By this time two weeks from now I will be driving home from dropping off child number 2 to college. I thought it would be easier to have 2 kids in the same city for drop off and pick up purposes, but it really isn't working out that way. He goes back on Friday, and she on Sunday, and we have to do two round trip drives due to volume of items, lack of rental truck availability and schedules that don't mesh. Oh well. That's how it goes.
All my back to school shopping is done. I really should have given them money and let them buy their own notebooks, and textbooks, and clothing, but they are still rank amateurs when it comes to finding bargains. They try, bless their hearts, but they don't have the patience or fortitude to to stretch a dime in the way I do. They also don't know when it is better to just pay full price for item, and
when to wait out a bargain. If they were given the task, they would get 1/4 of the items and then need more money.
I managed to purchase my son 4 pairs of pants this summer for just $60.00. He wanted to transition from jeans to Khaki's as the mainstay of his wardrobe, even though he has a ton of jeans, so I went searching. I took advantage of Memorial day sales to get 2 pairs half price at Carsons.com (That particular sale is over, but they always have great deals and coupons.) I purchased another 2 pairs at the Haggar store at my outlet mall. (They also have deals going on all the time). I spent another $40 on polo shirts, and picked up a new pair of shoes at Ross. So for $140 I pushed his wardrobe into a business casual vibe which is a huge accomplishment seeing that he wears the biggest size in regular clothes and/or the smallest size in big and tall. These sizes are hard to find in stores.
The girlie also asked for a full wardrobe revamp, and I obliged. Since she spent most of last year in her Yoga pants she asked for a stack. ...And thank you Walmart, I scored big. Danskin Bootcut pants are only $9.00 a pair, and leggings are about $8.00 I purchase both styles in gray and black. I topped those off with a ton of shirts at Carsons.com, Ross stores, and the thrift store. We focussed on trendy tunic shirts with longer backs. Then I mail ordered 3 pairs of wedge sneakers from Target.com, paying less than $15.00 each.I got the clothing purchases out of the way early in the summer and spend mid-summer saving up for our share of tuition checks (not bad considering scholarships and etc.). Then I stalked the school bookstores waiting for the book list to show up... the second they did, I made a list and snagged the books on Amazon and Chegg rentals for very, very little. (Son does have to buy one school specific book for well over $100 though.)
Finally, I got a few dorm organizing items and school supplies at tax free weekend... the last 2 days. My favorite items is these IKEA bags that only cost .59 cents if you have a store near you, and thankfully I do. But it was a bear getting through the store yesterday and since they did not have a few other items I coveted, I questioned my sanity in making the journey. These bags are wonderful though because the kids use them to tote their clothes to and from the laundry and to transport their clothes to school. They also make great containers for quick decluttering and stashing items under the bed.
I finished off at Walmart getting very specific non-spiral looseleaf notepads that I love, dress bags, and Command strips. I think the only thing I really splurged on is a paper organizing folder for my son who mostly uses his computer and doesn't use a binder. It is a brand new product I saw at Publix, and then had to search several stores to find one because the original one I found was kinda damaged. They are hard to find because they are brand new, but they are only $7.00 in the stores and a little more online.I haven't done the final math yet, but I think the shopping spree I did over the summer will hold them until the holidays at least, and pretty much all year.. and I honestly don't think I spent more than $350 each (not including tuition)!
Until ship-off day, I have some sewing to do as I am working on curtains for each kid and need to sew a rehearsal skirt or two for the girl. I am now focussed on how to get all that stuff in our cars for the trip back. Both kids' goal is to bring less stuff than last year but Daughter already has a pile growing in my dining room that is scaring me. I'm probably going to drag out all her bins, see how many will fit in my car this week, and then say fill these and no more!
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