Call me weird, but I love school supplies. School supply shopping was always my jam. I loved going with my mom and getting those new notebooks and folders. I had a rainbow of pens. Now I’m the mom and my kids aren’t so into getting their school supplies, but I still enjoy checking off the list of all they need – just in a different way.
These days, I make sure that all the previous year school supplies are recycled or reused as much as possible. I keep a big bin of supplies – used, leftovers that come home at the end of the year, and the extras (bought 10 glue sticks since it was cheaper than the 4 pack they needed). It took me a few years to get to the point of putting all the ‘extra’ and loose supplies into one area. This helps to move from scrambling all over the house trying to find that pink eraser you just KNOW you had five of versus going out and buying a new pack and then finding last year’s pack a week after school starts. And since I pay for these supplies now, I make my kids ‘shop’ that bin first before we get any new supplies.
With 2020 being such a crazy year, you may be experiencing back to school a little differently. Maybe your kids are learning virtually to start the year. Maybe they are going back to school but can’t have any shared supplies. Here are a few tips that I have found to help with school supplies. I’d love to hear your hacks as we go into this year!
- If you haven’t already – clean out that backpack. I bet it has a few supplies to reuse and hopefully it has survived the year and can go back to school again this year. If your child needs a new one, buy quality that will last.
- Lots of supplies your kids had last year can probably be used. Especially with schools closing their doors earlier than expected last school year, you may have a lot of unused supplies that are ready to go this year at school or at home.
- If one marker is used up in a pack of colors, I bet you can find a replacement rather than just buying a whole new pack.
- If your kids are virtual to start – you are going to need a lot less. A reusable personal whiteboard may be just the ticket (my school has it on the supply list) for at-home problem-solving.
- Do you have supplies that your kids aren’t going to need this year? There are a lot of programs that take school supplies donations. You can probably check at your school, with friends or community programs. If you need help finding a program to donate to, reach out – this group can help!
Some recycling programs that I have found
- Terracycle: you can recycle glues sticks and MORE, search around https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/zero_waste_boxes/glue-sticks-and-bottles
- Crazy Crayons: https://www.crazycrayons.com/recycle-program
Looking to donate school supplies?
The current pandemic may make donations more difficult, but here is a site I have found in my search. Another way to make sure those extra supplies are used can be your local Facebook free/buy nothing groups that (I saw) popped up at the start of lockdown. Have half a bottle of glue, markers, and construction paper you won’t use? I bet someone can use it!