Is Back to School Shopping Worth It?

We all remember the craze of back-to-school shopping, and the time has come for it to return! It used to be my favorite part of the year because there was just so much to look at and get. Walmart's aisles would be full of crayon packages or spiral notebooks and it was such a liberating feeling to just stare at all of those school supplies. Last year, COVID-19 put that to a halt as schools remained online for the year and new school supplies weren't truly necessary. But that begs the question: is yearly back-to-school shopping necessary in the first place?

Now, you all know me; I love stationery. I love everything about it -- the colorful supply aisle at Target full of pens, all the different options, every single part of it. The photo to the left is only part of the larger collection of things that I have. I simply love the colorful display of colors (great job, Emma, A+ description). Point being, if given the opportunity and an unlimited budget, I'd go to any stationery store and spend an entire day there on a shopping spree. But please note how I mentioned the unlimited budget. Because stationery is expensive! The good quality pens and mechanical pencils can be steep sometimes, and especially after COVID-19, companies are itching to start mass-selling again. Prices are going to go up.

For elementary school students:

School supply lists are usually supplied for those students that are in elementary school because it is the first few years of school in which everything is pretty much new. Usually the supply list has some random things on it. Why would your child need 4 boxes of Kleenex, dry erase markers, and disinfecting wipes? More often than not in elementary school, this is donation to the classroom so that the teacher does not have to buy such supplies themself. Most elementary school parents follow these lists to the "t" and usually it results in a pretty long receipt and a lot of money spent. Of course, this isn't discouraging the donation process by any means. If you're feeling charitable and wish to donate to the school, you can. However for those who may be cash-strapped or don't want to spend the extra money, the school supply runs in search for dry erase markers may not be as necessary.

Another option as your child gets to the later stages of elementary school is to stock up once and not have to go shopping every year. Buy a few containers of crayons, glue, markers, etc. and have them stored in a pantry. Chances are, your child won't use everything that you buy from one school year to the next and a lot can get lost, so by having a supply and using the items only when you'll need it, it saves the money and effort that may come from continuously having to go out and buy supplies every year. This varies from student to student as well as from school to school, but in the long run it would be more economically favorable and efficient.

For middle school and high school students:

Once you get into middle school or high school, they no longer supply you with a list of things you need. This is because school becomes more academically-oriented rather than enrichment through arts and crafts. Any art supplies are usually supplied by the teacher in large communal bins (so it's optional to bring your own if you'd really like), making it unnecessary to go out and buy the 50-cent markers that they sell every year during back-to-school season. That last one is especially true for high school.

Here's what you will need for middle school and high school: a binder, pencils and erasers, pens, highlighters, loose-leaf graph and lined paper (depending on the math class), notebooks, and a computer. Computers are for personal use, and some schools supply their students with a computer to use during the school day anyways. Rarely is it that you bring your personal computer to school.

Honorable mentions could be: pencil lead refills, index cards, binder rings, hole punchers, mini staplers, etc.

You can choose what you want to bring with you to school, but the point is that there is no designated list of supplies that is required for a student to bring to school. Pens and pencils from the previous year work fine -- you don't need to go out and buy a new one unless you really need it. Therefore the verdict for middle and high school is this: back-to-school shopping is not necessary unless you absolutely need them.

My recommendation:

Yes, the stationery aisle is an amazing place to be. I mean, look at that. Isn't it beautiful? But the truth is that yearly back-to-school shopping is expensive. And often not worth the money that you'll inevitably spend on what they sell. Yes, the crayons may only be a dollar each and so will each of the notebooks and pencils and all of that, but that means that by the end of your supply run, you'll have spent a lot of money trying to get everything you think you'll need for the school year.

Try taking inventory of what you already have, and then going out to buy the rest of what you know you'll need for the school year. That way, you can save money, time, energy, and space in your house :)

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions! My email is listed in the Contacts tab of the website, or you can DM my Instagram by clicking here.