It’s that time of year again. Back to School! Here we come
1st Grade!!!!... and traffic nightmares and project overload and keeping up
with school apps and calendars and the lost and found and the mountain of marbles, pipe cleaners and
q-tips we will be asked to bring in over the next 10 months… Sorry I got
carried away. No, I am actually super excited for Jackson to go to 1st
Grade and so is he! I just had to throw
in a few of the things that I am not looking forward to!
I like to get the best deal on whatever I’m buying at all
times but especially on necessities like school supplies. So this week before I spent anything I filled
my online carts with everything on my son’s school supply list at both Amazon
and Wal-Mart. Now normally I feel like I can get a better deal with Amazon on most
things however a lot of their items are only available in bulk and some of the
items I needed, like hand sanitizer, I really didn’t need in a 25 pack. I mean,
I love me some hand sanitizer but I don’t need to furnish it for the entire
first grade. So Wal-Mart was the best deal on those, because I could purchase
as little as one at a time there. In total I got everything needed from
Wal-Mart for roughly $70.00 bucks versus Amazon for roughly $92.00. I felt like
that was a significant savings.
Organization
I also like starting off the new school year being super
organized. But let’s be honest it doesn’t stay that way for long, not with kids
around. At least I have good intentions right?!?… Well that’s what I tell
myself. The kid’s home work/craft space in their play room is organized with
tin buckets for markers, crayons, pencils and color pencils, as well as a
calendar with chore charts and upcoming events and a cork board to display
recent artwork. I keep all their work from the year in separate wire wall racks
and recently I heard of a really great way to save and organize it all with a
file folder for each year in a plastic file tote. So I will be starting one of
these for Jackson soon.
I feel all is right with the world or at least my little world
when we have a specific place for everything including back packs, jackets,
shoes and miscellaneous items. So I updated our drop zone/hall tree space
that’s right off the garage, leading into the play room for maximum functionality. Here’s to hoping it
helps out! Also almost everything in the homework/craft space and hall
tree areas was ordered from Amazon.
New Shoes
Jackson always needs new shoes, like every three months it
seems. And my first stop is always Marshalls. It’s obviously not as convenient
as going online however if you can find a steal of deal for half the price you
would have spent somewhere else it’s totally worth it! It’s not guaranteed that they will have something
I like but 8 out of 10 times I can find something for him there, as well as for
Sawyer in their boys shoe department.
And they are always a lot cheaper than Amazon, Rack Room or anywhere
else I look. My second go to is Amazon because they are typically cheaper than
any of the sports and
athletic stores. And I just hate getting out at this time of
year so Amazon hits the spot. I know you all feel my pain.
Back pack and lunch box
Jackson’s back pack and lunch box are from Pottery Barn. I
know what you are thinking, “Man that’s gonna be a chunk of change” but their
bags, packs, lunch boxes and luggage are super well-made and last a long time!
As long as you pick out a style and pattern you think they will like for a
while. We got Jackson’s before he started kindergarten and it’s still in great
condition for the start of his first grade year. And if you hit them up at the
perfect time you can get 20%-30% off your purchase.
Clothes
Right now Jackson is good on clothes so I am not buying
anything new until Fall when I know he needs some pants and long sleeved
shirts. But when I do get him some things it’ll be from Old Navy, Gap or
Marshall’s. Something I have done since we have had kids in daycare is use my
Old Navy Visa card to pay the monthly daycare bill and I get points each month
to buy clothes for the kids at Old Navy. This has helped a lot. Because daycare
ain’t cheap by any stretch of the imagination so my points rack up easily and
it helps keep em clothed! So I try to always look at Old Navy first for things
I like. I am sure most store Visa cards have this points system, I just haven’t
checked out any other merchants. But with a girl coming along I might have to
because right now I love some things they have at Mud Pie and Carter’s for baby
Caroline!
And last but definitely not least make sure you give those
babies some love, support and kindness that they can spread every day at school
to those who may not be so fortunate! There are so many kids who don’t have
what they need and I always think about that when we start school each year I
make sure to keep my kids well aware that supplies and clothes cost money and
they are privileged to have all they do. When I can, I send extra supplies in
hopes it helps the classroom as a whole. When my kids see others in school that
may not have what they need, I want them to see the person and not comment on their
lack of “things.” Kids can be mean so I am trying to start out early and often making
them aware and sensitive to these situations.
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