shopping

Back To School Sales, Oh My!

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It’s hard to ignore all the ads on TV, internet, and radio about all those wonderful school supplies every child needs to succeed.  Of course we aren’t fooled by all the hype the advertising agencies throw at us.  Yet, we do want to make sure our children have every advantage possible to get the best education they can.

It’s easy to just go to the store and purchase all the items we think our children need or they think they need.  But if you have students well into elementary, middle, or secondary grades you probably have unused school supplies still sitting on the shelves.  The reason for this may be:

  1. You bought way too many items because of the great price.
  2. You or your children bought into the hype and purchased items they never used.
  3. You wanted to make sure your students didn’t run out of supplies causing a last minute run to the store.

Another source of leftover supplies is when you and your children are lured into wanting all their notebooks, backpacks, pencils, and lunch boxes with the current “fads” on them.  There is nothing wrong with buying some of these.  After all it is important that our children are enthusiastic about going to school.  The problem comes in when leftover supplies with last year’s fad is this year’s “dud”.  It could sit on your shelf forever!

If you’ve had this problem in the past there is an easy solution.  Buy only a few things with this year’s “fad” knowing the child may not use it next year.  If your budget is tight try to stay neutral with the more expensive items such as backpacks, lunch boxes/bags, zippered notebooks, etc.  Start out the new school year with one or two fad notebooks and/or other supplies. Stock up on the basic ones to be used later in the year.

As children grow older the required school supplies will change.  If you have a lot of unused and outgrown leftover supplies on the shelf consider donating these to a local charity that collects new supplies for underprivileged children.  It always feels good to help all children start off the school year right. After all, they are the future!

For more information on preparing for back to school check out these sites.

http://family.disney.com/back-to-school

http://childcare.about.com/od/behaviors/bb/backtoschool.htm

If you have any unique ways in which you shop for school supplies please share them in the comment section.

Thanks,

Janice

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Back to School Tips

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Everywhere you look there are “Back to School” products being advertised. It just seems like yesterday that the kids were running down the street to catch the bus.

The first day and even the first few weeks of school can be total chaos if you don’t plan ahead.  Below are a few tips to help you get organize now plus take advantage of those “Back to School” sales.

 

Clothes Shoppingschool boy in jeans

Although my boys are grown now, I remember those crazy days with getting ready for the first day of school. It always seemed like they grew an inch or two over the summer. That made shopping for school clothes a challenge especially in the early years. Because I knew it would stay warm enough for them to wear shorts until at least mid-September I didn’t go out a buy too many winter clothes (pants or long sleeve tops) yet. Some years they grew out of their jeans every few months! I wrote about it in this blog post.

 

School Supplies

Notebooks, Eraser and Pencil
Notebooks, Eraser and Pencil

Now is the time to take advantage of the sales on school supplies. Just remember to only stock up on basic supplies you know the kids will need. It’s also a good idea to keep these basics in neutral colors so they won’t become an outdated design before the school year is over. Go ahead a buy a few things with this year’s popular character on it.  Just limit the amount and if money is tight stick with pocket folders and other lower cost items. The more expensive items like 3-ring notebooks and backpacks, if bought in basic colors, can usually be reused for a couple of years.

 

School Papers

If you didn’t go through all the old papers from last year yet take time now to do it. It will be a good feeling to have those decluttered and organized before all the new school papers start entering your home at high speed.  It will help your children start off the new year more organized without last year’s clutter laying around.  The article “Decluttering Children’s School Papers” gives you step by step instructions to help you.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

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One Easy Way to Prevent Clutter

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If clutter and organization are a problem for you (most likely since you’re reading this blog) then I’m sure you’re always looking for an easy way to solve that problem. Even if you take the time and effort to clear out the clutter it’s so hard to keep it from coming back. After all, we have to buy food, clothes, and household items on a regular basis.  Then there is the incoming mail, school papers, gifts, etc.

We can’t prevent everything from coming into our homes nor would we want to. But we do have the power to control many things that might become clutter if we take a little time to plan ahead.

One of the easiest and simplest ways is to use a shopping list. Yes, I said a shopping list. I know that sounds boring and ruins the fun of shopping. But, most of the items that become clutter are purchased on impulse and without planning.

pen and notepadMC900016599

Creating a habit of making a shopping list every time you go to a store will help reduce the chance of bringing clutter into your home now and in the future. This really is an easy habit to create if you have the right tools always available. I use a white board on my refrigerator for grocery and other household items I’ve run out of or want to buy. I also make sure I have pen and paper to transfer that list to take with me. I know a lot of people are using their smart phones to make the list. It doesn’t matter what you use as long as you make that list before going to the store.

Think about it. How often have you stopped at the grocery store without a list and bought items you thought you needed. When you got home you found there were several cans/packages of that item already on the shelf or in the freezer. If you use it up before the expiration date then that’s great. But if you don’t get around to using the item (because you have too many) before it’s expired then you’ve not only created clutter you’ve also wasted money.

The same thing holds true for clothes shopping, back to school shopping, or any other kind of household shopping. If you make a list before you go to the store you’ll know exactly what you need or want. No guessing involved! That will reduce the times you purchase something that ends up as clutter. Therefore you’re preventing clutter from entering your home to begin with.

Remember, a bargain isn’t a bargain if it ends up as clutter!

So make that list. Check it twice. Then you’ll find it so much easier to keep your home nice.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

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Clutter Free Gift Ideas

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We know about our own clutter.  Sometimes we know about a family member or close friend’s clutter.  We want to give them a gift but don’t want to make their clutter problem even worse. Since we know they will probably want to give us a gift we don’t want something that will add to our own clutter.     Christmas presents

So what type of clutter free gifts will be enjoyed and appreciated? Below is a list of ideas for both giving and receiving. Don’t be afraid to ask the person what they would like. Give them some choices from the lists below. Otherwise they will probably say, “I don’t know” or “It doesn’t matter, whatever you want to buy me”. They really do care but are afraid to tell you.

You can also make suggestions for things you would prefer to receive from your family and/or friends. Try to be considerate of the cost of the gifts and the person’s financial situation. You can either set a limit on the cost of the gifts or use the list below for clutter free gifts that cost little or no money.

Clutter-Free Gift Ideas – price: various

  1. Gift certificate for the local mall or their favorite store.
  2. Gift certificate for a movie, theater production, or concert.
  3. Gift certificate for a day spa.
  4. Gift certificate for a local attraction or activity such as the zoo, a museum, amusement park, sporting event, bowling, ice skating, etc.
  5. Candles are good gifts if you know they will use them. Otherwise they may become clutter and gather dust.
  6. Special food items they normally would not buy for themselves. This could be high quality chocolates, specialty oils and vinegars for cooking, or even a gift certificate for a fancy restaurant they would enjoy.
  7. Fancy (usually more expensive) shower gels, lotions, hair products, etc. Make sure they use these kinds of products.
  8. Ask them if there is any particular item they really want or need. At least you will know it probably won’t sit in drawer unused.

Clutter-Free Gift Ideas – price: mostly your time

  1. Create a gift certificate that can be redeemed for a service. This is a great gift for older grandchildren to give to their grandparents. Examples: cleaning the garage or basement, yard-work, car washing, special household projects.
  2. Create a gift certificate that promises someone that you will treat them to a movie, lunch/dinner, special event, etc.  Although this does involve money on your part more importantly it involves spending time with the person and sharing the activity together. If you don’t want to spend any money look for free local attractions you can visit with them.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

 

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Prevent Holiday Clutter Build-up

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This is the time of year where all kinds of clutter can build up. Excess food treats, lots of Christmas decorations, too many gifts, etc. These are some of the things that make the holidays fun. But when we over-indulge in any of these things we could end up with extra pounds on our bodies, wasted food, too many decorations to store, and more gifts than we know what to do with. In other words, we could be adding to our clutter!

Here are some tips to help prevent Holiday clutter build-up:

Turkey Dinner 05

  • If you have a hard time resisting food treats learn to be choosey. Only eat the ones that are special to you.
  • Freeze and/or hide the cookies and candies you are saving for the parties. Out of sight, out of mind, will help control the temptations.

decorated-tree2

  • Go through your stored Christmas decorations before shopping for new ones. Less chance of buying something you already have.
  • Get rid of any decorations that are broken or you don’t like anymore. That will make room for a few new ones.

Christmas presents

  • Make a list of everyone you need or want to buy a gift for. Put a dollar limit and some ideas next to each name.
  • If you have a large family consider drawing names to limit the amount of gifts you need to buy.
  • Consider one nice gift as opposed to multiple small gifts for an individual.
  • Consider one large gift (TV, vacation, etc.) for the whole family instead of individual gifts.

Taking a few precautions and writing out some plans won’t ruin the holiday’s for you. You can still have fun, just don’t overdo it or when January rolls around you may have a lot of new clutter to deal with!

Janice

P.S.  Please share your tips on how you control the clutter during the holidays. Leave a comment below. Thanks.

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