by Erin

I remember very clearly the excitement of a trip to Triple Town office supply, circa 1980, to procure school supplies.  It was a big commitment to choose the right five subject spiral notebook.  Plus finding the right pencil case, folders, organizational clips, and ever important dividers could take hours.

Enter the Trapper Keeper, a loose leaf binder featuring sliding plastic rings (vs. the standard snap-close metal binder rings), state of the art folders organized by color/subject that in a streak of genius opened inwards, built in clips, and crazy rubber pockets plus a wraparound flap with a Velcro closure.

Crystal meth for the school supply lover. Did someone say wraparound flap?   A kid without a Trapper Keeper was like Magnum PI without his Ferrari.

The Trapper Keeper 2000, featured on South Park, includes an electronic pencil sharpener, 4 plastic baggies, a flatscreen TV and, of course, OnStar.   It will eventually fuse with other computers into a powerful super being, take over the world and destroy humankind.  But even that doesn’t compare to mom’s DayTimer, which I coveted.

Equally important as your binder was the right choice of lunchbox. We just used the same “book bag” year after year, so the backpack selection wasn’t an issue in the 80s.  Don’t forget the jelly bracelets.

I must confess that I still love the office supply and perusing the array of notebooks and organizational enhancers.  Every year, I’m excited to take the kids on this annual adventure to find great school gear.   There’s some great stuff out there.  Check out these ideas:

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