School has ended and the kids have dumped boxes and backpacks full of school items at our front door. Does your family shove the mess into a closet and ignore it until August? You're not alone! Every year we go through this, and every year I plan on being more proactive about it so...here goes!
While organizing this mess isn't as much fun as a trip to the zoo, here's a few quick tips that will help you save your sanity now and some money in August.
1. Sort
Have the kids empty their backpacks and sort supplies into 3 categories: save (for the next school year), recycle, and toss.
2. Store supplies
Gather saved supplies and store them by category (spiral notebooks, pens & pencils, etc). Teach the kids how to write an inventory list so you'll all know what you have for the next school year.
3. Shop your box
When "Back to School" lists come out in the late summer months, you will save both time and money by "shopping your box" of supplies before hitting the store sales. It's incredible how much money we can all save when we reuse instead of buying new!
Be sure to plan a fun activity at the end of the "Sort and Store" process, it'll be motivation for both you and the kids to just get it done and move on to the fun that summer brings!
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