School Supply Savings!

[indimom]

Okay, I probably didn't save THAT much since all these things are on sale this time of year, BUT, I am soooo proud of myself.

I was going over the kids' school supply lists this morning and got to thinking how I buy a lot of the same items every year and I know the kids don't "use them up." They come home at the end of every year and we toss them into their desks. So, I decided to go through their drawers and see how many items I could find that were in good, working order that they could use for this year.
I found:
Six large pink erasers-some lightly used.
16 #2 pencils. Never used.
Over a dozen extra pencil erasers. Never used.
6 black ink pens-unused.
4 red ink pens-unused.
Six highlighters (different colors). Lightly used.
One large glue stick, lightly used. Still full.
Two small glue sticks, unused.
4 doz. colored pencils, lightly used (at least 2/3 their "new" length).
12 thin Crayola markers, like new.
12 thick Crayola markers, like new.
6 rulers.
2 partial bottles Elmer's glue-made one full bottle.

This was everything they needed for this year, except the paper products, one more glue stick, and a "protractor with square root" (I don't even know how to find that, but the one we had didn't look like it had this??).
How awesome is that??? I really didn't think I'd find enough markers or colored pencils to make full sets. But they have all the colors they need and they are in great shape.
Their backpacks are still in perfect condition also!!

Silly that I'm sooo tickled over this. But, there it is. Happy Day!

 

[Earstou]

I've always done this. Just be aware that things like markers, pens and glue sticks can dry up. The only thing I had problems with were the markers, unless the pens and glue sticks were years old (more than one year).
Markers never seemed to last two full years at school, and it was cheaper (and easier for the child) just to replace them yearly at back-to-school prices rather than later in the year.

 

[3boymthr]

I used to do this always, but the school has taken a new direction in how they handle school supplies. With the exception of things like folders, binders, notebooks, etc. all supplies are pooled. Crayons, markers, scissors, etc. go into a general storage area and when they are needed they come out. So basically, if my kid needs a pencil they get one but if they don't, well the extras are saved for someone else's child when they need one.

In some ways it's good, because if one my child's crayons get broken or lost well then I won't have buy more in the middle of the year, but then I have to buy new supplies every year and now I have to buy way more than what I used to have to buy (6 boxes of crayons last year and 2 packages of markers ).