Staples Makes Back To School Shopping Easy

I was not thrilled to receive my daughter's school supply list last week. It was long and very specific and immediately gave me a headache. I mean, for goodness sakes, she's only going into kindergarten! Does she really need two spiral bound notebooks, folders with brackets inside them, glue sticks and headphones for the computer, along with crayons, markers, glue sticks, scissors, erasers, hand sanitizer and tissues? Whatever happened to bringing a blanket, a pillow and some crayons to kindergarten?

However, I know I can always turn to Staples to have everything I need for back-to-school. I love how they have everything on my list, organized in such a way to make shopping quick and easy, with the variety to keep my picky five year old happy. (Everything must be blue this year. Ugh.)

Mom Select and Staples teamed up to send me a small sampling of the great school supplies Staples is offering this year. Some of my favorites:

Do Something.org notebooks, folders, and planners - These products are exclusive to Staples and help students stay organized while learning about important issues impacting their communities. Each product features cool designs including background on social issues and tips on how students can make a difference. I'm using the planner to keep track of my daughter's school assignments and school functions, while she was thrilled to find a blue notebook and folder included in the box, and crossed those items off of her school supply list right away.

Westcott KleenEarth products - These products are eco-conscious and include environmental features such as handles made from recycled content. Bonus: they also have Microban antibacterial protection, perfect for using around kids who prefer the back of their hand to a tissue. We received a pair of scissors (checking off the supply list!), a sharpener for pencils and crayons, and a ruler. Cordy already loves the scissors with the bright orange handles!

Staples Soccer Buddy Calculator - Cordy doesn't use a calculator yet, but she wants to learn now that she's found this new blue friend! It's bendy and features a fun mini-soccer ball to help achieve all her math "goals" - OK, bad pun, but she's already named it "Blue number guy" so I think it's here to stay.

Omnitech 2GB Swivel Flash Drive - Another Staples exclusive, this flash drive will make sure you never lose the cap again. Just swivel to click it into place and it's ready to travel in your backpack or purse. This thing is genius - I can't tell you how many flash drive caps I've lost and how many flash drives I've ruined from bending the metal connectors. I wish all flash drives were made like this!

Many of these items are already in my daughter's backpack, waiting for her first day of school on Wednesday. The items we didn't need are being donated to the school to help provide supplies for other kids who can't afford them.

Want to win some back-to-school goodies for yourself?

I've got one $25 Staples gift card to give to a lucky reader! To enter, leave a comment below telling me your favorite school supply to buy when you were a kid. Be sure to leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you are selected! One entry per person/household, please - if I find you cheating, your entries will be deleted.

US residents only. Entries will be accepted until Friday, August 27 at 11:59pm Eastern time. One winner will be selected at random from available entries using Random.org. Winner has three days to respond or another winner will be selected.

Good luck and happy back-to-school shopping!

Full disclosure: I received a box of the supplies listed above from Staples to facilitate my review. No further compensation was received. All opinions of these products are my own - no guarantee of a positive review was promised nor expected.