Back to school. That’s right, I said it, back to school is almost upon us. Now don’t fret, we do still have a few weeks left of beautiful summer holidays, however the start of school is creeping up on us quickly. Where does the time go? Don’t summer days pass by so much quicker than winter ones?
Back to school is met with enthusiasm, excitement, nervousness, planning, organizing and buying. Buying school supplies, lunch boxes, backpacks, clothes, shoes and the list goes on and on. How does one save some money during back to school shopping? Here are a few tips to try:
Go through leftovers from last year. It may surprise you to see that you have some supplies stashed away from last year, use them up. Your child may also have brought home some hardly used supplies so use them up. Backpacks and lunch boxes don’t necessarily need to be replaced. Take a good look at last years to see if it can do the trick for another year.

Scour the sales — Our town has lots of options for shopping back to school sales, and the month of August always shows great sales in this department. Check each week to see what’s on sale and get that off your list. Hopefully this allows you to get everything on sale. Try to get in there at the start of sales rather than right before school starts to ensure you get all you need and nothing’s sold out.
This is the time to buy some extras. Kids often go through a few items more quickly than others. Don’t be afraid to overbuy a few key items (like pencils, erasers, glue, lined paper, markers) when you find them on sale. If they aren’t needed this year they may be next year.
Buy second hand. Kiijii, yard sales sites and facebook are great places to look for big ticket items (a desk, chairs, lamps) at a discounted price. If you don’t see anything you’re looking for, putting a message on facebook may get you exactly what you need. There’s always at least a few people looking to get rid of a few things.
Clothes — If your kids are anything like mine, their winter/spring clothes have definitely been grown out of. (How do they grow so much, so fast?) There are often people selling clothes on yard sale sites, and clothing stores also have some good sales at the beginning of the school year if you’re in need right now. It’s also good to remember that for the first few weeks of school kids will probably be able to continue wearing shorts and summer clothes. You may be able to hold off until closer to October for long sleeved shirts and pants. Grab the sales when you see them.
Tip — Some people buy a size ahead when they see good end of season sales, for right now that they would buy for next summer. You can get some great deals on end of summer clothing and if your child’s size has been predictable you can go ahead and get some great deals for next year.
We go through our wardrobes at the beginning of new seasons and try everything on. That way we have an adequate list of what we need.
Labels — Don’t forget a few ice packs and to label everything. Clothes, coats, hats, backpacks, lunch boxes, containers and supplies! You can use labels or a black sharpie.
Back to School Drive —- The Parents’ Voice Shawville has organized a school supply drive again this year to help families with school supplies. We recognize that this becomes very costly for a lot of families. We have bins set up at Stedmans, Hursty’s Restaurant, Cartrites Restaurant, Giant Tiger and Hendersons. We are asking for pencils, glue sticks, notebooks, duotangs, facial tissue, markers and crayons, erasers, one and two inch binders, pencil sharpeners, scissors, pencil cases or monetary donations. Thank you in advance. Supplies collected will be distributed to the schools in our town.