Back to School Supply Notes

Get the best bang for your buck for back to school supplies in Sachem. It's that time of year again where you drag your kids to the store to buy what is needed for school, go searching through the horrific racks to find a specific "vertical folder" the teacher requested.

Getting ready for a new school year can be stressful. MomsHomeroom.msn.com offers easy advice for getting though dust bunnies off the kids brains and back into gear.

For one stop shopping, Target in Medford is the place to do it. They have the best deals on a variety of items. They have a great selection and weekly savings, but you need to get it while it lasts.  In huge stores like Target, supplies goes fast, so get out and get shopping.

Target also had local school's supply lists available in their "Back to School Corner." The store has over 300 styles of pencils averaging around $3 for a pack, BIC 10-pack of pens for $.74, and Pencil-Top Erasers, 15 packs for $.69, pencil sharper for $.69, Sharpie highlighters for $.75. There you have all your writing utensils for the whole academic year for $5.

Crayola, Crayola, Crayola. Teachers always want the entire class to bring in a box or crayons, colored pencils, or markers to put into one large bin to use all year round. A 12 pack of colored pencils of a class of 30 students is 360 pencils.

CVS in Holbrook was the cheapest. A 12 pack of Crayola colored pencils were $2.99 and a 16 pack of Crayola crayons were $1.49. Although, CVS is expensive is other areas, such as a Mead Five Star five subject notebook for $9.99, it was the only store that had trapper-keepers available. Trapper-keepers are meant to be used for everything in one and for $12, it is actually a reasonable deal. All subjects, all materials in one place to be carried around school for safe keeping and organization.

"I always try to get my kids the notebooks built to last," said Jean Shivers, a mom from Holbrook, "but in past years they never used the notebooks fully. So, now I'm sticking to the cheaper supplies."

Of course, if you see a local drug store going out of business or dollar store stop in for the cheapest supplies. Dollar King in Lake Ronkonkoma had a fair selection. Although, it was cheap, some of the notebooks would probably not last all academic year. For $1 you can buy as many as you need for when they start to give way.

Walmart.com has an interactive back to school section, with school supplies and discount clothes. The graphing calculators at Wal Mart are a bargain. It is the one item you will buy for math and get a great deal of use out of it. They also last forever. They are built sturdy and updates are available online. At Wal Mart, a Texas TI-84 calculator was 22% off for $99.80.

Middle and high school students are getting used to having lockers to store all their school supplies. ABC 7 news in Chicago displayed organization tips for students.

"Maximize vertical space by putting in a shelf  made specifically for lockers," said Debra Heberling of the The Container Store and guest on the show. "It will provide multiple levels of storage for better organization. Students will be able to get in and out and make it to class on time."

Stores are selling out quickly. The ideal time to go back to school shopping is midweek, say Wednesday, in the early morning.  Most stores will already have their shipments in and they would have already cleaned up the mess from the weekend. It will also be the cleanest in the morning since no customers have arrived at the store to ruin it yet.

Here's a look at some deals going on right now:

Rite Aid, Farmingville

• Five Star 3 Subject notebook, 7% off - $6.99
• Crayola Crayons(96), 38% off - $7.99
• Dixon #2 Pencils (24), 20% off - $2.79
• BIC mechanical pencils(5) - $3.99
• Pilot Easy Touch Ball Point Pen (2) - $2.59
• Rite Aid Glue Sticks (3), 60% off - $1.19

Wal Mart, Centereach:

• Avery 1" binder - $2.50, 1.5" - $3.50, 2"$4.00
• Wite Out tape - $2.54
• Sharpie highlighters(4) - $2.69
• Paper Mate eraser pens(4) - $3.00
• Texas TI-84 calculator, 22% off - $99.80

Staples, Lake Grove/Patchogue:

• Staples 5 subject notebook - $5.79 or a 2 pack - $9.99
• Avery 1" binder, 25% off - $3.74 – 1.5", 25% off - $5.24
• Staples #2 pencils(12) - $1.99
• Crayola Colored pencils(12) - $2.79 – (24) - $4.99 – (36) - $7.29
• Staples Hype! Highlighters(5) - $4.49

CVS, Holbrook:

• Avery 1.5" binder - $4.34 – 1" - $4.12
• Avery dividers - $2.62
• Mead Five Star 2 pocket folder - $1.87
• Caliber school glue - $0.74
• Crayola crayons(16) - $1.49 – (24) - $1.87
• Accent highlighters(2) - $1.72
• CVS pencils (10) - $0.97
• CVS pens(20) - $1.49
• A&W pencil cap erasers(15) - $1.64
• Caliber assorted erasers (7) - $2.09
• Caliber pencil case - $2.99