Printable Back-to-School Shopping List (& how I Save BIG on my BTS Budget)

I hate writing lines like this, because they’re so lazy, but…can you believe we’re already talking about back-to-school? I mean, where did summer vacation even go, right? (see – totally lazy intro to this post, but…also true?)

A couple years ago, I made a printable back-to-school shopping list template that I shared in my Facebook group (head over there for discounts on all my planning products, freebies, and more). I felt like it was in need of a good update, so I’ve done just that. And you can grab it for free at the bottom of this post!

Printable Back-to-School Shopping List

Here’s how to use this list (and lucky you if your kids are old enough to do some of this for you!).

Rather than go back-to-school shopping without a plan (hello, Impulse Purchases), do a very diligent and thorough inventory of your kid’s closet. How many short-sleeved shirts does she have? How many long-sleeve? How many pairs of leggings? How many matching pairs of socks? How many school-appropriate pairs of shoes? Underwear? Etc., etc.

Since we live in Texas and it’s hot until basically November, I am looking for warm weather clothing that the kids can wear until it starts to cool off (at which point, they will have grown and I’ll need to do this again for cool weather clothing!). I also want to make sure we have some transitional clothes available, too…like a light jacket and a couple pairs of pants for when things to start cool off, or if we have an unseasonably cool day here and there.

Once I know what we have (and what still fits!), I make a list of what we need. I want each kid to have 7-8 short-sleeved shirts, for example. Not surprisingly, they usually have this already…and that means I don’t need to buy them any more. 

Once I’ve determined who has what and who needs what, I make out a list of what I need to fill in the gaps. Usually, new shoes, new socks, new underwear, a few pairs of pants, a couple of shirts, and maybe a hoodie is all they need (but if I were shopping without a list, I’d be pulling random crap off the racks and overspending for sure).

We also know that the kids will need school supplies, back packs, lunch boxes, and hair cuts. I try to make back packs and lunch boxes last more than one year when possible. 

And then it’s time to shop. Rather than hit a bunch of different stores, I try to keep it to as few as possible. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot more shopping online (I love ThredUp for great deals). 

With this system in place, I spend less (way less!) and don’t buy a bunch of stuff we don’t need. 

You can download your own copy of this printable back-to-school shopping list template below.

I’ve got some other great back-to-school posts for you below! 🙂