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Let’s face it. After a summer of buying swimsuits, summer clothes and all the food for your backyard barbecue, thinking about spending even more money is enough to make you cringe. But whether we like it or not, back to school comes around this time every single year.
With more than 29 million households in America having school-aged children, from kindergarten through high school seniors, you can imagine that the back-to-school spending season is a big one. Not only that, over 50% of your kid’s school year supplies are purchased before school even starts.
Backpacks First:
Backpack styles change yearly. Over the past several years, we have had messenger bags, and rolling backpacks gain in popularity then disappear. There are positives and negatives to each of these, though. With a rolling backpack, the idea was to take the load off of children’s backs, which were resulting in back and spinal injuries. However, the rolling backpacks are not allowed now in some schools as they are seen as luggage. So, make sure to read your school’s policies first.
Here are some great backpacks that are currently hot right now:
I am a little bit bias on my backpacks because I love my JanSport ones and my Herschel one. They get a lot of abuse and withstood the test of time. My JanSport one must be over ten years old. I used it for a diaper bag after school, and now I use it for overnight trips. My Herschel is the smaller version, and it is two years old. It has no stains or defects and still looks brand new.
Fill your backpack and save!
Wait to fill your backpack and save on sales tax by waiting till the tax-free weekend for your state. It would be the best time to purchase school supplies, clothing, and even computers – all while paying no sales tax.
Necessities for your backpack
- Water Bottle
- Chapstick
- Hand Sanitizer
- Kleenex To-Go Tissues
- Calculator
- Granola Bar (Backup nutrition)
Common Back to School Supplies:
- Plastic folders
- Five-star Notebooks or Composition notebooks
- 3-ring Binders
- Planner
- Erasers
- Index cards
- White Printer Paper
- Lined Notebook Paper
- Post-its
- Pencil pouch
- Pencils
- Highlighters
- Pens
- Dry Erase Markers (White Board)
- Crayons
- Scissors
- Glue
- Whiteout – EZ Correction Tape
- Lunchboxes
Click Here to shop for more Back to School Essentials such as locker items and clothes.
Girls Emergency Kit:
- Pads/Tampons
- Midol or Tylenol
- Band-Aids
- Feminine wipes
- Travel Size Deodorant
- Tide to-go pen
- Hair ties/bobby pins
- Travel-sized lotion
Still, looking for more items for back to school?
I would check out my post for Easy Ideas for School Lunches. It will make it quick and easy for you in the morning while giving your child the necessary nutrition to learn. It covers sandwiches, snacks, and the best lunch boxes around.
I hope you have a wonderful school year, everyone!
Tori
Great little list! I probably needed this when I was at school, I think I mainly turned up with my books and a singular pen haha!
I didn’t know states did tax-free weekends either! Have you always had that?
Tori
irishtwins16
I think for about 10 years, but slowly more and more states are stoping from doing the tax-free weekends.
Keri Chiles
Wow this is such a great list! Thank you!
Sandy NussbaumGiercyk
I wish NJ would join the list of tax free weekends
irishtwins16
I completely agree!
Kristen
Good list – as a former teacher I would second the items – even if a student won’t use some of the items with a specific teacher, they will be sure to find a need at home for them. And I love the idea of waiting for a tax-free weekend – great tip!
Jenn Summers
I love the girl emergency list! I wish I had that when I was young. I hope I remember this one!
Megan | Ginger Mom & Company
This is a great list! My little ones are preschool and kindergarten so their lists are a little more simple but I’ll be bookmarking this for later on 🙂 Thanks for sharing!