Free School Supplies

Office Max gift for teachers

When I walked in the door of Office Max, ready to do a bit of parsimonious shopping, I received this free bag after showing my Teacher OM card. None of the freebies in the bag was going to be cheap if I paid full price.  Notice the coupon that was inside--"$5 off anything you want" at Payless, a really cheap shoe store that people seem to love. I don't. The shoes never fit me and are not leather. But, I can find a gift there--scarf, little purse, whatever. There were more goodies in this bag. I send the OM bag to my daughter and she carries all the Kleenex, sanitizer, paper towels, and plastic Ziploc bags to my granddaughter's school, all the things on the school list. She was happy to see the bag two years ago and said it was handy.



More free items in the OM bag

 There is a planner for the school year, two red Sharpies, 100 jumbo (my favorite) paper clips, sample post-it notes, and sample labels. I will keep the Sharpies and part of the paper clips. The rest will go to my daughter and her children.

Another Surprise

Everything I bought was going to be 20% off! I had $45 on my card for free items, so this was going to be a good shopping day.

lead, tape, two protractors--free

Lead for their mechanical pencils that I believe they still have and use. Maybe not

One very expensive roll of Scotch tape for school. Two protractors--K needs one. I got one for home and one for school. I did not know whether to get the one with the arm or one without. Maybe the teacher prefers one over the other. So, she has two, both are clear.

I believe that a fifth grader should learn how to use a ruler with the protractor. Having the arm does not prepare them for the day when they do not have that little crutch. Getting off the soap box now. These pictures are horrible.

legal pads, pencil cases, pens, Post-its, Expo board markers--free

The teacher's list had one legal pad. I had to purchase 3. Grrrr   K needed two soft pencil cases. Those were going to be $4 or $5...whew. Then, I found a cheap section of items and paid $1.50 for each of these. I have packages of pens that were ten cents for ten pens. However, I have been buying J, who is 16, better pens so they don't hurt his hands. He is an excellent student and does not lose things, so these are a little pricey but worth having a comfortable pen that writes easily, too. Then, there are the wrong Post-it notes. I should have gotten the pad with sticky at the top, but got the dispenser pads instead. So, that means another trip back. the teacher wanted a pack of dry erase board markers. I got the Expo low odor ones. 

100 pencils, 6 rulers--free at OM

As I was checking out, I realized I was going to be about eighty cents short of spending the $45 since I had the 20% discount. I just kept buying more pencils and rulers until I owed OM two cents. YAY! You see 100 pencils and 6 rulers. Remember I have at least 100 more pencils from last year and half a dozen rulers. My $45 had to be spent today or lose it. I did not want to have to go back to OM another time. right now, I am scrunched in the chair until my back is flat on the seat. My back feels best this way, but the lower back is throbbing. So, too much walking today is my problem.

Do you remember the post where I was looking over my supplies? That was in preparation for today.

Left from last year

I don't always send everything I get.

Sharpies for a penny, OM--FREE

There are 19 Sharpies here, ranging in price from $1.99 to $2.49. I paid 19 cents for them. I sent her more than pictured at the beginning of the last school year. Then, at Christmas I gave her another dozen or so. I assume these will still be good this year. In a few weeks, these will probably go on sale again. I need to get more royal blue and Christmas green.  Last year I got plenty of black fine Sharpies. The year before I did not get any. You have to be there early in the day to find any black ones. They do restock, but you cannot count on the warehouse being out of anything...hmmmm, I wonder...lol.



From a yard sale

dividers, 9 cents each at yard sale

At a yard sale last year, I came upon a package of the loose leaf index dividers. There were 11 sets of these in the package. One was gone. I paid $1 for the 11 packages. I asked my daughter if J, the high school student, needed these. She was sort of disdainful. This year, she said she needed some of these dividers because she had to buy several for him last fall. !!!??? I reminded her that she turned them down. She has no recollection of the conversation. grrrr...makes me wonder if she listens some days.

All this is free because of purchases my friend made with my card. She has a tax business--prepares tax returns. Plus, I recycled some cartridges. If I had purchased ink, this would have all been my purchases that raised my free amount.

Pencils are still 10 cents for ten pencils for the next week. Get there soon. Rulers are 1 cent. These deals will be different each week. If you know someone who lives near OM, maybe they can pick these up if your drive would not be worth the money saved. Each week the sale items change. I am not through yet!

How to shop at Office Max

You may have to go through the line multiple times if there is a limit. I do this. I asked the cashier if it was an awful thing to do. She said lots of people do it and OM does not care. She said that churches come in with many people and do this, getting supplies to give away. Actually, any store that places a limit per visit cannot deny that when you leave the store and put your things in the car and come back into the store that this is not a new visit. I do buy all my ink supplies and cameras at OM.

10 composition books, 7 book covers, 3 folders

Yet another find at my house

I knew I had these, but could not locate them until just now. Each child in K's class needs 10 composition books. The cheap ones with checks or lines or a mottled design are regularly $1.49. I bought these last year for 25 cents each, thinking K would need more during the year. She had the year before, and my daughter paid full NY price for them. These also come in colors for the same price. However, if you venture into a floral pattern, hearts, kittens, or some other design, these are $2.49+. The teacher this year designated "black and white" composition books. Maybe she has seen the horrendously expensive ones brought to school. Full price for supplies above--$26. My cost--$4.75. None of this group was bought at OM, just bought elsewhere as I found it.

Aha, I found the textbook covers bought for 25 cents!

Free Copy Paper

Remember when I got 10 free reams of copy paper? I may get one ream in the box to mail, especially if I have to go to a larger box.

Office Depot has a better way of recycling, but OM is in this town, three miles from me.

Now, I only have to pack it all into one box for mailing--a $10.95 flat rate box from USPS.

I look for school supplies all year long. Well, I don't search, but I pay attention to what is being reduced and what is at yard sales.

Total

OM this year--retail, $54-20%+ tax, my price, $0.02

Yard sale finds--retail, $10, my price, $1

OM last year (Sharpies)--about $70+ tax, my price--$0

Leftovers from last year--retail, $26+ tax, my price, $4.75

Copy paper--retail, $39+ tax. my price, $0

Freebies in/and OM bag--let's put all that at $10, my price, $0

Grand total~$210.00

I paid~$5.75

Happy Dance

Yes, that is me, spinning, hair flying, ...okay, only in my dreams as I hobble along.

Your turn

Do you recycle to get credit to buy school supplies? Do you ever get school supplies at yard sales? Do you buy all year long when prices drop?  

 

School Supplies the Parsimonious Way

My granddaughter, K, will be in the 6th grade in Brooklyn, NY. This is the third year I have bought and sent school supplies to her and her brother. My grandson, J, is in the 11th grade. He gets supplies, also. Their mother, my daughter, is too overwhelmed with being a single mother, working, and hauling kids about to actually get any deals there may be. Besides, I never drive more than three or four miles, but she would have to drive much further to reach sales.

K's supply list that must go to school with her was just now read to me by K. She gives me all sorts of instructions with the list so that I will get it right...cute I mostly buy sales from Office Max and sometimes from other stores. Last year, I over-bought, so this year I still have many items to send without purchasing. Some things I will have to buy, some I have, and some my daughter will buy with sales and coupons.

In my stash
Before you freak out at my stash, let me explain. When I did summer craft camps, I supplied art materials. Some of this is for those activities where I made money having fun. When I tutor, I always have pens, pencils, spiral notebooks, and loose leaf paper. Each tutee gets a  10 cent spiral notebook where I write examples of math problems and mnemonics for language and spelling. There are no excuses for not coming to my tutoring session. Yes, adult GED students have been known to lose things or procrastinate. There is no delay in finding material needed for teaching/learning. My pencils are all sharpened, and I have a closed pencil sharpener for sharpening right where we are...no searching the library for a pencil sharpener. NO EXCUSES!

I already had these things on her list
20 #2 pencils
1 closed pencil sharpener
1 yellow highlighter
8 black and white composition books
2 glue sticks
1 child-safe scissors
24 pack of crayons--I have Crayola
colored pencils, I think
6 2-pocket folders
1 packet wide-ruled, lined paper
2 bottles of hand sanitizer
pack dry-erase markers
1 roll scotch tape
protractor
small calculator

I will buy these items also on her list
1 yellow legal pad
2 soft pencil cases
1 small dictionary (unless she can use the one from last year)

Daughter will buy these items on her list
1 pack baby wipes
3 boxes of tissue
1 roll paper towels
1 box gallon storage bags
1 box quart storage bags

My stash in the picture or part of it
These are not including the notebook paper, 9 reams of copy paper (free), and spiral notebooks.

pencils 15x10 pack=150
pens 14x10 pack=140
Elmer's glue sticks 5x2 pack= 10
Office Max glue sticks and bottle of glue--3 packs, each of which hold 2 glue sticks and a bottle of glue= 6 glue stick and 3 bottles of glue
covered pencil sharpener--5
safety scissors--3 pair
rulers--10
watercolor--1 pack
Pink Pearl erasers--1 3-pack= 3
70 page spiral notebooks--about 100 not all in picture
paper 2 pocket folders--about 50 not all in picture
plastic 2 picket folder--10 not all in picture
themed 2 pocket folders--25 none in picture
Crayola crayons--4 24-packs
3x5 index cards--50
half-sized pencil boxes--2

The yellow highlighter, protractor, and a few other items are in the file cabinet, but they did not make it to the photo shoot. If it did not hurt my back to handle all this, bend, and try to take a picture with a steady hand and body, all the supplies would have been out tonight, partying on the sofa.

Coupons
I will send coupons to my daughter for all the things she will have to buy.

Grandson
He always needs pens, pencils, markers of all sorts. I make sure he has a ruler, protractor and compass if he does not have the ones from last year. I don't know what kind of backpack or three-ring binder and calculator he needs or likes, so that is hers to buy. He may reuse what he had the year before. I did buy the el cheapo pens, ten to a pack, until I found some better ones on sale. Cheap pens are hard on the hands.   I have dozens of those, bought for ten cents a ten-pack of pens.

Sharpies
All Sharpies were marked at 25 cents at Office Max. Prices ranged from $1.49 to $2.49. Grandson uses these at school for projects in different classes. I bought about 50 of these in all widths and colors last year for a quarter.  I use these also. Plus, my daughter needed them for her second job that she no longer has. The quantity was not as outlandish as it seems at first glance. I suspect K uses them for fun at home.

Funds
I have $6 credit at Office Max because I only managed to turn in two cartridges the last quarter. (Last year, I had about $30 credit for free items.) I hope I can buy one yellow legal pad cheaply. Soft pencil cases are Hannah Montana or something my daughter does not want her child to have.  I go for generic flowers in girl colors when I look for pencil cases instead of movie or musical characters. The plastic ones smell so nasty! I never get those. I will sell something to manage the cost of the $10.95 flat-rate box.

Razzle dazzle
Daughter does not like heavy paper two-pocket folders because they tear up easily and must be replaced. Plastic ones last forever. G-son like the Mead, heavy cardboard ones. Walmart had school supplies on sale most of the winter and in the spring. I bought quarter folders that were marked down from about $1.98--Aerosmith (his favorite band), Yellow Submarine, Beatles, kittens, Hulk, Alice in Wonderland, guitars. All winter, I just bought one or two each trip. It seemed I was spending no money. Now, I can send plastic and heavy paper folders in solid colors, Mead folders in solid colors, and the fancy folders. They both are required to have an inordinate amount of these folders.

Donate
Sometimes I see people buying school supplies and can tell they are struggling. This year, because of my abundance, I will be donating some of the supplies to people I see in the stores. I like to know where my donations go. Besides, the plastic Rubbermaid box is overflowing.

I want to have just enough after sending her supplies to fit in the plastic box/bin. I have 75 spiral notebooks (70 sheets/pages), bought on sale at WM for ten cents apiece. Plus, I suppose I have 100 packs of notebook paper, bought at OM for ten cents and sometimes for just a penny. Yes, that is 150 sheets of wide-ruled or college-ruled loose leaf notebook paper, and I have about 100 packs. Both the notebooks and notebook paper are from two years buying. This year, I will buy no more of both of those...promise!

The boxes of spiral notebooks and the loose leaf paper reside under a table with a skirt. I forgot I had them when I bought more last year.

Made in the USA
Crayola crayons are made in the USA. Others are made overseas; they stink. I choose items without a strong chemical smell. Yes, I do buy items made in other countries.

Memaw's the Best!
My granddaughter, K, exclaimed this to her mother when I sent the first box three years ago. My daughter said, "Why don't you call her and tell her so?" So, I got a call from a sweet, excited little seven-year-old girl who exclaimed, "Memaw, you're the best!" Now, would you keep sending school supplies to that child? I didn't do it for the adoration, but that sure spurs me on now...lol. School supplies are exciting, aren't they?

Art supplies and school supplies for home
My daughter has always kept plenty of water colors, paper, crayons and other items too numerous to mention for her children at home. I make sure I send two boxes of crayons, two water colors, etc.  However, if my daughter says there are plenty of leftover crayons, I don't send more. I know children would rather use from a new box than from a bin of half- or barely-used crayons.

Trade
Remember when I got a box with 10 reams of copy paper for free from Office Max? I sent one of those to daughter this spring with g-daughter's birthday gift in the flat rate box. I am using the others to trade when people have something I want and the people need copy paper. (I also bought two reams for $1.25 each, marked down because the wrapper was torn a bit.)

Ours is not to question why
I don't bother asking why anything is needed because it is on the list and my daughter will take it all to school. Most items are put in a cubby/box and belong only to K. These are not in a communal stash for the whole class to use. At the end of the year, she brings back items she purchased.

Edit Check out this blog post--Free School Supplies or Getting it Free from Office Max or Staples or Home Depot.  These chronicle other freebies I have gotten this year.

Your turn
Do you manage to hit all the specials to buy school supplies for children, grandchildren, students, or for donations? Or, are you like my daughter, struggling not only with money, but with finding the time and energy to fight the crowds and get everything you must at any price? Anyone know why my picture was in focus, words were clear, and now it looks horrible?

Getting it Free from Office Max or Staples or Office Depot

Last Christmas, I wanted a new camera since my old camera somehow drained the batteries. Within a few hours of installing batteries, the batteries were dead! DEAD! Yes, I bought new AA rechargeable batteries AND a new charger, so it was not the batteries or charger. I had recycled enough ink cartridges at Office Max before the end of December to get the camera ($189 on sale for $79) for $22. I like those kinds of bargains. I waited until January 20, 2010 to buy my camera. I knew that by waiting, the camera would be almost free, so I was not feeling sorry for my adult self, not getting the camera right at Christmas.

Now, I have my eyes on getting free or almost free items. They changed the rules. Now, the rules are not at all user-friendly. You can look them up yourself on OM website. My daughter's birthday was July 6, so I acquired for her a digital picture frame for free. My next project is getting a digital camera for my granddaughter and paying little for it.

School supplies are on sale at OM, so I have spent the rest of my "free money" on buying school supplies for my grandchildren. Most school supplies are on sale so cheaply here in the South, that I can buy and mail to New York City more cheaply than she can buy supplies. Besides, she is a single working mother with little time for what I do for her. The postage is $10 on the large box from the Post Office. In the intial box I will send all the crayons and markers my granddaughter's needs in elementary school and lead for my high-school-age grandson's mechanical pencil. Plus, I bought mechanical pencils in bulk for both of them since they lose them during the year. Only a few packs of paper and other things bought in bulk will go into the first box along with all the crayons, scissors, and markers, sort of a starter box for school.

Up until the purchase of the mechanical pencils, most of their supplies were too cheap to pass up, considering my daughter would spend even more than the postage and sale-priced supplies to purchase the same amount of supplies in NYC.

Besides, my granddaughter exclaimed when she saw the box of supplies last year, "Memaw is the best." That keeps me buying. Well, not really...lol.

Forty-eight packs of notebook paper are stacked here, ready to go. I will only send two or three in the first box. Then, I will include a several packs in the boxes of items I send throughout the year.

Since there is no reason to purchase at full price, EVER, if items are on sale, I take full advantage of their promotions in conjunction with recycling=free items. This year, I have purchased dirt-cheap items at Walmart, KMart, CVS, and Office Max. I have until the end of August to get her final box in the mail.

My daughter's friends at work were amazed at what I paid for school supplies last year. Of course, I buy only Crayola markers, crayons, pencil, high-lighters, and whatever she needs that Crayola makes.

Prices rose drastically from last year to this! Notebook paper last year at OM was one cent for 150 sheets. Notebook paper this year is twenty cents for 100 sheets. Hmmmm....well, I still get a bargain. Rulers were a penny last year and are now a nickel. I bought a dozen wooden rulers as a hedge against next year's price! Not really!

If you have not tried shopping for school supplies at Office Max, consider doing so. By purchasing enough notebook paper, pencils, and crayons for school and home for the WHOLE year, you will be saving money. Don't you just love the smell of Crayola crayons and the memories evoked?

One caveat--at OM you must purchase the same amount of merchandise to get the free merchandise with recycling. The only reason I am going ahead and recycling for the time being is that I had to purchase Microsoft Office 2010 for my new laptop, so there is plenty of "spent" money in my OM recycling account.

Staples and Office Depot have no such stipulation. Office Depot has really good sales on school supplies. I am not sure about Staples.  All three have websites where you can view the weekly ads for your area.

As for my future recycling, I may just go to the other two stores to recycle from now on since I don't want to HAVE to purchase to get perks (free stuff) for recyling! Do you hear that OM?

Of course, my daughter must send paper goods for the classroom, so I send coupons for baby wipes and paper products like paper towels and tissues.

In the early 1950s, I went to the first day of school each year with two pencils, pad or notebook paper, a notebook, a box of eight crayons and was well-prepared to learn. My mother did not have to send 36 pencils and 10 notebooks the first day like my daughter must. I'm not sure how we made it through the school day without baby wipes and paper towels from home! My parents could never have afforded to send five children to school!

Are you appalled at what children must bring to school within the first several days? Is it a drain on the budget? My daughter said it took $75 to get her daughter's supplies for the second grade!

Update: I still own the first mechanical pencil I ever owned. It lasted through high school and into college when I finally just quit using it. Santa brought it to me when I was eight-years-old. Why is it that I can keep a mechanical pencil for 55 years, and kids today lose or break them every week or so? Okay, maybe mechanical pencils were made better then. That still does not explain ALL the breakage and none of the losses!

Okay, my brother and sister got one the same year and their refillable mechanical pencil and they did not have theirs after a few months!