11 School Supply List Items You Can Skip — And What to Buy Instead

Last August, I did the thing I swore I wouldn’t do: I bought every single item on three different school supply lists like I was trying to win a prize. By the time I got home, the trunk looked like an office supply store exploded, and I was sweating through my Target receipt like it was a medical bill.

Then, three weeks into school, I found unopened packs of “required” stuff wedged behind the cereal boxes. Meanwhile, my oldest is asking for the one thing I didn’t buy because it wasn’t on the list: a pencil pouch that doesn’t unzip itself in math class.

Crayola 64-count with the built-in sharpener → Crayola 24-count + a $1.25 Dollar Tree handheld sharpener

I used to buy the big 64-count box because it feels like you’re being a Good Parent. Then my second grader came home with a note: “Please only send the colors we’re using this week.” So I had a shoebox of unused “Macaroni and Cheese” and “Wisteria” living in my pantry until June. Now I grab a Crayola 24-count and toss in a little Dollar Tree handheld sharpener (the bright green one always survives). Fewer crayons means fewer broken tips rattling around the backpack like tiny regrets.

Five-subject spiral notebook (the chunky kind) → 3-pack of one-subject Mead spirals

That five-subject notebook seems efficient until it starts shedding paper confetti by October. My middle kid tried to “separate” sections with his lunch napkin because the dividers ripped out. I switched to the 3-pack of one-subject Mead spirals from Walmart and it’s weirdly calmer. One notebook per class means the teacher can say, “Science notebook out,” and my kid doesn’t have to play notebook roulette. Also, when one gets destroyed in the bottom of the backpack, you’re not losing five classes at once. Ask me how I learned that in week six.

Elmer’s glitter glue “class pack” → one 4 oz Elmer’s School Glue + Scotch tape for emergencies

Glitter glue is basically craft herpes. It spreads, it never really leaves, and it shows up in places that make no sense. I bought the glitter glue multipack once because it was on the list and looked “fun.” It was not fun when my youngest used “Galaxy Purple” to decorate a library book cover and we got a $13.87 fine. Now I send one plain 4 oz Elmer’s School Glue and I keep a small roll of Scotch tape in the backpack for the stuff kids actually need fixed fast: a ripped worksheet, a broken folder tab, the world ending at 2:40 p.m.

Plastic pencil box with the snap lid → a zippered pencil pouch that clips into a binder

Those hard plastic pencil boxes are loud. Like, “auditory jump-scare during silent reading” loud. My oldest snapped hers open in class and the lid went flying; the teacher emailed me the same day. I switched to a simple zippered pencil pouch that clips into the binder rings (I’ve grabbed good ones from Target’s up&up aisle). It keeps pencils from migrating into the backpack black hole, and it doesn’t explode when it’s overstuffed with erasers shaped like sushi. Bonus: no one’s getting pinched fingers trying to force a snap shut.

RoseArt colored pencils (because they’re cheap) → Crayola colored pencils (the 12-pack) to avoid the “why is it snapping?” meltdown

I fell for the cheap colored pencils once. They were RoseArt, and they lasted about four days before every color started snapping in half like dry spaghetti. My kid came home furious because he “couldn’t shade” and apparently shading is Serious Business in third grade. Crayola colored pencils cost more, but they don’t crumble when you look at them. I buy the 12-pack and replace it only when it’s actually gone, not when the cores break and you’re left with a handful of sad wooden tubes.

24-pack of No. 2 pencils on day one → Ticonderoga 12-pack + two Paper Mate Pink Pearl erasers

Teachers ask for a mountain of pencils and I get it, but sending 24 on day one is like donating directly to the floor. My youngest dropped half of them down the side of his desk by the first Friday. Now I do a Ticonderoga 12-pack and I add two Paper Mate Pink Pearl erasers because the little pencil-top erasers disappear like socks. The Pink Pearls are big enough to survive a week in a desk, and they erase without shredding the paper into those grimy little pills that end up stuck to elbows.

Giant 12-inch ruler → a 6-inch ruler that actually fits in the pencil pouch

That long ruler looks official, but it doesn’t fit anywhere. My son carried his around like a baton until it cracked in half getting shoved into his backpack next to a water bottle. Then it became a “sharp edge situation,” which is not how I like to start my Mondays. A basic 6-inch ruler fits in the pouch, fits in the desk, and still works for 99% of what elementary school calls measuring. If the class is building a bridge or measuring the hallway, the teacher has the long rulers anyway.

Three-ring binder bigger than a cereal box → a simple plastic folder with brads (Mead or Five Star)

I bought the big binder because the list said “binder,” and my kid looked like he was hauling a car battery between classes. The rings popped open twice, papers slid out, and by September we had a crumpled science packet that looked like it had been through weather. Now I buy a plastic folder with brads (Mead makes a solid one) and it’s enough structure without the whole binder drama. Papers stay put, the folder fits in the backpack, and nobody’s wrestling a zipper binder in the hallway traffic.

Yellow highlighters in bulk → Zebra Mildliners (one pack) so the page isn’t screaming at you

Highlighters were on the list for my oldest, and I bought a bulk pack of neon yellow like I was stocking a law office. She used one, lost it, then refused the replacements because the color was “too bright” and “makes my notes look like a crime scene.” Enter Zebra Mildliners. They’re softer colors, they don’t bleed through thin paper as badly, and she actually uses them for studying instead of drawing fluorescent smiley faces. I buy one pack and hide it until October, when school suddenly gets serious and everyone needs to “annotate.”

Mechanical pencils (for kids under 10) → plain wooden Ticonderogas + a mini sharpener in the backpack

Mechanical pencils sound neat until you’re the one buying lead refills like it’s a subscription service. My middle kid spent an entire math lesson clicking the lead out and snapping it off on purpose because boredom is powerful. Wooden pencils slow that whole situation down. I send a few sharpened Ticonderogas and toss a mini sharpener in the backpack, and that’s it. If they lose a pencil, it’s annoying but survivable. If they lose a mechanical pencil, they act like they’ve lost a limb and can’t possibly write their name ever again.

Pre-labeled “teacher wishlist” Kleenex + paper towels + disinfecting wipes → store-brand tissues + one box of gallon Ziploc bags

I’m not trying to be stingy; I’m trying to be useful. One year I bought name-brand Kleenex, fancy paper towels, and the exact disinfecting wipes requested. Then the classroom ran out of gallon bags in October and the teacher emailed asking for them “if anyone can.” Those gallon Ziploc bags are the unsung heroes: wet sweaters, leaky markers, book baggies, you name it. Now I grab two store-brand tissue boxes from Aldi and one box of gallon Ziplocs from Target, and it actually gets used in a way I can see come home in little baggies of math tiles.