This is a helpful list that I thought would help me next year and my readers. This post contains affiliate links and product has been provided to assist in creating a complete list of supplies. Regardless, all opinions are 100% my own!
Nothing is more exciting to my kiddos than getting a box delivered to the door with something in it for them and this year we had some fun the week before school because I did something crazy for me…I ordered almost all our back to school supplies online and L.O.V.E.D. it! I normally enjoy going to the store to let my kiddos help pick out everything they need. It’s an exciting time, but after our first trip to go shoe shopping took close to 3 hours, I was burned out and so were my kiddos. Going back into another store was not on our “Most Exciting Things To Do List!” Plus, I remember last year buying way more than I planned because my oldest daughter kept sneaking in extra supplies into the cart that I did not discover until we got home. It was chaos!
So, this year I popped on line and ordered all my supplies. I was hoping to shop Amazon to get free 2 day shipping, but I discovered Walmart had the best online deals and shipping was free if the order was over $50. Perfect and such a sanity saver!
I ordered all my supplies about 10 days before school started and almost all our supplies arrived within 5 days later, which I thought was super fast. If you are going to order via Walmart, give yourself enough time to get your supplies before school starts. Between 10-14 days should give you plenty of time. I also loved that I was ordering from Walmart because it would have been easy to add on more to get to my $50 limit. Toilet paper anyone? 😆
Here is my shopping list that I ordered. I’m going to keep this so I have easy access to it for next year and you might as well benefit, too! These supplies were ordered for a 1st grader and a 3rd grader, but I think a lot of the supplies are good for all ages.
Scissors – luckily we only needed one since we saved our scissors from last year
Ruler x 2 – these are flexible so they won’t break if bent a little
Pencil Cap Erasers – this is a large pack
Wide Ruled Composition Notebook x 2
Box of Tissues – 3 pack
Glue Sticks 30 Pack – One kiddo needed 12 and the other needed 6, so this was the best deal and I love having extra glue sticks around for later in the year when the teachers run out.
Single Subject Notebook – Wide ruled x 6
Large Pink Eraser – 3 pack
Pencils – 20 pack
Dry Eraser Markers – Set of 8, so I divided them up between my 2 school aged kiddos
Index Cards x 2
Hand Sanitizer x 2
Contigo Water Bottles: We bought these Water Bottles in a 3 pack from Costco and love them. They are awesome! I can’t find them on Costco’s website, so here thy are on Amazon. There are patterns with butterflies and planes, which are super cute!…
KidCal Labels: Waterproof, perfect for labeling anything the kiddos need labeled and stick to any surface…water bottles, sweatshirts, backpacks, etc. I can not tell you how many times I had to rewrite my children’s names on their water bottles because the permanent marker rubbed off. You can order them customized specifically for your family and Kidcals guarantees their durability, so you get to keep your labels forever. Another bonus, is Kidcals always offers free shipping!
We just ordered these initial basic labels and will update this picture above once they come in a couple of days. We will be able to label everything!
What are your back to school survival tricks?
Katie says
August 12, 2014 at 1:00 pmAh! Online shopping! Why have I never thought of doing this? I guess I was done with school shopping for myself before online shopping was really mainstream but still. Very cool idea to beat the energy drain!
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 14, 2014 at 11:03 pmThanks!
Michelle Snow says
August 12, 2014 at 4:10 pmI have never even thought of buying school stuff online! This is a great idea. Who doesn’t love getting packages?
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 14, 2014 at 11:04 pmSeriously! It’s like Christmas without the wrapping and hiding stress.
Deidre says
August 12, 2014 at 4:37 pmOnline school shopping sounds smart!
Joelle says
August 12, 2014 at 5:23 pmThose labels are such a great idea! I would totally do Amazon Prime, I can’t lie. I don’t have kids (yet), but I do have an addiction to their free 2 day shipping!
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 13, 2014 at 11:35 amI know! I love Amazon Prime, unfortunately I couldn’t justify buying crayons and markers at $5 a box when they were $.50 at the store. At least I was able to get free shipping from Walmart. I was going to add toilet paper to the package if I didn’t hit the $50 minimum to get free shipping. lol
Lindsay says
August 12, 2014 at 5:55 pmThat is such a smart idea!!! Plus I’m sure there are more options of things online 🙂 Great idea!!
Chelsea says
August 12, 2014 at 11:06 pmBack to school is MAYHEM in stores, so it’s super smart of you to have shopped online. I was in Walmart the other day just for some random things, and there were a TON of families in the lineups. It was crazy!
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 13, 2014 at 11:36 amI know, MAYHEM is the perfect word! I almost forgot all about the crazy going on until my friend mentioned being at the store. Huge sigh of relief on that one!
Reviews 411 says
August 13, 2014 at 2:39 amAwesome… I should do this too. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Katie Matthews says
August 13, 2014 at 11:06 amThis is such a clever idea to get them excited for school. It’s like Christmas come early if they have all of this to open!
Katie <3
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 14, 2014 at 11:05 pmTotally agree and no wrapping and hiding presents either. I thought I was cheating them out of the experience, but who needs extra stress?!? lol
L says
August 13, 2014 at 2:38 pmLove these posts, I get loads of ideas. Thanks
Alyssa says
August 13, 2014 at 2:50 pmSuch a great idea to shop online. Especially when you have those silly sneaky kids (:
Rochelle says
August 13, 2014 at 11:30 pmThat’s a great idea to get all the supplies online. I have the contigo bottle for myself, but didn’t know they made them kid sized. My kids would love one. Those labels look awesome! It would definitely be nice to have on our things!
Leanna Ranieri says
August 14, 2014 at 12:44 amI have never thought about shopping for school supplies online! It does seem a lot easier but I am so prone to cutting out tons of coupons and shopping for the best deals (I love FREE). My favorite back to school shopping experience was when I shopped for a backpack because there are so many deals online as well!
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes says
August 14, 2014 at 4:19 amOnline shopping definitely takes the stress out of shopping on the high street, especially with kids in tow I imagine.
Lauren says
August 14, 2014 at 10:38 amI am a HUGE fan of Amazon’s 2 day shipping. It was perfect for Christmas shopping last minute. Now you got all your supplies and never left the house!
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 14, 2014 at 11:06 pmHa! I know! That’s how I got hooked on Amazon Prime. I signed on the 21st of December to get a bunch of last minute items before Christmas. I just wish their school supplies were more reasonably priced. I couldn’t justify $5 for a box of crayons.
Brooke @ You're In Brookelynn says
August 14, 2014 at 11:21 amShopping for school supplies online is such a great idea, it seems like you got some great deals!
kancell724 says
August 14, 2014 at 1:08 pmWhat a great idea to order them online. My mom took my daughter shopping for school supplies, shoes and an outfit so I avoided it all together.
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 14, 2014 at 11:07 pmAwesome and it sounds like you have an amazing mom, too. How nice of her!
Rebekah says
August 14, 2014 at 2:14 pmLove online shopping. We’ll be doing it in person this year because it’s his first year and he can’t wait to pick out a backpack!
Jessica says
August 14, 2014 at 4:12 pmI’ve never considered shopping for school supplies, so this was really interesting to me. I’m in college, so I understand how great it is to find a good deal. Thanks for sharing!
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 14, 2014 at 11:09 pmDesperate times make us take desperate measures! lol Way to go on being in college. I know in my days I probably spent too much when I shopped with friends, so I avoided shopping then either and went without! lol
Carly Anderson (@lipglosscrayons) says
August 14, 2014 at 6:21 pmBuying those essentials online is definitely a great idea! You can’t beat not having that chaos of taking the kids to the store.
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 14, 2014 at 11:11 pmBeating the chaos is priceless. My friends have a joke we pass around when one of us is running errands at the store with others…”Can you see if they have Sanity in stock”. The typical answer, “Nope, they were all out!” And that pretty much sums up school shopping for me!
estherjulee says
August 14, 2014 at 9:10 pmwow 3 hours? good choice on going online shopping! i don’t have kids so i wouldn’t know.. but i don’t even like shopping personally for more than 20 minutes. back to school shopping looks so fun though! 🙂
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 14, 2014 at 11:12 pmIt is so fun, until you want to go pay for it all or find a place to keep it! lol Online shopping is the way to go. Browsing with friends and not buying anything is the best way to go through the store. Stress free! Thanks for stopping by today!
Jenn @ hellorigby! says
August 14, 2014 at 11:26 pmLooks like a great way to get back to school shopping done! Its too bad online shopping wasn’t much of a thing when I was in school!
Jess says
August 15, 2014 at 12:43 amClever idea to buy school supplies online, I never would have thought of that! I’ll have to pass this on to my sister for her kiddos!
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 17, 2014 at 11:41 pmThanks! And after doing school shopping I started wondering what other household basics I can get online and still get a great deal!
Raewyn says
August 15, 2014 at 1:51 amThis is so smart! It probably stops you from buying unnecessary supplies!!
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 17, 2014 at 11:41 pmYes, it totally does, but also keeps my thinking in line and remember to get the extras I do want (like washable crayons for baby sis to keep her from stealing her siblings). Last year my 5 year old stuck Hello Kitty placemats in the cart amongst the school supplies even after I thought I pulled them out. We still haven’t used them! lol
Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah says
August 15, 2014 at 2:17 pmThis looks great, so much easier than going to loads of shops 🙂
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 17, 2014 at 11:39 pmYes! I debated going from store to store getting the best deals, but figured by the time I did so between gas and sanity I wouldn’t save much. Thanks for stopping by!
Ayana Pitterson says
August 15, 2014 at 9:15 pmWow, I am all on the labels! My little guy started Kindergarten two weeks ago, and I have been researching the personalized labels. I really like that water bottle as well. Thanks for sharing. Never thought to do back to school shopping online, but duh…why not!
Thrifting Diva
http://www.thriftingdiva.com
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 17, 2014 at 11:37 pmI know and I love that they stay on clothes even after they are washed. Good luck with your first year. It’s a year of fun firsts and adventures!
Jessica Doll says
August 17, 2014 at 12:48 amGreat idea! I wish I had time to shop online, they don’t release the school supply lists until after school starts at my son’s school.
Michelle (AKA Fun On A Dime Lady) says
August 17, 2014 at 11:36 pmThat is frustrating! I thought my school did the same thing (they have lists out at the tables the day you come to meet the teacher), but discovered they added them to their website this year. I bet a bunch of parents bugged them ahead of time to make them available.