I posted this on FB, and then realized I should put it here for those of you who aren’t on Facebook. Really, this has significantly reduced my Back to School Stress.
It’s also an opportunity for affiliate links.
Before my oldest kid started school, I had visions of strolling down the school supply aisle, leisurely filling our cart with fresh crayons and puppy dog notebooks.
That aisle is like a war zone, and with three kids and our town’s short supply of plastic folders WITH BRADS in specific colors, it is a dreaded day at the end of summer. This year, though, I got almost ALL of our school supplies early one morning, while the kids slept and I sat at my kitchen table in my pajamas. Most were comparable in price to what I’d spend at the store, so I’m done except for the things I KNOW are always super-cheap and plentiful this time of year, like crayons and notebook paper.
Glue is 52 cents at the time I’m posting this. It’s an add-on item, which means it ships free with a qualifying order over $25, but I hit that with no problem shopping for three kids.
And typing the words “3 inch binder” into a search bar is SOOOOO much easier than driving to four different stores in two different towns to find the world’s most ridiculously big binder. (So thankful they gave the option of a 2 inch one this year.)
Oh, and of course this is an affiliate link. FYI, I ordered yesterday morning, and the vast majority shipped last night and is supposed to be here tomorrow. Yay for Prime. If you don’t have it, Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial
School started here (GA) last week, had all my supply shopping done in July. When does school start for y’all?
Staples and Office Depot have been having blowout prices on school supplies. Folders for .10c, binders for $2. Rulers for 25c. Lots better and not minimum purchase.
Last Sunday our church, we all brought in mountains of school supplies as one of our missions for an impoverished community of Latino ,migrant workers and their families. I was out of commission because I had a shoulder replacement about two weeks before. I had always done this school supplies shopping. Frankly, I wasn’t sure he could do it right. I gave him the short list: a well made pink backpack, boxes of Kleenex like a multi -package from B.J.’s and as many boxes of colored pençils thàt the store had. He messed up bigtime. Two boxes of colored pencils, a plastic very small backpack, purple not pink. Ķleenex, (not). He was so proud of himself, he bought generic tissue ànd saved a whole dolla
Gently, I told him the backback pacopack was too small and not well-made. I was disappointed he only got two boxes of colored pencils. And he insisted that the kids would be fine with generic tissue.
When it comes to donatin,g necessary items for the very poor, I buy the best I can afford. When I was young, my father couldn’t hold a job. Mother was schizophrenic. I know what it’s like to shàre a cañ of spaghettios with two huñgry brothers, Now my husband and I àre retired and pretty comfortable, but we don’t have much for extras. So àny time we have extra
Last Sunday our church, we all brought in mountains of school supplies as one of our missions for an impoverished community of Latino ,migrant workers and their families. I was out of commission because I had a shoulder replacement about two weeks before. I had always done this school supplies shopping. Frankly, I wasn’t sure he could do it right. I gave him the short list: a well made pink backpack, boxes of Kleenex like a multi -package from B.J.’s and as many boxes of colored pençils thàt the store had. He messed up bigtime. Two boxes of colored pencils, a plastic very small backpack, purple not pink. Ķleenex, (not). He was so proud of himself, he bought generic tissue ànd saved a whole dolla
Gently, I told him the backback pacopack was too small and not well-made. I was disappointed he only got two boxes of colored pencils. And he insisted that the kids would be fine with generic tissue.
When it comes to donatin,g necessary items for the very poor, I buy the best I can afford. When I was young, my father couldn’t hold a job. Mother was schizophrenic. I know what it’s like to shàre a cañ of spaghettios with two huñgry brothers, Now my husband and I àre retired and pretty comfortable, but we don’t have much for extras. So àny time we have extra, we don’t use it and we donate whàt we hàve and feed Hungary children,
I’m with Danielle B. Staples and Office Depot/Max have great sales.
If you don’t specifically need zipper binders, I highly recommend the Staples brand binders. They’ve been on sale recently, including this week. They have a lifetime guarantee. If they break or tear or anything, Staples will replace it free, not questions asked. Even a small tear in the plastic pocket will quality, or if the binder clips still function but don’t line up exactly when you clip it closed.
It’s a wonderful policy. Kids can be very hard on binders. I bought my daughter one for school several years ago, and we’ve replaced it at least once a year ever since. In the long run it’s been very economical.
Our school recommends zipper binders, but they’re not required. If your child is really bad about just shoving papers and things into their binder and they fall out as result, then probably not the best option. But for kids who are a little more careful with their papers and zip their pencils and things into a pouch so they don’t fall out, this is a great option.
School supply shopping gets harder when kids get older. In my area anyway. My daughter is entering high school, and instead of one list of supplies, each teacher provides their own supply list and sends it home the first day of school, when the good sales are pretty much over and the shelves very picked over.
My kids’ school partnered with one of those places where you pay them a lump sum for each student’s supplies, they delivery it to the school, and the school gets 20% of each purchase. Sounds like a great idea, right? Um, not so much. Not only do you have to place your order by June 30 (which I totally missed as it’s crazy early even for me!) but the total for my first and fourth grader was $138. For reference, I was able to find everything myself for $53. I expected a markup, because duh, but that seemed crazy to me! I’ll just write the school a $20 donation check on the first day.
Amazon sounds like a good idea too. I was considering that if it had been one of those years where I’m driving 30 minutes to the Michael’s in the suburbs because the one near my house was out of earth tone modeling clay.