Shopping for school supplies. For children and teens, it's an annual event that announces the end of summer and the beginning of another school year. For working moms, it's another thing on an already too crowded to-do list.
Save time shopping for school supplies with this how-to guide.
What?
When it comes to school supply lists, each school and each teacher will have their own unique twist. However, you can be assured that every school supply list will include certain basics.
Basic Elementary Supplies include:
- Wide-rule loose-leaf notebook paper
- Singe-subject notebooks
- Three-pronged pocket folders (multiple colors)
- Wide-rule composition books
- Crayons (16-color variety pack)
- Colored pencils (16-color variety pack)
- No. 2 pencils
- Pencil case or zippered pouch
- Ruler
- Glue Sticks
- Scissors
- Large erasers
Basic Middle School Supplies include:
- College-rule loose-leaf notebook paper
- College-rule composition books
- No. 2 pencils
- Pens (black or blue ink)
- Colored pencils (16-color variety pack)
- Pocket folders (multiple colors)
- Binders (typically 1-inch binders)
- Index sets (5-tab or 8-tab sets)
- Highlighters
- Index cards
- Scientific calculator
- Pocket dictionary
- Pocket thesaurus
Basic High School Supplies include:
- College-rule loose-leaf notebook paper
- College-rule composition books
- Binders (either 1-inch binders for each class or 3-inch binder for all classes; your child's preference)
- Index sets (5-tab or 8-tab sets)
- No. 2 pencils
- Pens (black or blue ink)
- Highlighters
- Index cards
- Graphing calculator
In addition to simply purchasing what you think your child will need at the beginning of the school year, consider buying a few extra of each item. These are items your child will need throughout the school year. Having a few extra on hand just might save you a last-minute trip to the store and a lot of time at some point during the year.
What about those teacher-specific items? You'll still have to shop for school supplies at some point during the first week of school, but you'll head to the store with a much shorter list.
When?
When it comes to shopping for school supplies, the earlier the better.
We've all braved the crowds the week before school starts. Not only are the stores crowded and the lines long, but the supplies are picked over. The only thing worse than school-supply crowds at one store are school-supply crowds at multiple stores. To save time and your sanity, avoid shopping for school supplies the week before school starts.
Fortunately, most stores start putting up school supply displays as early as July. Take advantage of this and shop early. If you stick to the basics listed above, you'll have 90 percent of your school supply shopping completed while everyone else is still thinking about summer vacation.
Where?
There are so many options available when it comes to where to shop for school supplies. If you start early, you'll have the luxury of choosing the one that fits your schedule and your budget.
- Dollar Stores - a great and economical option especially for basics such as loose-leaf notebook paper, index cards, pencils and pens.
- Discount retail chains like Target, Walmart and Kmart - while each of these retailers offer school supplies throughout the year, they kick it up a notch during the summer months with big displays and entire sections of the store devoted to school supplies. Save time by picking things up each time you shop. Keep an eye on newspaper circulars and advertisements for deep discounts on certain items such as loose-leaf notebook paper and notebooks.
- Office supply retailers such as Office Depot, OfficeMax and Staples - while these stores certainly have a large collection of school supplies, you will find them to be more expensive than the other options for the basics such as paper, pens and pencils.
- Shop online - if you shop early, consider ordering your school supplies online. You may pay more especially once you factor in the freight, but the time you save just might be worth it. Options include: Amazon, School.com (Office Depot's school supply site), School Tools Online, or School Specialty Online.