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Here's a bunch of tips on that. Have you got a favorite or one of your own that beats this lot? :)
This is my favorite.
Take stock. Before setting foot in a store, shop your own house! Chances are you have pens and pencils your kids can use, backpacks that are in perfectly good shape, and notebooks that have half the paper left in them.
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22121/117193-seven-tips-saving-money-school
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Avoid peak shopping times. Retailers jack up prices for the big back-to-school shopping spree in August because they know parents are in a pinch and demand is high. Don’t succumb to this market manipulation. Chances are your child won’t need everything on his back-to-school shopping list on day one, so send him to school with a few essentials like a notepad, folder, and pens and pencils. You can pick up the rest gradually as items begin to go on sale.
I love this tip! Everything goes on sale the day after the new term starts anyway, so even if you only sent them with the minimum for the first two days you'd save a bunch. I'd not wait any longer than that.
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Toy boxes are my favorite place to root around in for those bits and pieces, Splash. If you take out the big stuff I guarantee you you'll find lots of pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, etc that were forgotten long ago lying at the bottom of them. Same with kitchen drawers.
I have one kitchen drawer that's a catch-all (doesn't everybody?) and another in a coat hook stand unit right beside the front door. What I did was empty both drawers and put anything school related in the one at the front door. That's where we always are when one of them decides they can't find a pen in their backpac or whatever. If we keep all that small stuff in there it's quick to locate and we don't need to backtrack all over the house. Clever eh? :)
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I have one kitchen drawer that's a catch-all (doesn't everybody?) and another in a coat hook stand unit right beside the front door. What I did was empty both drawers and put anything school related in the one at the front door. That's where we always are when one of them decides they can't find a pen in their backpac or whatever. If we keep all that small stuff in there it's quick to locate and we don't need to backtrack all over the house. Clever eh? :)
That's a good idea! Unfortunately I don't have space for a stand like that right at the front door. There's no reason I can't designate somewhere else close to it for that because I've got a narrow stacking unit with deep drawers in the spare room. Now I just need to find a good spot that's still relatively close to the front door.
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I saw my first 50% off school supplies flyer come in with the mail today. See, I told you! The longer you can hold off, the better. :)
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I'm scared I'll get a nasty note from the teacher for sending them unprepared, purplerain. I'm only half kidding. Teachers can still intimidate me! :)
Toy boxes are my favorite place to root around in for those bits and pieces, Splash. If you take out the big stuff I guarantee you you'll find lots of pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, etc that were forgotten long ago lying at the bottom of them. Same with kitchen drawers.
The only reason a great many American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments. - Mad Magazine.