New things for school

**Mum2SweetCs** · January 11th, 2014, 09:27 PM

So dd1 starts year 1 this year.

Just wondering if you guys get all new stuff every year? Or a wear and tear assessment?

If you get new stuff every year what do you do with the old?

So far I got her new shoes (although her old ones have not rip but are peeling, i can possibly rebuff)

New lunch boxes and drink bottles - her old ones still usable

Contemplating on getting her new bag as well but her old one is only slightly ripped on the side.

**No.5** · January 11th, 2014, 09:45 PM

DS is starting year 1 too. He's using his same school bag as it's the actual school bag and is perfectly fine.

He'll use the same drink bottle but he only got it last term. Lunch box, new one. Trying to figure out a good combination for what he likes to eat, whether it be one with different compartments or a few different containers in an insulated bag.

Shoes - new. His old ones are broken, went through 4 pairs last year!

Anything we buy new that the old is still useable just goes in the cupboard and is used if we go to the park or something.

**Ca Plane Pour Moi** · January 12th, 2014, 04:50 AM

If Liebling has physically outgrown it, then it gets replaced. Shoes get buffed up, but if there are holes they are replaced. Book bag has a hole in the corner, but it is not being replaced for his last two terms.

I can't afford otherwise!

**Artechim** · January 12th, 2014, 05:42 AM

I don't replace things unless I have to. Mine will go back to school/kindy with the same bags they had last year and will keep using them until they break. Same with lunch boxes etc. Even exercise books - I expect that the old ones will be filled up before they start on a new one (luckily the teacher agrees with this).

**Astrid** · January 12th, 2014, 06:50 AM

Replace as need be through out the year for most things.
Tend to replace colouring in pencils. They are cheap enough and the old ones can go in the home art & craft box.

**Amity** · January 12th, 2014, 06:59 AM

Only replace as needed. DS1 is going into grade 5 and still has the same school bag as when he started.

Don't get me started on shoes. I buy a new pair every term.

**Trillian** · January 12th, 2014, 07:08 AM

I just see what's completely worn out and replace as needed. DD2 is the only one that needs a new bag this year because hers has a hole in the bottom of it but she's had the bag for over two years now. I had to buy surprisingly little this year which was good.

**Nai** · January 12th, 2014, 07:12 AM

Anything worn out gets replaced, grown out of gets handed down and anything still good stays in use. Dd1 still has her first school bag from 3 years ago. Her lunch box on the other hand tends to need replacing every year or so! I have no idea how it gets so trashed!

**~Kim~** · January 12th, 2014, 07:13 AM

DD1 went through 4 sizes of shoes last year, and that's an improvement on past years. DS however wore his out with 2 weeks to go last year and they still fit, so that's what he's starting school in. I generally only replace as needed too.
Saying that, I bought DD1 a new bag this year even though last years was fine, as last years was an old work bag of mine (obviously used to make them tougher lol), and she pleaded for 'her own'.

**Mum2SweetCs** · January 12th, 2014, 07:18 AM

Thanks ladies

Such a silly question but i dont know what the protocol is lol.

Dd1 tends to look after her stuff but i didnt want her to be the only one with old stuff.

We grew up with very very little money so all our stuff was always old and used until they were absolutely not usable anymore (like our shoes had to be mended with sticky tape!!!!).

So we were always teased and embarrassed.

But then again i dont want dd1 to end up being materialistic either!

**Trillian** · January 12th, 2014, 09:01 AM

She's definitely not going to be the only one that isn't wearing or doesn't have brand new stuff. Our school does a clothing pool for second hand clothes and the amount of people that use it is unreal! Especially for shoes that have been grown out of before they are worn out.

**Chocaholic** · January 12th, 2014, 01:22 PM

My eldest got a new lunchbox and water bottle which were fairly beaten up. He will get new shoes before school starts as he has outgrown his old ones. Otherwise he is wearing his uniform from last year. It is in good condition and it fits so I don't see any reason to buy new ones.

**AnyDream** · January 12th, 2014, 02:38 PM

We recycle selectively. Things that I do tend to replace are the high use, high wear and tear items: drink bottles (often), school shoes, and definitely the school bag if its looking worse for wear (because it's harder to get decent ones at other times of the year). But I have been known to clean, re sharpen & relabel pencils, etc.

Sometimes it depends on what the school is doing. For eg, in DD's reception class, all the pencils & textas went into shared tins in the classroom, so in that case I send new items from the book list. But in other years, especially in the higher grades, it's obvious what things have been used heavily & need replacing and which ones you can re-use without too much kid angst.

Our uniforms are really expensive so they are replaced only when necessary - although I'm always in the lookout for good condition second-handers in the next size.

**Astrid** · January 12th, 2014, 04:35 PM

Marydean: Yep, have found some items hard to get outside of this time of year. Complete pain, as it can be hard to estimate what the girls will wear and use.