What's In Our January Shopping Cart?

January has come and gone, but it is never too late to share what we bought in the month of January in our Amazon shopping cart. The last few months have been a blur, so I can't even reflect on January lol. So we'll just say it was a good month and get on with it.

I am required to say that some or all of the links you find in this post are affiliate links. This means that if you purchase something using one of the links below I may or may not receive compensation for it at no additional cost to you. Thank you in advance for supporting my business and my family in this small way.

3 Pack Snap Ball Tea Strainer with Handle for Loose Leaf Tea and Mulling Spices

First up on one of my shopping lists was a pack of tea strainers. In the summer of 2020... yup. I said it. Waaaaaay back in 2020, we dried some of our herbs and stored them away. In January, I picked up a jar and thought to myself "I need to use this or get rid of it". The hoarder in me refused the "get rid" of part until I at least tried the leaves and confirmed that they were worthless, because well... they had sat in a jar for almost a year and a half.

So I ordered the 3 pack of tea strainers and much to my surprise the leaves are still good. There is something to be said about fresh and homegrown. These strainers work good enough. I think I need to do some investigating on how to get the loose tea leaves in to the strainers without having loose stuff fall in to your drink. I know that the stuff I see is not from the strainer being ineffective, but from user error. In short, I'm lazy and hate taking the time to make sure every little single piece is tucked nicely inside the strainer.

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We go through a lot of laminating sheets with homeschooling so it is very beneficial to buy in bulk because it is cheaper. I will do a price comparison usually when I am shopping for them because the price seems to flux from brand to brand when it comes to office supply. I purchased these Nuova Premium Laminating Sheets in January. They work pretty good in my book, but to be fair, I have not come across any laminating sheets that do not work for me.

Well, let's just say that I must have been on a printing and laminating roll in January ha ha because I also ordered some cardstock. Again, with all of my office supplies I will shop around. I am not loyal to a specific brand. I will choose to not use a brand if I find it super terrible, for the most part I find office supplies to be pretty comparable in use. Maybe not a popular opinion, but it is true for me. Neenah Cardstock has been fairly good for me and they typically have a lower price point so I enjoy using them.

I don't even know what to say to you at this point looking at the next several items because... well, they are all office supplies. I must have been in a pen buying mood, because that is what the next several items are. I'll list them below, but I want to highlight the highlighters. I took a chance on these because they were different and I have to say that I low them. They do not bleed. If I forget to put the cap on when I walk away from my desk (something that happens when your five year old is screaming bloody murder and you are pretty sure there is an emergency room visit in your future, so you drop what you are doing and run frantically to be super hero mom only to find out that there is a stink bug in his path and he can not continue on with what he was doing until you dispose of said stink bug for him)

• Mr. Pen Highlighters
• ​Journal/Planner Colored Pens (These seem to work well as I have no thoughts in my head that I dislike them)
• Mr. Pen - Pen Set (These pens are not my favorite. They tend to act like they are drying out when writing a lot)
• Kaco Retractable Gel Ink Pens (I love these pens and do not use them enough)
• Kaco Retractable Gel Ink Pens (No, I'm not repeating myself. I love them and bought a set with more colors)

Isn't it amazing when your kid does a sudden growth spurt right in the middle or right near the end of the season. We did more outdoor time this winter and at one point (maybe because we are bad parents... who knows) we realized that one of Joe's boots was rubbing the back of his heal raw. Now, what do you think his response was when I asked him why he didn't say anything? This is how that convo went:
Me: Why didn't you tell me that was rubbing your foot?
Joe: *shrug* I don't know
Me: Didn't that hurt?
Joe: Yes
Me: But you didn't say anything.
Joe: It hurts
Me: (insert a frowned upon parental eyeroll)

These boots are nice. I did like them because they had the velcro on them and made the whole process of getting the two of us outdoor ready a little easier. A smidge. It took like five minutes off our time because I didn't have to argue with him about keeping his foot still while I laced up his boots.

I did so much laminating in January that I bought a new laminating machine ha ha. To be fair I had the previous laminator since before my husband. It did it's time. I gifted it to my friends son who is as passionate about office supplies as I am. What nine year old kid doesn't want a laminator? I know I wish I had had one. 

This machine does both hot and cold sealing. It comes with a corner puncher which is nice. Though I already have several corner punchers, it is nice to have one handy that you do not have to go hunt down. The paper cutter that is on this laminator is meh. To be honest, it is possbly operator error. I tend to like cutting things out with scissors because paper cutters seem to always fail me in cutting straight down the paper and it drives me nuts. So I have not made a real attempt at using it.

I bought these beads to complete a DIY learning project that I was making for Joe. It comes from My Little Hands Learn Season & Time Unit. I am a huge fan of the creators work. I love the hands on lessons she creates and the flexibility that is written in to each of the lessons.

I was lucky to land a virtual position so I have been spending more time at my desk and it became very apparent that my posture was worse than usual so I grabbed this. My husband was not impressed by it's appearance and I'll agree that at first glance it looks like it is going to be a piece of junk that I will toss out in a couple of weeks, but this foot rest is not only standing up to the abuse of my home, but it is the right height to help me keep my legs even so that I am not so tempted to lean forward and slouch. Now I lean back and slouch. It's just a little more comfortable that way.

We do a lot of gardening and are becoming more proficient at starting our own seeds. Starting our own seeds allows us to:

• Save money! Buying start ups from the store is expensive and it is heart breaking when you then lose the plant to weather, wildlife and/or ignorance.
• We get to share extra seedlings that we do not need with friends and family.
• Foster a learning environment for Joe. This part is both frustrating and rewarding. He is learning, but if you know our son, you know that he can turn a simple task in to a very creative nightmare all in the name of fun.

These planting pots are nice. We use these when the seed has been established and started to grow. It is important to move them from the seed starting trays to a bigger pot so that the plants do not become root bound before you have time to plant them in the garden.

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We did buy more gardening stuff, but it is broken up throughout the months, so I am most likely going to do an additional side post of all the gardening stuff so that you can check that out all in one spot.