Last Day Of School

It is hard to believe but today is the last day of school for my girls.  I am looking forward to the time we’ll spend together this summer and a reprieve from making all those lunches every morning. J 

On the last day of school I begin preparing for the first day of school all over again.  I start by going to the school district website and printing off next year’s calendar and a copy of the school supply list for each one of my daughters. 

When they come home this afternoon we will go through all the school supplies they have brought home.  What can be recycled and used again next year gets set aside and the rest is used in craft projects we will do this summer. 

School Supplies - I keep a stock of school supplies I purchase each year during the back-to-school sales.  Each store seems to have its loss leader item whether it is crayons, glue, pencils or spiral notebooks for 10¢ or markers for 88¢.  Those are the items I buy and refill my recycled copy paper box with.  After going through this year’s leftovers we fill in with what is in the box and I mark those items of the list.  Then I watch for sales throughout the summer to get the items we don’t have.  I am usually able to spend about $10 or less each year on schools supplies. 

Backpacks & Lunchboxes – We completely empty them out and they get to take a spin in the washer on the gentle cycle.  Then they are hung to air dry.  I make any repairs necessary.  The lunch boxes and school supplies we have on hand are tucked inside the backpacks and are put up in the closet to await the first day of school.  If a backpack or lunchbox is too far gone I then make a plan to replace it. 

Thermoses & Drink Bottles – I wash these with hot soapy water and then let them soak in a little bleach water to get rid of any odors or stains.  I toss any worn out or damaged drink bottles in the recycle bin.  Once everything is completely dry I put them in a bin I keep in our pantry to store them until they are needed once again. 

Ice Packs – I wash these in hot soapy water, allow to air dry and put away with the thermoses and drink bottles. 

Plastic Utensils – By this time most of the plastic forks and spoons we started with have been lost or broken.  I wash what is left and put it in the bin with the idea that I’ll buy some more to begin the school year with again. 

Plastic Containers – We are trying to cut down on the use of plastic bags so I buy small round ½ cup containers and sandwich size containers to put certain items in.  By this time some of them are pretty worn out or the lids are missing.  I go through the ones we can save and wash them in hot soapy water and let them soak in bleach water too to get rid of stains and odors.  After they are completely dry I stack them up and put them in my plastic container bin in our pantry.  I also make a note to replace anything that needs replacing.  This year it appears we need to replace some of our ½ cup containers.  We are down to only four left. 

It is nice to have all this taken care of so I don’t have to worry about it later on when we are preparing to go back to school at the end of the summer.  It is also nice to know what I need ahead of time so I can take advantage of sales or coupons and can spread out the expense instead of having to do it all at once.

So far it appears I am short on large pink erasers, three hole paper and Kleenex.

Do you have any great tips you’d like to share?  I’d love to hear them!