Saskatchewan blogger offers back-to-school tips to cut waste, money

Getting kids ready for school can be a lot of work. It can also be wasteful and hard on the wallet.

Saskatchewan blogger Launne Kolla with Do More Good says it doesn’t have to be that way, as she shared some tips with 650 CKOM’s Mark Loshack on Wednesday.

“It gets crazy and it adds up with each kid you have,” Kolla said.

Launne Kolla has tips for parents on how to save money at back-to-school time. (launnekolla.ca)

“The best thing you can do is check with what you have at home first, whether that’s a thousand pens in your junk drawer, crayons everywhere or notebooks that you can rip out the first two pages and send the kids with that.

“I think the more we tell our kids it’s OK to reuse these things, the less expense we’ll have and the less waste we’ll have as well.”

Parents are finding the cost of school supplies, kids clothing and other things needed for the new school year has risen since last year — and it’s a problem across North America. According to a study by Deloitte Insights, the cost of school supplies in the U.S. has gone up by 23.7 per cent over the past two years.

One Regina mom said her plan is to create a budget for the school year and stick to it. When it comes to educational activities such as field trips, she said she and many other parents will likely be planning ahead and saving to minimize the financial impact.

Kolla said sourcing school supplies from second-hand stores and buy-and-sell groups is another money-saving trick parents can employ.

While her day job is a wildlife and marine biologist, sustainability has become a passion project for her. Her blog is a way to share her knowledge with others.

“My daughter this year is in Grade 1,” Kolla said. “She asked about a new backpack and lunch kit. I had the conversation to explain to her that, ‘It’s better for the Earth and we save money if we reuse this one. Give it a wash and it still works so why not use it?’ She was fine with that.

“I think it’s just conversations we have to have with our kids about sustainability, money and being honest.”

Kolla says most kids today are already environmentally conscious and back-to-school season is a perfect time to reinforce the message with them.

For more tips, check out Kolla’s blog here.