I admit it. I'm addicted to office supplies.
Pens, pencils, paper clips, you name it. Honestly, I shouldn't be allowed anywhere near an office supply store. Not Staples. Not Office Depot. Heck, not even the office supply aisle at Target. The results are always the same.
As soon as I see the rows of notepads, binders, white boards, and desk thingamabobs, my brain starts to swoon. Thoughts start manically bouncing around. I could get a lot of loose papers organized in a good binder. Look, those cute erasers are on sale! OOOO, check out the big rubber band ball! Better get two!
Do I need any of this stuff? Nope. But chances are good I'm gonna walk out of the store with one or two of them. Maybe all. Depends on how itchy my credit card finger is.
Know that red EASY button in the Staples commercials? Yep. I own one. It was under five bucks and right by the registers when I was checking out. I'm weak. I couldn't resist. Sadly, it doesn't work in the real world. But it is kind of fun to press it and here the little voice say "That was easy!" The Princess and Mr. Smartypants think it rocks. When it was on my desk, they could press it over and over again. And again, and again...After a few days, it was relocated to a back shelf in my office. Ah, I miss you EASY button.
The Electronics department is definitely not my friend. For some reason, I always enter the store convinced I need a new printer. I have no idea why - I have a perfectly decent one at home. However, I'm too cheap to keep up the maintenance so the idea is usually squashed once I visit the ink aisle. I go through ink like crazy. I really like to print things. When I have ink. I haven't printed anything in a while.
Lately, I've been ogling the digital voice recorders. Before that it was the paper shredders. I actually did buy one of those. Diamond cut baby!
Today, I found myself standing in the checkout line scanning those last minute temptations around the registers. Mmm, gum. Hey, I could use an eye glass repair kit...Look, little post-its for my purse! MiniMarkers! One by one, they fell into my shopping basket.
It was then that I realized, I have a problem. When Milo is anywhere near catnip he goes nuts. He's roughhousing with his toys. He's chasing his tail. He's flying through the air off the back of the couch. He can't help it. And I, like Milo, go nuts when I'm around office supplies. I want to take everything home with me. I am subconsciously trying to build the ultimate office area. And Staples is my catnip.
I got out of line. It hurt, but I put back my items from whence they came. Goodbye, wrist pad. Another time, stapler. See ya notebooks, banker's boxes and magazine holders. I walked out of there with my head held high and my credit card balance the same as when I had entered.
The store doors swooshed closed behind me. A voice in my head screamed "Wait! You forgot something!" But I ignored it. The sun was out. The birds were singing. I got in my car and patted myself on the back. It was good to not buy things sometimes. Mature, even.
Then that voice in my head got an attitude. "That was easy....dummy. You forgot to get glue for The Princess's history project. The one that's due tomorrow? Way to go, Supermom."
Sigh.
Thirty minutes later I emerged again from the store, glue in hand. And a wrist pad, a stapler, 3 notebooks, 6 banker's boxes and 2 magazine holders (which, technically, were bundled together so they really only count as one thing).
I'm an addict. I admit it. But I'm a well stocked addict.
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