<p>I’m sure I’m not the only parent who is slowly but surely ticking off a (seemingly endless) list of “stuff” for back to school. With one off to college and another off to boarding school…the name of our game is saving money wherever we can! Thought it might be fun and helpful to have a list of good deals, bargains, economical tips…anything from detergent to bed sheets to sneaker sales…Share!</p>
<p>I’ll start…Went to IKEA over the weekend, good deal on really sturdy hangers. 4 for .99.</p>
<p>When our kids went to college, the first shopping trip was to our linen closet. They took towels from there. Jersey knot regular twin sheets fit FINE on xlong twin college dorm beds. The linen closet had those too. Our kids wanted to take the comforters/quilts from their beds…,so they did. We got plates and utensils from our kitchen.</p>
<p>Hangars came out of the closets here…free.</p>
<p>Our kids liked having this touch of home with them in college.</p>
<p>Then we supplemented from target and BBB for the remaining things. </p>
<p>Those things from our linen closets worked just fine. You can save a ton of money by NOT feeling everything in a dorm room needs to be brand spanking new.</p>
<p>Before S1 went to college, a friend suggested having him take towels from our linen closet and buying new towels for us. Why should he get the new ones?</p>
<p>I have a magic basement. It’s kind of like Mary Poppins’ hat. We find all kinds of amazing items when we need them. </p>
<p>However, I’ve been cleaning down there, so next year when it’s time to send off Spygirl, we may have to actually buy something at BBB, Target or IKEA.</p>
<p>“Closet shopping” is one of my favorite things to do. It’s amazing how much stuff you don’t need to buy. Craigslist is a great source also. and more amazing than anything is the amount of stuff kids DON’T need vs what WE think they’ll need. The "need " list has considerably shrunk over the last couple years. Money is the only constant…</p>
<p>and as for sturdy hangers…if anything ever got hung up I’d be happy!</p>
<p>Speaking of Ikea…I was at the Tampa Ikea Sunday with my sister and she spotted Ikea’s fabric clothes storage units for $25 each. She bought 2 for her college small apartment bedroom…never have enough closet or dresser space for clothes and these portable storage units on wheels seemed perfect for her small room and small budget…easy to carry them too. She can jam a lot of extra clothes in them.</p>
<p>[IKEA</a> PS Organizer - black - IKEA](<a href=“Products - IKEA”>Products - IKEA)</p>
<p>Happykid shopped the basement, the thrift stores, and her pal’s basements. A closet thing about twice the size of the one from IKEA came from BBB, a bookcase came from Target, and the hammock frame came from Dick’s. All of the hangers came straight from her own closet at home.</p>
<p>If you are looking to make purchases/find retail deals, I suggest you pay attention to tax free weeks this month.</p>