50 Ways To Use School Supplies (Not For School) | Uncustomary

As we approach the Back To School Season, I thought it would be appropriate to fulfill an Uncustomary Babe’s request for a list of 50 Ways To Use School Supplies… but not for school! It was a fun challenge, and I tried to include lots of DIY projects since these are all materials you can use to create more things. Obviously you can use these in traditional ways, but I wanted to get as far away from the traditional classroom as possible. And most of them have more than one idea associated with each supply. (I also tried to steer away from things teachers put on school supply lists like tissues and hand sanitizer, because I don’t really consider them classic supplies.) I hope you can find this useful!

50 Ways To Use School Supplies (Not For School)

1. Pens – Take out the insides and make a straw, cover in fabric and add a feather or a pom pom to the top, practice your calligraphy, write a letter to a penpal
2. Tape – Secure photos into a photo album or a scrapbook
3. Paint – Create a mural on the street or in your home, refurnish a piece of second-hand furniture, or turn something into a DIY piece with chalk paint
4. Binder Clips – Hold your art journal together on the side so you can take a photo to post to social media, make DIY curtain clips or a DIY phone stand to record a vlog for social media
5. Colored Pencils – Get to work on your (adult) coloring books, cut them up into tiny pieces and drill holes in them to use the pieces as beads for jewelry
6. Sticky Notes – Write affirmations on them to stick around your house, cover cars in them or carry out a kindness prank, cut a hole in a new stack to make a safe to hide things in
7. Stapler – Glue things to a regular one to turn it into a novelty item like an animal
8. Book Covers – Frame it as a poster/wall art, use it as decoupage/collage material
9. Pencil Sharpener – Use the sharpenings for colorful art materials, like a ballerina’s tutu
10. Poster – Make a protest sign to show you’re an ally during these difficult times
11. Binders – Catalog your poetry or collages/artwork, display your incoming snail mail or anything else you’re proud of
12. Stickers – Add to your face for an eccentric photoshoot or a great accessory for a night out, use as a consistent addition to a reward chart
13. Hole Punch – Make your own confetti
14. Flash Drive – Get into a unique aspect of guerrilla art with portable dead drops
15. Dry Erase Markers – Make a photo frame for someone you care about to consistently share things you love about them, write notes on mirrors or car windows
16. Cardstock – Make a zine (NSFW)
17. Ruler – Make a growth chart or a DIY storage box

50 Ways To Use School Supplies (Not For School) | Uncustomary

18. Journals/Notebooks – There are an infinite amount of ways you can use these, but start with your very own Happy Journal
19. Page/Hole ReinforcersSorting pipe cleaners, a stencil for drawing polka dots
20. Glue Sticks – Adhere ephemera for your vacation into your journal or onto a postcard to send
21. Erasers – Carve an original rubber stamp
22. Pencil Pouch – Keep your essentials of your mail art kit
23. Highlighters– Carve stamps at the end, practice your calligraphy, make a rainbow with all the colors at once, make a DIY rainbow highlighter
24. Tab Dividers – Organize photos, recipes, coupons, magazine clippings, whatever you collect and use regularly
25. Lunch Box – Check out BanDo for amazingly cute ones that double as purses/accessories for adorable photoshoots26. Chalk – Write positive messages on the street for people to read
27. Rubber Bands – Work on beating the Guinness Book Of World Records goal for biggest rubber band ball
28. Clipboard – Make a fancy DIY one, write a new positive message on it every day after you cover it in chalk paint or cover it in magnetic paint and cover it in colorful magnets, add Sticky Notes to keep track of your goals
29. Protractor – A Pacman stencil
30. Computer Paper – Write an inspirational quote to leave in the copy machine at work for someone else to find
31. Packing Tape – Trap confetti, glitter, and sequins in between two pieces for a sparkly decoration
32. Backpack – Carry around your essentials at a festival like Burning Man, carry your hobbies in to your friends’ house or a waiting room so you take advantage or your free time, carry tools in them to go out as a wanderer or for guerrilla art installations
33. Combination Lock – Install a Love Lock

50 Ways To Use School Supplies (Not For School) | Uncustomary

34. Crayons – Melt to make art, like this city
35. Envelopes – Draw or collage on them for sending mail art, or stuff with gifts to leave for your friends
36. Paper Clips – Make a colorful necklace, bend into a ring, add a pom pom to the top to make a fun bookmark
37. Ink Pad – Have your guests press their thumbprints onto it and add to the framework of a dandelion or tree as a unique guest book
38. Calculator – Spell out “BOOBS” like a 12-year-old, use a novelty one for a photoshoot
39. Ruled Paper – Fold into paper airplanes
40. Index Cards – Participate in ICAD
41. Folders – Make a hanging file/mail system for your wall, stitch all but one side together for a cute pocket
42. Sharpies – Color in something made of fabric (like a shoe) for a unique tie-dye project, decorate a rock
43. Pencils – Check out this list of 100 Ways To Use A Pencil
44. Push Pins/Tacks – Add things to the top like Scrabble tiles, pom poms, googly eyes, etc., or make “Up” inspired balloon art
45. White Out – Paint your nails
46. Scissors – Cut out pom poms, make your own clothes, take time to properly gift wrap a present
47. Xacto Knife – Make a custom wax seal or elaborate paper art
48. Graph Paper – Make your own bullet journal to save money
49. Manilla Folders – Create a book (feel free to sew the sides into pockets) or adhere them all together to make an accordion folder for a project or a gift for someone
50. Liquid Glue – Cover your hand, wait for it to dry, then peel it off (because there’s a little kid in all of us)

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