We’re finally at the end of one of the busiest weeks of my life where I published a new video every single day, and today we’ve got Back to School Hacks featuring Matthew Schueller! This is the third video in my All Request August week on HGTV Handmade, and it was a lot of work to make, but I think it came out so well. Keep reading to check out the video and learn more about each of the hacks we talked about!
The first “hack” is to replace boring old silver staples with colorful staples! They’re a really fun office supply to bring a little extra color and pop to your work.
The next hack is one that I actually came up with when I was in middle school! And it is to prop up your textbook on a music stand, put up your feet, and put your notebook in your lap. I find this a much more comfortable position to work than sitting at a desk, and if you add in a bit of Radio Disney on my bright purple boom box, you’ve got a pretty accurate picture of me every day of middle school.
I think this one is so clever, and it lets you use all your fun patterns of washi tape. Basically, if you want to separate out sections in a notebook or make it easy to flip to a specific page, just line the edges of the page with washi tape! This would even make such a pretty sketchbook if you did it to every page of the book.
Next up is the three most important things to have at any study station – a healthy snack, such as nuts or fruit. A water bottle with a lid so if you knock it over, it doesn’t spill all over your notes. And some good lighting, especially if you’re studying at night.
A handy study trick is to make up a notecard with all the information you would bring into an open-book test. This puts all the most important information all in one place and gives you a handy card to study from, even if your teacher doesn’t actually let you bring a notecard into the test. This is especially great for math equations!
This is another trick that I used all throughout my schooling, and it is to take notes in two columns! You use up way more of the paper, and it’s easier to read since the human brain finds it easiest to read text that has about 50-60 characters per line.
If you’re going to be bringing your laptop and charger to school, you’ll definitely want to personalize them so they don’t get mixed up with anybody else’s. I love decorating with washi tape – just be sure to cover up the tape on the charger with clear packing tape so it doesn’t peel up, and to cover your laptop with a clear case to protect all your decorations.
And finally, nothing is worse during the first few weeks of school than not knowing what class you have next. I recommend writing out your schedule, and then making photocopies and taping them inside every notebook and binder you’re using so you always have it on hand. A quick addendum to the video – the washi tape didn’t actually stick very well to the plastic notebook cover, so I’d recommend taping it to the inside folder instead or using a heavier duty tape.
I hope you liked these Back to School Hacks and I hope they help you out this school year. A huge thank you to Matt Schueller for being in this video with me; be sure to subscribe to his channel if you want to see more of him! If you missed Parts 1 and 2 of my Back to School week on HGTV Handmade or the other two videos I put up on my channel this week, you can check them out here:
Custom Jenga Game
Back to School DIYs
Designing My Dream Dorm Room
The Newlyfriend Game with Ann Reardon from How to Cook That
I hope you all have a great school year, or just a great fall even if you’re not going back to school!
