How to Save Money on Back to School Supplies

Image via: Money Saving Mom

[ad#co-1]

Shop at home first

Believe it or not, you might already have a lot of school supplies lying around the house. Things like rulers, calculators, pencils boxes and backpacks do not need to be replaced every year. You can easily use last year’s school supply if it’s still in good shape. So, before you head out to shop, take a walk around your house; closets, basement bins, and desk drawers might have hidden treasures that can save you some money.

Only buy what is essential

Image via: Confetti Sunshine Blog

Once you start shopping, all those fun extras can take your fancy-colored pens, superhero notebooks, locker accessories and the list stretches on. But in order to avoid overspending, it’s important to keep the supplies to useful and necessary versus fun and fancy. Determine in advance that how you will handle your kid’s requests for those non-essential items.

Consider quality

Don’t just get carried away with the cheapest item available. Take time to find more about the quality of the product, and then pick the ones that you think will last long. For instance, consider backpacks with a lifetime warranty, and bindings and spirals with durable plastic covers. Pricier options can eliminate the need to replace the cheaper items multiple times during the year.

Image via: Houzz

Buy in bulk

The back to school supply list is usually only meant to get the kids started. They will need refills on notebooks, crayons, papers, pencils, and more all year long and buying in bulk can save you a great deal. So, stock up for the entire year, but put away what’s not needed at the moment.

Buying back to school supplies at the end of the summer is an unavoidable task. But, it need not be an expensive one. Along with the tips above start planning ahead of time and take advantage of every weekly coupon and online deal that comes your way.

Do you have any back to school shopping tricks that can help to save money?

Back To School Organization: Preparing For The First Day

Image Via: Mom Spark

[ad#co-1]

Back to school tips – Plan Well

Just go back a little and retrospect on what your morning routine will be like. Is it breakfast preparation that takes a lot of time? Or do you pack the school bag in the morning? Do your children make a fuss to get up in the morning? Identifying the obstacles beforehand will help you think of techniques that could result in more efficient first mornings. For instance, if it is the breakfast that results in a mess, try to prepare something simpler or do the prep work the previous night. If the kids make a fuss to get up, put them to bed earlier, even if it means skipping the afternoon nap that day. Thus, a little chat with yourself is going to help lots.

Image Via: belmarrahealth

Organize Over The Weekend

Organizing your children wardrobe for the entire week can save you  a lot of morning hassle. Include your children in the weekend organization drill and pick clothes for everyday of the week. Now neatly stack them into their wardrobe. So not only do you save yourself from the morning chaos but also teach your children some important organization skills. And it won’t take more than half an hour!

Image Via: MSLiving

Desk Organization

Who said paperwork belongs to office only? Kids bring in lots and lots of paper work from school and take a lot of it to school too. Be it artwork, test assignments,  permission slips, paperwork comes in all forms. It would be wise to go through the existing stockpile and get rid of what is not required any more. It will help you neaten your kids desk and also help you find stuff quickly and without any irritation or stress. This way you won’t struggle to find what goes in the school bag on the first day.

Image Via: New Chronology

Prepare A Calendar

Make a calendar and an organization chart for the new session. It would be very helpful to have a snapshot at a glance. That ways you won’t miss the upcoming important events and will be prepared beforehand.

Image Via: thebensonstreet

Moms can have chaos free mornings by doing little bits everyday. Don’t worry about the paucity of time. Carving out little niches of time will be sufficient as these organization tasks are not time taking, just boring at times maybe. Weekends are a great time to involve the family in organization and turn them into fun activities.

I know of moms who just set their clocks to 10 minutes hence and it works like magic, especially on the first day. A box of new crayons, a new pair of shoes or just a cosy hug before saying buh bye to your kids can make the transition from holidays to school a smooth one. It would be nice to know how you organize your home and routine for the first day after school vacations. It would be fun to know how you deal with the chaos.

For more back to school organization on Stagetecture, click here.

The end of August arrives with a flavor of holidays and some strings to be back on track. Especially for the children, readjust the bio-clock to return to school may not be an easy task. When getting back into the back to school routine seems stressful, a little planning helps parents and children make the process – which includes sleeping and waking early and eating at correct times – lighter.

Often children and adolescents have difficulties to get into the rhythm school after spending the long summer vacation away. However it is very important that your child start the year well motivated… with 3 simple steps!

Image via: Pinterest

[ad#co-1]

1. Review your Old Routine

Getting back to the old routine might be challenging. Some days before the classes start, set again an early bed time and start to get the routine back – this will help the transition to be smoother. Don´t do sudden changes because the children suffer the most radical changes. Go decreasing gradually daily the amount of time they can play video-games for example until it goes back school routine. The same goes for the hours of sleep, wake up time, time to play… Do everything slowly, so that your child does not feel that simply stopped having fun because classes are back.

2. Get your Children Ready

A must-do is to calm your child as a new year usually causes anxiety. “Will my friends be there? And if not, will the new classmates like me? Who will be the new teachers? Will I like the new subjects?” These and other questions are at the head of the young kids when the time comes to go back to school and you must answer them the clear way possible in order to help them to get ready. Also help the kid to remember all the good time that he had last year: talking about the school trips or friends can increase the kid´s willingness to go to school. A fun part of this process to all children is organize supplies for school. Let’s have a try together unique school supplies on Blooming a lovely website that I discovered “while browsing for back to school supplies”, and find a good solution to begin the children journey back to school!

Image via: Pottery Barn

3. Plan a New Routine

Once the classes have started, it is important that both you and your child create a routine of activities that must be followed to the end of the year. This is because during school life, their homework, exams and events will become increasingly frequent, requiring from the students organization and planning. The lack of a pre-established routine often compromises your child’s school life.

Be firm. As much as your children may whine, or do not want to wake up early do not give in. The adaptation to the routine depends on your stance as a mother or father.

For more back to school ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

It’s hard to believe but it’s that time of year again – Back to School time!  Just like the famous office supply commercial says, “…it’s the most wonderful time of the year…” No, not Christmas – back to school! As parents rush to and from one store to the next gathering backpacks, books, and binders, we are filled with a bittersweet mixture of happiness (for some much-needed peace and quiet) and sadness to see our children growing so quickly before our eyes; another year older and grade-level higher.

Image via: LDa Architecture & Interiors

As the school days commence, our mudrooms seem to quickly implode with papers, shoes, back packs, and sporting goods. Suddenly it seems we need a mudroom/entryway overhaul, so here are some tips to quickly organize your mudroom and find a place to stash everything.

[ad#co-1]

De-clutter:

The first step for any room overhaul is to purge the room. If possible, take everything out of the room.  Assess all the items and put them in piles of “keep”, “donate”, “keep but belongs elsewhere”, and “trash”.

Image via: Two Ellie

Shelves, Baskets, and Hooks:

Now that you have de-cluttered, it’s time to bring in some great organizing tools such as baskets, trays, hooks, and shelves. One neat idea is to find an old set of metal lockers. These lockers look great with a new coat of paint – maybe chalkboard paint to write children’s names on the outside – and they are VERY functional for hiding backpacks, shoes , sporting equipment, and coats.

Image via: Pinterest

Hooks also come in handy. A visit to your local hardware store will reveal a plethora of hook styles. They can be a great way to organize hat collections, antique baskets, scarves, and coats.

If your mudroom also holds your laundry room (like mine) considers hiding your washer and dryer by hanging floor to ceiling curtain panels.  Grommet curtain panels hung by a heavy duty tension rod work great and can easily be closed to hide your unsightly laundry mess.

Essentially, decorate your mudroom like you would the rest of your home; making it a pretty and welcoming place to enter after a long day at work or school.

For more mudroom ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

The summer is coming to an end and school will soon be back in session. Even though kids may be sad to see the summer holiday getting over, parents are all set for the daily challenging routine. In order to simplify your daily life, the most important task is to get your child’s bedroom organized. Here are some tips for getting your kid’s room ready for school.

Image via Organized Living

Get your kids excited

There’s no requirement for a complete bedroom makeover. An offer to rearrange the items or perhaps adding a few new ones will get your kid excited enough to help organize his/her space.

Organizing the closet

Clothing is one of the most common issues in the kid’s bedrooms when they go back to school. The clock is ticking and your child is busy searching for his/her favorite hoodie. If such a scenario is not uncommon at your home, it’s time to purchase a clothing organizer or getting a custom closet system. Rods for hanging clothes, shoe racks, drawers for folded clothes, bins for sports items, and hooks for caps and jackets are essential. Sit with your child and give everything a home. This way you not only prepare your child for easy organization but also save yourself the horror of morning rushes.

Image via: Pottery Barn

Homework station

When the task is simple to do, it’s undoubtedly more fun. As homework is no different, set up a dedicated spot for schoolwork. If your child has been doing his/her homework on the kitchen table, this year consider buying a desk set that complements your child’s personality. Placing a desk in your kid’s bedroom will give him/her a sense of responsibility and privacy he/she may require to do the work on his/her own.

Image via: Leah Fabulously Organized Home

Assess your kids’ needs

Before hitting the stores to purchase the new year’s school supply, it’s important to sit with each child and assess what all is really required. Take time to remove damaged goods and find out which usable stuff can be passed on to younger siblings. This will not only help you to keep the collections and clutter under control, but will also save you from unnecessary spending.

A disorganized room is a huge roadblock to a child’s success. So, to set them up for a victorious school year, take time to concentrate on things that kids mostly have trouble keeping a track of.

For more organization ideas on Stagetecture, click here.