The Best Pencil Case

Buying Guide

Whether you use it at work, school or home, a pencil case offers a convenient place to store your pencils, pens and other supplies. A good pencil case will offer protection and can keep pencils from rolling off your desk or getting lost. Pencil cases can make it easy to organize office and art supplies.

When browsing pencil cases, consider how much space you need for your items. A basic pencil case can hold several pencils and other supplies in a single zippered compartment for basic daily use. However, a large pencil case or bag may offer slots for pencils, have a large open area and feature several pockets for easy organization of small and large items.

Pencil cases can come in different shapes and styles that fit your needs and preferences. For example, some pencil cases fold up and down so you can use them as a pencil cup when you’re not simply storing your items. Other cases have a wide zipper design that makes the case open up more like a bag.

Since pencil cases can get a lot of wear and tear as they hold objects like sharp pencils, scissors and protractors, you’ll want to choose a product made of a sturdy, high-quality material. You can often find pencil cases made of polyester, felt, plastic and canvas that offer different textures and durability. Look for products that mention qualities such as waterproof, dust-resistant and strong.

Since you’ll open the pencil case often, opt for a product with a sturdy and convenient zipper. You can find cases with one zipper that offers a single opening as well as organizer pencil cases with several zippered compartments and pockets. You can consider your storage preferences and convenience in deciding how many zippered pockets you prefer.

To get a product that will last, look for pencil cases that are washable. You can hand wash pencil cases made of most common materials, but some manufacturers market their products as machine washable for added convenience.

• Pencil cases can work well for other purposes such as storing small electronics, money or even makeup. You can find organizer cases with interior mesh pockets for your phone, earbuds or cables. Other cases have slots that can work well for organizing makeup brushes.
• While large pencil cases give you a place to store a lot of items, keep in mind that finding those items when you need them can take more work. To make things easier, look for large pencil cases with a convenient outer pocket for the items you’ll need most.
• You’ll want to clean your pencil case regularly to get debris like pencil shavings and other trash out. After removing your items, try shaking the pencil case gently over a trash can or even use a brush to sweep out debris.
• If your pencil case gets stained, you have a few tricks to try depending on the case material. Rubbing alcohol works to remove stains on plastic and fabric cases. You can also try using laundry detergent or baking soda to give your pencil case an overall clean.
• To keep your pencil case from getting a stuck zipper, make sure you don’t catch any of the nearby fabric in the zipper when you close the case. If you do, grab tweezers to try to pull the material out.
• If you find your pencil case hard to unzip, lubricating the zipper with soap or petroleum jelly can help. When a missing pull tab has caused this issue, you can put a keyring on the zipper and open it that way.
• Small items like erasers and paper clips can easily get lost in a pencil case. For convenience, look for a case with small zippered compartments inside for such items.
• Choosing a narrower pencil case that stands up and folds up and down can work well for doing art with colored pencils or markers since you can easily see the color of each item before you grab it.