One of my favorite things about being an author is that it justifies my growing addiction to office supplies. I’ve been a fan for years, and I’m eagerly anticipating having my own home office soon. So, what are my favorite office supplies? Scroll on down to discover all the pretties!
Disclaimer: I am not a paid affiliate of Amazon, nor for any of the items and/or brands mentioned. This is an honest, positive review of my favorite office supplies, bought with my own money, or given to me as gifts from friends or family.
Writing Utensils
Of course, since writing is the main thing I use office supplies for, I’m gong to start this love-fest with all thing that enable writing!
BIC Round Stic Xtra Life Ballpoint Pens (Blue)
Y’ALL. I have been using these blue BIC ink pens for well over 10 years,and they are ALL I want to use when my creative juices are flowing. Something about pouring my heart out in blue ink is therapeutic, and these pens last quite a while. I’ve also used the ones with the black and red ink before, but for some reason, I don’t think they flow as well. Maybe it’s just all in my head, because I’m incredibly partial to the blue ones.
Zebra Pen Z-Grip Retractable Ballpoint Pens (Black)
Now, for black ink pens, Zebra is where it’s at. My Daddy used to get these for our youth group at church years ago, and they glide across the page like a dream. Plus, they’re retractable, so if you prefer clicky pens, this one will be more your speed. I haven’t owned these in a while, but will most likely buy some for my own home office when it’s time to set it up.
Taotree Fineliner Pens (24 colors)
Last Christmas, I asked for fineliner pens, because I wanted to start bullet journaling in January. I received a 24-pack of Taotree fineliners, and love them to pieces! They come in a variety of colors, and do not bleed through most of the journals and notebooks I use. If you’re trying to get into bullet journaling, I highly recommend this reliable, yet inexpensive option!
BIC Pastel Highlighters (6 colors)
For the same Christmas, I received a new Bible. Since I like to highlight verses, and my old highlighters were worn slap out, I hopped on Amazon a few days later, looking for some of those gorgeous pastel highlighters I had seen all over Instagram. The only problem… the ones I intended to buy had reviews about bleeding through thin pages, and I didn’t want tot ruin my new Bible. They were also a little pricier than what I was comfortable paying, so I went with ole BIC instead (you know, since I’m obsessed with their blue pens!). These pastel highlighters are just as gorgeous, but not as wide as the other brand, which I prefer. However, you may want to check out your local stores for these; the price has jumped around on Amazon since I purchased them, sometimes being double what I paid, and even more disheartening, priced more than the original brand I looked at.
BIC Xtra-Sparkle Mechanical Pencils (Multi-colored)
Again… I love BIC products. They’re just plain ol’ reliable, and mostly inexpensive, which are two qualities I adore in products. These sparkly led pencils are not only cute, but they last forever. When my family was back-to-school shopping years ago, my sister and I always gravitated toward these. They are nowhere near as annoying as those mechanical pencils with the twisty-turn thingamabob that eases the led out.
Notebooks
To be honest, since my “office” setup is basically just writing utensils and notebooks at the moment, with no actual desk other than my parents’ dining room table, I don’t have a lot to offer on other items. But, I do have some opinions on one of my favorite office supply topics: Notebooks!
Five Star 2 Subject Spiral Notebooks (9.5″ x 6″)
If BIC is my go-to brand for writing utensils, generally Five Star is my must-have brand for general-purpose notebooks. Last year, I purchased a smaller scale, two subject notebook for the purpose of writing out blog posts for Authoring Arrowheads. Though at the time of writing this post, it is marked as “Currently Unavailable” on Amazon, it was around $2.00 or $3.00 when I purchased it, which I thought was a steal. When I bought the notebook, the page had a variety of colors to choose from, but I selected the “Design Selected for You” option, because that made it cheaper. The design I received actually was not even posted in the product pictures, but I ended up liking it a lot better than the ones shown. If you would just like a small notebook that is about the size of an iPad or Kindle and could easily fit in your pocket book, I highly recommend this one. Maybe they’ll be back in stock soon!
Five Star 5 Subject Spiral Notebooks (11″ x 8.5″)
Though I don’t really use these as much now for my author career tasks, when I was in high school and college, I loved Five Star’s 5 subject notebooks. They are huge and have a large page width from what I remember. The dividers also have pockets, so I could easily carry worksheets around in my notebook. If you’re looking to purchase these, I would gravitate more toward a brick and mortar store rather than Amazon; the prices vary greatly on Amazon, and most of the time they are overpriced for this specific product, especially when purchased in bulk.
Eccolo Notebooks
For notebooks with a little more personality, I LOVE the Eccolo brand notebooks from Marshalls. I’ve had two so far, using both as prayer journals because of the Bible verses on the covers, and they are both gorgeous. The notebooks are softbound and have thickly lined pages, though have a smaller page count than some of my other notebooks. Bible verses are featured on each right page. The pages are of good quality as well, and I’ve never had them tear or become damaged. The notebooks also feature a ribbon bookmark feature, which I use on a regular basis. I can’t recommend these enough!
Paula Scaletta | Tri-Coastal Design Notebooks
I’m not sure if I’m using the proper brand name for these, but these are thick, spiral notebooks that I’ve received as gifts from my Momma and aunt. Because of their larger page count, I’ve used these to handwrite out my works-in-progress. The ones I have also feature Bible verses on the covers, though, as far as the designs go, I like how the Eccolo notebooks look a little better. Functionality-wise, these Paula Scalatta notebooks are much better suited if you’re doing a lot of writing or note-taking. I’m not sure where these notebooks can be purchased from, but if I had to guess, I think they came from Marshalls as well, or Ross.
Unfortunately, I can’t find a good link to these products.
Talk to Me, Arrowheads!
Do you use any of the office supplies I mentioned? How do you like them? What are your favorite office supplies? Let me know in the comments!
Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.
Allyson 😀
Authoring Arrowheads 
I love talk about writing instruments. While I’m a fountain pen guy myself, I always fall back to Uniball whenever I need something dependable. The Uni Signo DX is amazing. Notebooks are a favourite too, and my current favourites are from Midori. Anyway, nice post. Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you for the recommendations! Those sound awesome! 😊
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