downpour. You get to your professor’s mailbox to drop off the paper only to realize it is soaking wet, pages are stuck together, and you need to reprint it. It is then that you realize that you need to buy all the potential protective rain gear available to avoid this anxiety in the future.
These rain-related protective items are another under-appreciated organizational tool that is important. I have personally seen so many students who have assignments and very expensive textbooks destroyed by the rain after being stuck in an unexpected downpour. I even had a student whose laptop was ruined from water damage due to rain. I know it seems like it will not happen to you, but it could, and such a disastrous situation is entirely preventable. You don’t have to fall into that group of students experiencing this scary and anxiety-filled situation. Buy these items proactively and then keep your umbrella and backpack cover in your backpack at all times. You will be forever grateful when your items are protected.
According to Wirecutter, this is the best umbrella.
According to Wirecutter, these are the best rain jackets.
I also recommend the Frelaxy Waterproof Backpack Rain Cover to protect your backpack from the rain.
Extension Cord
When it comes to studying on campus, locations very close to outlets are at a premium and are often the first spots taken by students. Your campus might be one of the elite institutions with infinite outlets available, but you are more likely to be on campus with some older buildings that were not prepared for our modern plugged-in lifestyle.
I suggest that you get an extension cord and keep it in your backpack. This way you will have additional seat options in a classroom, studying on campus, or grabbing lunch and need to plug in an electronic to charge.
I recommend the Mifaso Power Strip Long Extension Cord.
Backpack Organizer
Because your backpack needs everyday essential items inside of it including: writing utensils, staples, stapler, snacks, over-the-counter medicines, binder clips, lab goggles, water bottle, etc., you need to have all of these items organized and easy to find within your bag so you can find them when you need them. These pouches can make it much easier to locate things within your bag and help you recognize when you need to repurchase something when you are running low.
I recommend purchasing the HRX Package Nylon Mesh Cosmetic Zipper Bags. I even use these pouches for traveling and in my diaper bag.
Water bottle
It is basically impossible to study or focus when you are dehydrated or thirsty. I have three water bottles by this brand and it keeps drinks cold for a long time. It also has different top options; I have the chug lid and straw lid for mine and I choose which one to use depending on my water intake.
I recommend Simple Modern Water Bottle with Straw Lid Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Metal Thermos.
ProTip: If you already own a Hydroflask, this same brand makes different types of lids that will fit them.
Writing Utensils
Some professors will require students to complete exams in pen because after the exam is handed back to you, you cannot edit the exam and request a re-grade. All three semesters of chemistry I completed required pens for exams. I also suggest getting more pens than you think you will need. You will lose some pens, leave them places, a friend will ask to borrow one and will never return it.
Although highlighting is not a strong study strategy as one might think, you may want to use these to highlight quotes for an upcoming paper, make themes stand out in a novel, or to delineate courses by color in your planner. Because these are gel highlighters, they won’t bleed through pages or get all over your hands.
For ballpoint pens, I recommend the Zebra Pen Z-Grip Retractable.
For highlighters, I recommend these Sharpies.
Paper Organization
Many classes are going to have worksheets, handouts, and other materials that you receive in paper form. You may also have professors who prefer you to submit papers in physical printed copies so they can provide written feedback on it for you to then edit that work. This means you will need a few items to create and maintain a system.
3-Hole puncher
A hole puncher is helpful to have for courses with many handouts that you want to keep together in a binder. These can be helpful when you want to keep things beyond the end of the course as you may end up having multiple class materials in a single binder.
According to The Street, the Bostitch Office 3 Hole Punch is the best 3-hole puncher.
Stapler
This can help you to keep an outline, first draft, and final draft of an assignment together. You will need this at some point in college (and after college). Purchase for quality for this item.
I recommend this Swingline and this Swingline as a cheaper option.
Binder Clips
A binder clip is a great temporary way to combine items together that may not live together permanently.
I recommend these DSTELIN Binder Clips and these Mearun Solar binder clips.
Folders
I encourage many students to keep folders in their backpack so that they receive handouts, graded assignments, or other materials they have a home that is not crumpled in the bottom of their bag.
Pro Tip: If you are a fan of color coding, choose a single color for each class and match the folder, finder, spiral notebook, and pen color for assignments in your planner.
I recommend these Oxford 2 Pocket Folders.
Sticky Notes
A clear sticky note is a great way to trace a diagram to label later, write additions in your planner, or write notes in a book you want to resell as brand new with no markings. Obviously, you can also use these to write yourself reminders and place them in your room, on your desk, or on your wall.
I recommend the Jiemay 600 Pcs Transparent Sticky Notes Pads.
Tabs
If you are taking courses with a heavy reading load, these tabs can be a great timesaver to reference important quotes, diagrams, or quickly flip back to the index section of your textbook.
I recommend the Post-it Tabs.
Clip Board
When you attend club meetings, the career fair, or work on a group project a clipboard can be very helpful. It also can allow you to work while sitting outside and enjoying the nice weather by providing a portable, and inexpensive, work surface.
I recommend these Amazon Basics clipboards.
Spiral Notebook
For some courses, written notes may be a better option. For example, chemistry, math courses, biology courses, some engineering courses, and most seminar-based courses are better suited for written notes. This link has both college-ruled and wide-ruled so you can select the best option for your handwriting.
Pro Tip: A perforated tearing edge is the most important quality to have in any spiral notebook in case you have to move these pages to a binder, submit them to a professor, or remove the used pages to use the empty pages when a course ends.
I recommend these Oxford Spiral Notebooks.
Image credit: Kindel Media via Pexels.