Sharilynn29 Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Seriously, we go through dozens and dozens of pens, pencils, glue sticks, scissors, etc. I'm not any better than the kiddos at putting things away. We do have a spot where they go, but our house magically seems to eat everything. I bate that I have to buy all new items at the beginning of the school year. Ideas?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellalarella Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Well, my mom would tie a long strip of elastic to scissors and attach them in the general vicinity of where she needed them. GROSS ALERT: Then there was the summer she got so mad that scissors kept disappearing that she tied an unused tampon to the handle and stuck them in the drawer. GROSS ALERT ENDS. My three sisters and I didn't use that pair, if I remember. School supplies just disappear. I guess they are meant to be used. I don't know why I get so upset about school supplies getting used when I still have some in the storage box leftover to be used next year..... I could try to blame it on the kids entirely, but I know that I don't always put things back exactly where they go. Now where are my keys and sunglasses?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Don't give them to the kids? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Don't have an 8 year old boy in the house would be my best advice. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2samlibby Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Well, my mom would tie a long strip of elastic to scissors and attach them in the general vicinity of where she needed them. GROSS ALERT: Then there was the summer she got so mad that scissors kept disappearing that she tied an unused tampon to the handle and stuck them in the drawer. GROSS ALERT ENDS. My three sisters and I didn't use that pair, if I remember. AWESOME!!! Way to go Mom!!! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Well, after years of losing school supplies, I decided to buy extra, extra, extra to keep in every room. I have scissors in the laundry room (for removing clothing tags), in the bathroom, kitchen, office, school room and garage. I have jars of markers, pens and pencils in kitchen, living room, school room and office. I have rulers in the kitchen, school room and office. Now the sneaky items don't have a reason to walk from home... ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I'm pretty sure we own at least 2 pairs of scissors per child...yet we still have to search for them on a daily basis! :tongue_smilie: ...and don't get me started on glue sticks without lids! :banghead: This year, I bought little boxes with handles from the dollar store...like the cleaning caddies but a bit smaller. We have one for paints, brushes, and smocks. The other holds crayons, color pencils, glue, scissors etc. I keep them in a high cabinet. This still isn't fool-proof, but it helps a bit. :lol: Maybe I'll try a locked safe next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I take the buy a million of the same thing approach. It's not very frugal but if $30 worth of scissors can save my sanity, well...it's worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I got a spinning caddy thing to put in the middle of the table, that helped although the scissors appear to have followed their call to migrate because I can't find any. Oh and I can never find any proper pens so filling out forms takes hours as I have to track down a black biro first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spetzi Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 If you have few of something, it's remarkable how careful folks are. I'd give each kid a few pencils and a case (or ziploc). I've even had different kinds for each kid so there is no 'stealing'. The child can only have more if *you give them out. We've had the problem, but they often turn up and then we have waaayyy too many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Charge them a dime for every pencil they lose? I haven't tried that, but maybe I should... For us, it's pencils & rulers. Those always magically disappear. But I always magically have more in my purse to curb excuses for not doing schoolwork in the car. I probably don't need to buy pencils for the next 5 years with all we have around, if we can find them, that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I have pencils, erasers, scissors, crayons etc that we only use for school. Each kid has their own pair of scissors for non-school activities. I am amazed at how quickly they find them when they have one pair. We have had the same ones for years. At the end of lessons, I pick up the school pencils and erasers etc and put them away. I have a little three drawer thing that sits on our school bookcase. Everyone knows if you find school stuff around the house to please put them in there. But, I do refresh supplies every September. New erasers aren't expensive. Dry erase markers don't ever last more than the school year. Last year's crayons and markers get put in the general bin to make way for the new ones. I don't have to spend that much though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.m Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I dig through the lego box. It's like a school supply treasure chest. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BinahYeteirah Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I control all the scissors in this house. Otherwise we end up with unauthorized haircuts and garment alterations. I keep a pencil case in one of my top kitchen cabinets that is just for scissors. Anyone who gets one out has to bring it back to me. We've been using the same pairs of scissors in this way for the past five years or so. I treat glue and glue sticks similarly. We only get them out when they are being used. At any other time, they are on lock down. I bought about 20 bottles of glue last year for a penny each, so I don't think we'll run out any time soon. The kids do get their own individual pencils, two at a time, and an eraser. They each have their own drawer for these things and get new pencils as the old ones get too short to be sharpened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Each child has his/her own box for supplies, and I do as well. Everything goes back in those boxes. If I find something, I know where it belongs. If you find stuff wandering a lot, like scissors or tape, you might need to buy multiples of those items; I have three pairs of scissors, for instance, and they are labeled: school desk, upstairs desk, kitchen. (The same goes for the eighty billion USB cords we seem to acquire.) The three kids have different colored scissors, and the 3yo has crayons, while the older kids have colored pencils, each of a different brand, so I can tell whose are whose if I find them lying around. The only things that we routinely lose are pens. I'm super picky about my pens, so anything that's not "my" type, I put in the caddy on the side of the fridge, and that's where I tell the kids to look if they can't find a pen. For my pens, they're a specific type, so I know they need to go back to my desk/in my bag if I find one sitting somewhere. But also, I am a stickler; I don't consider your work to be done if you've not put your supplies back/returned supplies borrowed from me. Amazing how fast the kids find the pen they've borrowed if they need to do so in order to finish their work! LOL at the tampon-scissors -- that's hilarious and clever! I'm the same way about keys and sunglasses. When someone invents a tiny sticker with a finder, I'm buying a ton of them, and then I'll have a bunch of the finders lined up on the wall, so I can push the button of whatever item I'm missing that second, and the item will beep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I have only one child so it's pretty easy. When he's done with it I put it back in it's allotted place. I have little drawers (those plastic ones from walmart) and plastic containers for everything. Pens and pencils are in pencil caddies. If I see it out, it goes right back in. it's probably harder to keep up with having a bunch of kids pulling it out all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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