At this time of year, our thoughts turn to back-to-school shopping. This time of year is big business for retailers. If you search “back-to-school shopping list”, you will find a lot of suggestions. But is everything on that list really necessary? Today, I suggest a dozen items you probably don’t need to buy every year.

This post was originally published in August 2020 and updated in June 2023.

Back to school is big business

This time of year is big business for retailers. The average American parent spends over $600 outfitting each child for school according to a 2022 study by Deloitte. In fact, many parents spend more on school shopping than holiday shopping.

If money is tight, or you’re just tired of throwing away usable school supplies every year, you might be able to shave over $100 dollars off that tab by taking a few of the standard items on those back-to-school shopping checklists off your list.

School supplies you don’t need to buy every year

Before you head to the stores, take an inventory of last year’s supplies. Keep my Mindful shopping tips to save you money in mind and ask yourself if you really need everything on the list.

Here are 12 items you might be able to reduce…

Backpack

This is something worth spending a bit more money on to get one that will last. A sturdy backpack should last at least two or three school years. I’m not suggesting you send your middle-schooler off on the first day with a Barbie or Spiderman bag but take a good look at last year’s backpack to see if you need to buy a new one.

Lunch bag

Like the backpack, lunch bags are items that should easily last three or four years—as long as you avoid the trendy character bags. Sorry Barbie and Spiderman! A plain bag will do just fine.

Water bottle

If your kids aren’t in the habit of losing their water bottles frequently, this is something else that should last a long time. There are many sturdy reusable options out there. If you’re concerned about plastic exposure, look for a stainless steel bottle.

Binders

I shudder when I think of all the plastic binders sent to the landfill at the end of every school year. When my daughters started high school, we spent a little more money to buy good quality binders and they used them all four years.

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Markers

We cleaned out my daughter’s room last year and found tons of old markers. Most of them still work. Before putting markers on your list, have a look at last year’s markers to see if they’re still good.

Erasers

Novelty erasers are a standard item in pretty much every birthday party loot bag. We accumulated dozens of them over the years when my daughters were small. If you don’t have a stockpile of cute erasers, one good white eraser should last for years—maybe even your child’s entire school career.

Pencil case

Similar to a lunch bag, a pencil case should last a long time. If the zipper still works and there are no holes, cross this item off your list.

Calculator

With good care, a student should really only need two calculators in their school career. A basic one for elementary school and a scientific calculator for later years. I have been using the same financial calculator for over 20 years.

But you might need to put batteries on your list!

Math set

One of the great mysteries of life is where all the lost pieces of the math sets go. (I’m looking straight at you Mr. Protractor!) Do they grow legs and walk away? Did the dog eat them along with the homework?

Logic dictates that you shouldn’t need to buy a full math set every year, but I don’t think we’ve ever had a math set make it through a full school year intact. We were, however, able to get another year or two out of our math sets by buying a couple of single protractors rather than a full set.

And let’s not forget

Finally, here are three final items you probably have already that you can take off your list.

• Pencil sharpener
• Scissors
• Ruler

Teachable moments

For many years, as part of our back-to-school shopping, our family has sponsored a child through Send ‘Em Off Smiling, a local backpack program for less advantaged children in our community. My daughters and I have volunteered at the charity’s warehouse. This experience really opened their eyes to the fact that they are more fortunate than a lot of kids in our community.

If you’re worried that your kids will balk at the idea of going back to school with last year’s stuff, this is a teachable moment on a couple of fronts.

First, it’s a great chance to have a conversation about the value of money—wants versus needs—and how we need to make choices about what we spend money on. Too many parents don’t ever have the money talk with their kids, but that’s a topic for another post.

If that doesn’t work, and it might not if it’s the first time you’ve talked about spending with your kids, try the environmental angle. Talk to them about plastic pollution and the mounds of perfectly usable school supplies piled up in the landfill. Kids today are pretty environmentally aware, so that might get their buy-in.

Tell me your ideas about back-to-school shopping

Do you have other suggestions to add to this list? How do you save money on back-to-school shopping? Tell us below.