School supply lists are often extensive and push parents to purchase extra items that aren’t really essential. With the growing trend of communal supplies — where parents purchase items that are shared by the entire class — it’s even harder to justify spending your hard-earned money. Parents face the frustration of not knowing if their child will actually have access to the items they bought once they are distributed among all students.
Here’s a list for the 10 most wasteful products that parents are often asked to buy at the beginning of each school year, and the best practical Amazon alternatives to save you money without sacrificing quality.
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1. Fancy Binders with Multiple Sections
Why It’s a Waste: Fancy binders with multiple sections can be expensive and bulky. Many students end up not using all the sections, making them an inefficient choice.
Solution: Opt for simple, single-section binders or durable folders. These are more practical, less expensive, and easier for children to manage.
Smart Alternative:
Amazon Basics 3-Ring Binder — Affordable and durable
Mead Spiral Notebooks, 6 Pack — Plain yet functional
2. Boxes of Kleenex
Why It’s a Waste: Boxes of Kleenex are often bought in multiples and added to the communal supplies pile, meaning your hard-earned dollars are supplying the entire classroom. Additionally, some students keep their own Kleenex boxes, opting to use the communal supply instead. By the end of the school year, when it’s time to clean up and clear out, you might find that the brand-new pack of 6 Kleenex boxes you bought back in August/September is still sitting unused.
Solution: Instead of buying large quantities, consider contributing one or two boxes.. This ensures you are not solely supplying the class while still participating in communal needs.
Smart Alternative:
Kleenex Ultra Soft Facial Tissues, 4 Cube Boxes — Hypoallergenic with 3 thick layers
Kleenex Trusted Care Everyday Facial Tissues, 6 Pack — Gentle softness and dependable strength
3. Designer Backpacks
Why It’s a Waste: Designer or themed backpacks can be significantly more expensive than their plain counterparts. They might not even last the entire school year due to wear and tear. Additionally, many campuses have recently moved to requiring clear backpacks for safety and security reasons. This means that your expensive, non-clear backpack could quickly become unusable if your child’s school implements this policy.
Solution: Invest in a high-quality, durable backpack with a neutral design. These backpacks are more cost-effective in the long run and can last multiple school years.
Smart Alternative:
Amazon Basics Laptop Backpack — Fits up to 17-inch laptops
Vorspack Clear Backpack — Large, heavy duty and PVC transparent
4. Paper Products
Why It’s a Waste: In the age of technology, students tend to not use as much paper as students of the past. Many supplies like spiral notebooks, looseleaf notebook paper and index cards get over-purchased and under-used, as more and more assignments, notes and even textbooks are digital. Many schools now require assignments and a majority of class projects to be stored and submitted via online platforms like Google Classroom.
Not only does this gross overbuying of paper products waste your money, but it often creates unneeded clutter in your kid’s backpack. Using digital tools can simultaneously save you both money and space, while keeping up with modern pedagogical practices.
Solution: Limit the purchase of paper products and opt for digital tools whenever possible. Invest in a single notebook for subjects that require handwritten notes and use apps or software for note-taking and assignments. This approach not only saves money but also reduces paper waste.
3 examples of digital tools include:
- Google Docs: Ideal for creating, sharing, and collaborating on documents in real-time.
- Microsoft OneNote: Great for organizing notes, drawing, and inserting multimedia content.
- Quizlet: Excellent for creating and studying flashcards and interactive quizzes.
This approach not only saves money but also reduces paper waste, helping your child stay organized and efficient in their studies.
Smart Alternatives:
Rocketbook Smart Reusable Notebook: I have one of these and absolutely love mine. This is a reusable notebook that allows you to write notes by hand and then scan and upload them to cloud services like Google Drive or Evernote. It combines the benefits of traditional note-taking with digital storage, reducing the need for multiple notebooks.
Apple iPad with Apple Pencil: If you can invest in this device, you can enjoy it way longer than a piece of paper and you won’t be sorry. This is a versatile device that can be used for everything: note-taking, assignments, accessing digital textbooks, etc. Apps like Notability or GoodNotes, allow you to write, draw, and organize your notes efficiently while minimizing the use of paper.
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5. Excessive Art SuppliesWhy It’s a Waste: Many schools already provide basic art supplies, so purchasing extra sets of markers, crayons, or paints can be unnecessary and wasteful. Not only do these extra purchase items often go unused, but they also clutter your home, as well as cost you unnecessary money. Back-to-school shopping deals can sometimes feel too good to pass up, and parents find themselves buying more than their children will actually use, resulting in wasted money and resources. Plus, kids often gravitate towards using their favorite few items anyway, leaving the rest to gather dust. Solution: Check with your child’s teacher before adding extra art supplies to your shopping cart. Often, a basic set will do for most projects. Smart Alternatives: Crayola Back to School Supplies, 80 pieces — Ultra clean washable markers and reasonably priced 6. A Surplus of Sanitizing ProductsWhy It’s a Waste: Buying massive amounts of sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer is a waste of money and resources, especially since the majority of U.S. schools have sanitizing stations and cleaning procedures in place. Additionally, with all the new awareness and protocols about hygiene post-COVID, your child will likely be washing their hands regularly throughout the day as supervised by the campus. Solution: Buy a decent amount of hand sanitizer and wipes for personal use.
*Hand Sanitizer: One small, portable bottle (2 to 3 ounces) that can be refilled as needed. Typically, this size should last about a month with regular use. *Sanitizing Wipes: One travel-sized pack containing 20–30 wipes. This should be sufficient for personal use over the course of a few weeks. This way, your kid will always have enough to stay clean, but not so much that it’s both a product and financial waste to your wallet. Instead of buying in bulk, assess the actual usage over a few weeks to understand the real need. Smart Alternative: Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizer Variety Pack — Portable and reasonably priced Amazon Basics Disinfecting Wipes, 3 Pack — Sufficient for school needs |
7. Mechanical Pencils
Why It’s a Waste: Mechanical pencils are often seen as a necessary upgrade, but they are not essential for most students. They can be more expensive than regular pencils, not pick up well when scanning scantron tests, and the lead can break easily, causing frustration and disruption during class. Additionally, younger children might find it difficult to manage the mechanical components, leading to frequent replacements and additional costs.
Solution: Stick to good old wooden pencils that are robust, cheap and easy to use. Wooden pencils can be sharpened many times and are far more practical for standard schoolwork.
Smart Alternative:
Amazon Basics Wood-Cased #2 Pencils, 30 Count — Over 20K sold
8. Duplicate Items
Why It’s a Waste: Parents frequently purchase backups of certain school supplies they think they their child is going to need, often going way over-the-top. They keep this backup supply at home so they won’t have to go back out at a later date and buy some more of the same supplies. I get it!
The most commonly overbought items are pencils, pens, erasers, notebooks, looseleaf paper, glue sticks, and folders. Purchasing too many items leads to a waste of both space and money. On top of that, no matter how many back-ups a child has, there is always an equal amount of items that they lose or misplace, so back-up items don’t actually alleviate the problem.
Solution: Conduct an inventory check before heading out for school supply shopping. Assess what your child already has from the previous school year and determine what genuinely needs to be replaced. Create a precise list based on actual needs rather than buying in bulk. For items that are frequently lost or used up quickly, like pencils and erasers, consider purchasing a moderate quantity and setting a system for replacing them as needed.
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9. Personal (Handheld) Pencil Sharpeners
Why It’s a Waste: Small personal pencil sharpeners are usually discouraged by teachers. Students sharpen their pencils at their desks leaving pencil shavings all over the floors. They can also be a distraction to some who can’t handle the little apparatus maturely. These handheld sharpeners make a mess and can be disruptive to the learning environment.
Solution: Most classrooms are equipped with a class electric pencil sharpener. It sharpens faster, makes less noise and less mess, if any. As a result, students don’t need to bring their own handheld sharpeners.
10. Off-Brands
Why It’s a Waste: …because you’re going to end up buying these same supplies again sooner than you’d like to! You might be tempted to buy those cheaper off-brand supplies; but if a teacher has a specific brand in mind, there’s normally a reason for it. Name-brand crayons, markers and other supplies will usually function better than off-brand varieties. It goes back to the old saying, “You buy cheap, you get cheap!” And you’ll just end up having to go back to Square 1 and buy those name brand supplies again anyway.
Solution: Trust your teacher’s expertise on this one and consider shopping for sales during tax-free weekends to stock up on the recommended name brands at lower prices.
What Students Actually Need
What students need has nothing to do with what can be found on store shelves or online. Students need engaged parents, teachers, administrators, and counselors who are present — available to explore the world with them and nurture their thirst for learning. They need far more than positive affirmations and emotional support. Students need structural supports and everyday habits that enable them to successfully navigate their worlds.
Computer Access
Having access to a computer or tablet is a must, a necessity in this 21st century digital age. As a result, schools and parents should work together to ensure that students have the necessary equipment to succeed. Rarely are students’ tests, presentations, projects, and other assignments on paper anymore. Without this technology, students won’t be prepared for the tech-savvy world they will enter.
Reliable Internet Access
A steady internet connection is a necessity in education. Again, almost all assignments, projects, lectures, etc. require a web connection.
By providing reliable internet access, students have a chance to complete their homework faster, take part in online discussions, and take advantage of a wide circle of information.
Emotional Support
It’s no news that positive, supportive adults help students do their best. The way that parents can do this is by asking their children about their schoolwork, praising them when they make progress and being there for them when they fail. Teachers can do the same by making the classroom a supportive environment where everyone’s opinions are listened to and everyone feels valued.
As well as providing emotional and intellectual support, we as a community can also supply these young minds with the sort of practical skills that prepare them for life beyond graduation — the kind of abilities such as time management, critical thinking and clear communication that cannot be bought.
Although we educators can inspire confidence in students and steer them away from narrow and unproductive approaches, the genuine development of such skills derives from practice. This can only come through daily interaction, hands-on experience and the opportunity to try and fail and succeed.
Sleep
Sleep is my favorite time of day, but apparently it is not for some students. The number of students that stay on their devices until the wee hours of the morning on a “school night” is astounding! I have had students tell me that they were on the phone with their girlfriends or boyfriends until 4am- and had to get up for school at 6:30am. How then can we expect excellence from them when they are operating on 2–3 hours of sleep?
Now granted there are some students who would love to get adequate rest before the next school day, but circumstances beyond their control at home prevent them from doing so. Some students live in a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment with 4+ other people who are coming and going at all times of the night (and only God knows what else).
We all know that a well-rested mind is more focused, energized, retains more information, and successful. What students really need as part of their school supply list is an environment where they can go to bed at a decent hour (say, 10pm) and get uninterrupted sleep to support their success for the next school day.
As you (parents) gear up for another new school year amid rising inflation, it’s more important than ever to use your hard-earned money wisely when shopping for school supplies. Your money is being stretched to the limits with long, nonessential school supply demands. These extensive school supply lists and the trend of communal supplies can lead to unnecessary spending. By understanding what truly adds value and opting for practical, cost-effective alternatives, you can ensure your hard-earned money is well spent.
Instead of splurging on fancy binders, designer backpacks, or mechanical pencils that often go unused or create more problems, focus on items that provide genuine benefits. Use simple, single-section binders and durable folders. Opt for high-quality, neutral backpacks that comply with school policies. Stick to traditional wooden pencils that are robust and easy to manage.
Limit the purchase of paper products by embracing digital tools like Google Docs, Microsoft OneNote, and Quizlet, which not only save money but also reduce clutter and promote modern learning practices. Avoid buying excessive art supplies and sanitizing products, as schools typically provide the basics needed for a clean and creative environment.
Trust teachers’ recommendations for brand-specific supplies and take advantage of sales and tax-free weekends to purchase quality items at a lower cost. Ensure that your child has access to essential resources like a computer, reliable internet, and a supportive environment at home and school.
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