Back to School Sales are right around the corner and that means great bargains on art supplies, paper, and other materials... but, before shopping I like to "take inventory" and assess what we have and what we need. After reorganizing all the art materials, school supplies, books, and many of the toys in our house, we wound up with boxes to donate, resell, or give away to friends and shelves that appear to be all fresh and new!
With newly organized art supplies and books, the kids are once again enthralled with toys, books, and favorites they'd forgotten. It's amazing how simply reorganizing or shuffling makes the world "new" again.
The Assessment for Back-to-School Sales here?
- Do stock up on some crayons, markers, and "fun things" for party favors! A 25cent box of Crayola Crayons makes one terrific favor for a 3-yr-old party in September!
- Do buy new watercolor paints (we use one box a month it seems... painting is a multiple-times-a-week favorite.
- Do buy small tubs all the same size and stackable for art supplies. Time to bid adieu to the collection of different sizes and shapes for tubs.
- Do stop by Half-Priced-Books and resell old books we no longer want. They donate remainder to charities and we get store credit. With children's books, I've found this to be as good as I'd ever do at a garage sale or eBay (we never part with our BEST books that would be well valued), and it's so easy!
- Do clean out closets this week and assess the stash of "next size" clothes we've been collecting for the fall... make a list for clothes shopping in a few weeks!
How do you prepare for the upcoming sales? Any great tips?