By Leanne Goodall

So we’ve talked about the items of stationery that I’ve classed as essential for your studies but what about all the bits that I’ve found to be a bit pointless? I’m going to list some of them here but first I must say that just because I’ve found them a bit useless it really doesn’t mean that everyone else will feel the same, so I’m getting my disclaimer in. I’d also love to hear the things that you’ve bought and never used or if you’ve bought any of the items that follow and found that they have been helpful to you.

So, I’ve had to go to my desk for the next bit because some of the items I had forgotten that I had ever bought. As I don’t use these much, I needed to refresh my mind!

STICKY DOTS

When I walked along the stationery isle in the supermarket and saw a huge sale I got excited. These were cheap, and I mean REALLY cheap. I can’t remember exactly but we’re talking a few pence and no more. So I stocked up massively. I can’t remember how many packs I had and I can’t take a picture of them all because I did find a use in the end. I don’t know what I thought I was going to do with millions of different coloured sticky dots. I think I had some kind of colour coding plan in mind but I haven’t used them at all really. I did stick some onto my wall calendar to indicate when my tutorials were due but I never looked at that again. So what use did my sticky dots find? I used them to cheer the kids up! They had them as reward stickers and to use in ‘creative art’ sessions! The kids did enjoy using them so they weren’t a total waste of time but they really are not needed for studying.

THESE THINGS

Pictured along with some of the sticky dots that I mentioned earlier. A little box of things that I thought would be so useful. I got them two years ago but haven’t found the need to open them yet. I still like the look of the little box on my desk but I really don’t need them at all.

CLIPBOARD

What did I think that I might need that for? I currently use it to display pictures that the boys have done. I’ve never used it for uni, ever.

HOLE PUNCH

As you can see, it’s unopened. Again I have it for 2-3 years and it just sits in my desk. I tend to buy A4 notebooks which have holes in them so if I need to use folders (which I don’t really do) then it’s easy already. Sometimes I print things off but they tend to go into clear plastic sleeves so again I have no need for the hole punch.

WALL PLANNER

As you can see this one is a little out of date. That’s because I just haven’t used it. It seemed like a great idea and I still feel like it should be useful but in an age where everything is on our phones I just don’t have the need for this calendar on the wall. Shame really.

So that’s some of the things that I’ve bought ready to tackle my studies but have not helped me in the slightest. Have you got a similar story?

Leanne is half way through a BA (Hons) in History with the Open University and enjoys writing as a freelancer as well as on her blog. Find out more here. You can catch up on all of Leanne’s excellent contributions on STOU here.

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