Monday, Aug 31

Dear Reader,

This week’s Just One Thing is focused on sending our kids back to school without breaking the bank and buying a whole lot of … stuff. 

Back-to-school season is here! Between catchy commercials and anxious kids, a whole lot of us end up replacing perfectly good belongings with an annual shopping spree. 

Parents spend an estimated $900 per student on back-to-school stuff, including many items that kids don’t necessarily need and many that won’t last until Christmas. Spare your wallet (and our landfills) by reusing what you’ve already got.

Each August when the Little Dots were school age, Dot (who is frugal, hates clutter, and is loathe to buy new versions of items we already own) would set up the three kids at our outside patio table, and we would sort through last year’s school supplies to figure out what markers hadn’t dried out, what pencils needed sharpening, what erasers just needed a little TLC, and what notebooks could be used again once we’d ripped out last year’s notes. With the money we saved by not buying new, we treated ourselves to a pizza dinner followed by ice cream. 

If you’re looking for a more formal how-to guide, check out both The Story of Stuff’s Back to School Guide and our own Marketplace editor Elizabeth Weinstein’s amazing Guide to Back-to-School Season, which offers for tips for reducing waste and saving money this fall, including links to sustainable, well-made products offered in our Marketplace that you can buy once and then use year after year after year.

September always feels like the real “new year” to Dot, so why not kick it off with some resolutions. Maybe this is the year you join or start a walking school bus. Maybe you’re going to start making your own lunches rather than relying on take-out. Or perhaps fall clothes are going to come from secondhand retailers. 

And, on the heels of Dot’s suggestions a few weeks ago about calling our reps, here’s an idea from reader Laura Edenfield, who wrote that she’s found a way to make calling her reps a cinch: “I have my representatives in my contact list on my phone. While commuting to work or running errands, I use my bluetooth connection in my car to make calls. I put both their home office and the DC office in my contacts: 'Siri call Buddy  Carter …' I’m also listening to NPR, so I’ve always got a specific issue with facts to share. Their support staff keeps a record of calls and the issues mentioned. Give your name and zip code in the opening statement.”

Thanks Laura. Calling your reps is a great Just One Thing!

Frugally,

Dot