School’s Out for Summer: School Supply Tips
The school season is over! No more packing lunches or enduring the morning rush. What a relief right? Until you see the backpacks piled in a corner somewhere and leftover school supplies tossed around the house. Everything that had been hiding in a desk or locker now lives on the floors of your kids’ rooms. Before things get too out of hand, try these school supply tips. These will make your start to summer more organized. You’ll be ahead of the game for next fall (which will be here before you know it)!
START WITH THE TRASH.
If it doesn’t have sentimental value and isn’t a school supply that can be carried over to the next year, it needs to go. Make the kids help, too, by having them gather what has been left around the house and bringing you new trash bags, because honestly, you’ll need more than one. Some folders and supply boxes don’t survive the school year and aren’t worth saving, so don’t be afraid to fill up the trash bags.
SAVE WHAT YOU CAN.
School supplies aren’t cheap. If those crayons or pencils can be reused for the next school year, wrap a rubber band around what’s salvageable and store in next year’s school supply box. Three-ring binders can survive another year too, even if it means a bit of colorful duct tape. Look for folders that weren’t used much, or extra notebooks that only have a couple pages used. These can all roll over to next year and save you a few dollars. Need a place to store the school supply “keep” pile? Have the kids put everything in the backpack, then put the backpacks out of site in a closet, cupboard, or bin until it’s time to head back.
THINK ABOUT STORAGE.
Whether you’re carrying over a few supplies or have caught on to the savings you can realize by buying school supplies off season or when they’re on clearance, you need to store what you have. Pick a closet or high shelf that you don’t often get into and store unused or reusable school supplies there. Unless your child is doing summer school, they aren’t going to need access to these items now, and you don’t need backpacks and binders cluttering your home. Before school is in session again, you can pull out the backpacks and see what you can check off the list before you go shopping.
The end of the school season is no time to panic. Ditch the chaotic morning routine for a blissful couple of months. Even though the chaos will be replaced with a summer filled with “I’m bored” moments, at least you won’t have to search for last night’s homework for a few weeks.