Froogle me

It's my little daughter's first day at ‘big school'... a huge calendar event for her and her parents. I was able to buy most of the very practical, golf-shirt-and-jeans uniform directly from her school, so my mall crawl wasn't too bad in the end. All I had to do was find unembellished, straight, plain dark blue jeans (easier to find the tooth fairy!) and white running shoes (odd, impractical choice!). 

 The big retail giants are all having enormous back-to-school promotions. For all those parents who have to dig deep into their holiday-depleted pockets for school uniforms, I looked at prices on clothes and accessories.

For the most part, you have a choice of five big retailers: Ackermans, Pep Stores, Jet, Edgars or Woolworths.

At all of the above-mentioned shops, I compared prices on the following items, all in the 5-8 year old size range:

-         A short-sleeved white school shirt

-         A standard pair of black leather school shoes

-         A pair of grey shorts and

-         A school suitcase / backpack.

The cheaper clothing items from lower end stores were all a polyester viscose blend. The ones from Edgars and Woolworths were a polyester cotton blend, with a built in stain repellent, so they'll probably be more comfortable, absorbant and cooler in summer. In addition, the Woolworths shirt contained a sunscreen - a UV ray repellent.

The backpacks were all entry-level packs, small, not really suitable for older kids. They range upwards in price, peaking at about R200 for a navy blue Woolworths trolley case. The shoes priced at lower end stores were all Toughees leather lace-ups.  Cheaper, synthetic shoes are available at all the retailers, starting at about R60. The house-brand leather school shoes at Woolies seem like a particularly good deal.

Additional tips on buying clothes and accessories:

Make a list and stick to it

Evaluate your child's wardrobe and determine what still fits and what needs to be replaced. Figure out how many pairs of pants, shirts, socks, underwear and shoes your child needs to comfortably make it through the year. Check the school's supply list and weed through last year's leftover stationary supplies for anything that is usable. Crayons might need to be replenished annually, but lunch boxes; geometry sets, backpacks, pencil sharpeners etc are more hard wearing. It obviously also depends on the individual child, and how responsible they are. Also, no matter what the school tells you, you really don't need to buy everything. Less important items can be bought later in the year. If it is at all possible to stagger your purchases, do so.

Shop alone

Don't take the kids along for this particular shopping expedition - you'll end up being nagged for the Hannah Montana pencil case, the Pooh Bear backpack and lots of additional things you wouldn't otherwise have bought. Blitzkrieg in, and get out fast.

 Buy school stationary supplies in bulk

A trip to an office supply shop or Makro will provide school supplies in bulk. You'll need them in the years to come, and it's nice to have a stationary / craft cupboard at home. The following items can often be bought in large quantities and distributed as necessary.

• Paper
• Pens
• Pencils
• Binders
• Notebooks
• Crayons
• Poster paint

Mark everything clearly

I habitually lost my school blazer in primary school, which drove my mom crazy.  My daughter looks like she might be veering towards being a chip off the old block. Invest in a good laundry marker from C.N.A or stop off at any dry-cleaning outlet (like Levingers) to order a pack of iron-on, customised laundry labels. It's a grind to have to mark everything, but you won't be sorry.

If you have additional tips, or you know of a really good promotion that's running on stationary or school items, I'd love to hear about it!