by Kimberly Due-Vacco

Created on: September 02, 2009   Last Updated: September 03, 2009

School Supply shopping is not for the weak that is for sure. It is expensive and often times frustrating. As a veteran back to school mom, I thought I would pass along some of my money/time saving tips to newbie moms.

A lot of PTAs and other parent groups will sell prepackaged schools supplies and this is a great time saver and will (almost) guarantee that your child will have the right supplies from day one that will last all school year. I have never bought them myself (I know, bad PTA lady) because I feel that they are too expensive and have some redundant items in them. Plus I like to get recycled/sustainable products whenever possible and they usually aren't included in the packs. That being said, if time is of the essence for you or you are new to the school, this might be a viable option for you. Now, on to my tips for those of you who are still with me:

* Go through that big bag of stuff that your child(ren) brought home at the end of school last year and see what can be reused. Scissor, pencil bags, rulers, binders, even some colored pencils can be used again. I have been known to tear out the used pages of spiral notebooks and send them to school. Does it really matter if there are 55 instead of 70 pages in that spiral notebook? I don't think anyone will notice.

* Don't go all over town trying to find the exact brand/size/color of everything on the school's supply list. Chances are that list was compiled off the list of the beforementioned prepackaged supply list. The PTA picks the brands that they want for the supplies and contracts with the school supply vendor based on those choices. It probably doesn't matter if your child has Crayola crayons or Prang crayons, they both make pretty colors when applied to paper. The only exception might be the color of the folders and spirals, since teachers often use different colored folders for different subjects, but I have only once had a teacher ask for a color that doesn't come in the muli-packs of folders at Target (that are always on sale for a $1 for 10 this time of year).

* Go shopping alone. Do it in the dead of night if you have to but under no circumstances take your child(ren) with you to buy supplies. It is a recipe for disaster.

*Don't send all of your child(ren)'s supplies to school the first day of school. Send only the spirals and folders and a few of everything else along with a note to the teacher stating that your child has his extras at home and you will send in anything they need when

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