How to Recycle School Supplies: Summer Activity

It is that time of year, and school is over. Your kids get out of school and you are tempted to dump the whole booksack and all in the trash. I will show you how a little bit of time can save you some money in the future.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Old School Supplies
• Notepad

1. You get the school book sacks home, and the first thing to do is sort the trash from the good stuff. Plastic containers for index cards make great recipe box, great for little things, or can be cleaned and used another year. Highlighters and erasers are hardly ever all used up at the end of the year.

2. Next I want you to look at, and store the following items in your own craft box, or store for next year. These are the things I reuse year after year. Crayons can be recycled and put into a box to keep for your craft box or given to a non-profit organization. Many retirement homes provide colors and paper for the residents as an activity. Also you can take all the broken ones and in cake tins, line with wax paper. Put all the crayons and make rainbow colors, or big round crayons. These are great for little hands.

3. Markers, pens, pencils, and scissors can all be recycled and used at home, at school next year, or given to someone. I reuse scissors year after year, buy a fabric pen case, and you can reuse it year after year. For folders I spend a little more when I buy them at first, but I reuse plastic folders. You can either use them around the house for recipes, storage, art projects, or send to school next year. They are very durable. If it has another child's name on it in permanent marker, take rubbing alcohol and it takes the permanent marker off anything. I have saved a couch, once, using the alcohol.

4. If book sacks can be salvaged, they make great over night bags, one day trip bags, library bags(put all library stuff in one bag, so it does not get lost and you have something to hold all your books in when you leave the library), and maybe given to a non-profit for someone else to use next school year.

5. Uniforms are a big cost item, pants that have holes in knees, can be made into shorts. You can trade with other parents for the sizes you need. Oxi-clean is a great soaking tool to get white shirts white and ready for next year. Before school starts is a great time to inventory what you have, what alterations need to be made, and which ones can be donated or sold.

6. Fabric binders are great to keep recipes, school lists, and other things organized--if they are in not good enough condition to go back to school.

7. Use the items and make a craft box. I will write another article on how to make a craft box. It is a box that is easy to make and keeps the kids busy any day.

Tips & Warnings

• Be creative, and it is amazing what you can salvage and recycle. shop at home before you shop at the store for beginning of school items.
• I like to buy book sacks a few months after school starts, you get great sales, so try to hang onto the old one for the first few months of school if possible.
• I keep make and keep a list of what we will be using again, so when I go school shopping I have less to buy.
• Keep a list of school supplies in your purse, in case you see a good sale before school starts.
• I put all different children's school list into one, so I know I need 4 packs of paper combined, etc. Easier when you are buying things before school.
• Do not keep junk, and make sure you have place to store. I like to store items to be used again, in their book sacks for the next year.