For the first time in nearly a decade, I had a long overdue garage sale. As I sifted through boxes and secured neon-colored pricetags to each item for my garage sale, I started thinking about all the things I thought I needed for my students and my classroom back when I was a first-year teacher, what I actually ended up needing, and all of the ways I could have saved money.
There is a lot that I wish I'd known then, but hey, what can you do other than chalk it up to life experience and write a blog post with tips for making classroom purchases to help other teachers? :)
First, let's talk about saving money, something everyone loves to do!
Timing Is Everything
When we realize we need something for our classroom, or think of something that would just make life in our classroom easier, we tend to hop online and purchase it right then. After all, online shopping has never been easier, and shipping has never been faster. I love a good Amazon find just as much as the next person (I even recommend a few of my Amazon favorites in one of my recent posts Creating And Adding To Your Classroom Library), but classroom purchases can add up quickly!
What I've learned over time is that patience, a great garage sale, yard sale, moving sale, (or whatever secondhand sale you may find), and a great local thrift store are your friends! You see, the universe has this funny way of presenting you with exactly what you need for less money a few days after you've already bought it at full price! I can't explain why this phenomenon happens, I just know that it does. The universe must have an ornery sense of humor. So, if you are looking for something specific and don't need the item immediately (like during summer break) - wait. Trust me. Just wait. More often than not a Facebook post from a friend, a garage sale you happen upon, a thrift shop window you come across, or a fellow teacher doing a classroom cleanout will present that exact item you need to you. This exact thing happened during my garage sale weekend.
I've been wanting a few lamps for my classroom. My students enjoy doing classwork with the overhead lights off, but if it's cloudy outside, the light from the windows and the LED lights around my whiteboard don't provide enough light for them to see their papers. Adding two small lamps would easily fix the rainy day light issue and allow my students to complete their work without the overhead lights on, but I hadn't purchased any lamps. I waited because of the aformentioned phenomenon.
My mother and sister-in-law needed to get rid of a few items as well, so we hosted the garage sale together this weekend. My mom and I stopped by her storage unit to pick up a few things to add to the sale the night before. Wouldn't you know it? Two lamps she no longer wanted were in her storage unit, and they just happened to be perfect for my classroom.
The same lamps new would have set me back at least $40 had I bought them immediately after having the thought, "Hey, I could use a few lamps." But my patience paid off, and the universe united me with two awesome lamps! (Well, the universe AND my mom! Thanks, Mom!)
Teachers who are retiring will often have a large garage sale in the summer with everything they accumulated for their classroom over the years, and sometimes they'll list sets of similar items (like classroom sets of books) on Facebook Marketplace.
When it comes to shopping at thrift stores for classroom items, keep in mind that one trip to the thrift store is just one trip. Check in a few times during the school year or several times over the course of the summer, because new items are always trickling in.
Your Plan Might Not Work Out (And That's OK)
Eventually there will come a day when you bring home a classroom purchase and realize that your awesome bargain find doesn’t fit your needs after all. This happens to me on occasion with book purchases for my classroom library.
When I'm shopping for books I don't always have the luxury of spending a lot of time googling each book for additional information to make sure it is the right fit for my classroom before I head to the checkout line. Sometimes this is because I'm on a tight schedule, but more often than not it's because the library sales I shop at are busy and I'm trying to browse while also staying out of the path of human traffic created by my fellow book enthusiasts. When time or space is an issue, sometimes you just have to read the back of the book, flip through the pages quickly, and go with your gut instinct.
(If you're curious about library sales, I discuss them in my Creating and Adding To Your Classroom Library post!)
While sometimes necessary, the flip-through and go-with-your-gut shopping method will cause you to wind up with one or two books that don't fit your needs. While my immediate reaction could easily be one of disappointment, I consciously choose to acknowledge the positives. Instead of being bummed that my purchase didn't work out as planned, I think to myself, "Isn’t it great I got it at a library sale for a dollar rather than buying it new?" I also remind myself that I can always resell it later or donate it if I want to, and I focus on all the awesome books I found that are great fits for my classroom library!
Actual Needs
The difference between what you think you need and what you actually need can be pretty significant as a new teacher! For example, you may see a great deal for 100 Ticonderoga pencils and buy them only to find that all of the pencils you could possibly need were donated by a local business or that the teacher who used the room before you was retiring and left a large bin of new pencils behind for your students to use. Warning: Seeing a great deal on pencils may also result in a lesson about late-night online shopping learned the hard (but funny) way! Please see my Facebook post below documenting the results of my late-night Amazon scrolling, and, as always, please shop responsibly.)
If you'd like to get these golf pencils as an incentive for your students to bring their pencils to class, by all means, go for it and have a good laugh! You can get them here.
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases
Age Matters
Remember to factor in the age of your students when making any classroom purchase. You have probably seen at least one Pinterest pin or teacher online promoting these pencil holders and talking about how wonderful they are for helping students keep track of their pencils and keeping pencils from rolling off desks.
Lower elementary students may take great pride in placing their pencils in their pencil holders every single time they finish using them. They may take excellent care of those pencil holders, give the pencil holders googly eyes, and even name their pencil holders! But middle school students ... well, there's a pretty good chance that a middle school student will pick at the pencil holder, use their pencil to create an outline of the pencil holder on their desk top, or decide to test the strength of the adhesive on the bottom of the pencil holder.
As a middle school teacher, I can tell you that they regularly do things that make you wonder, "What were they thinking?!" So, I'm very realistic about what to expect from them, and, based on experience, I wouldn't expect the pencil holders to more than a week if I put them on my desks. So, when you're shopping for your classroom, it's helpful to think realistically about how your students will truly interact with the item you're purchasing instead of how you picture them using it. In this case, saving money doesn't come from scoring a great deal but instead not making a purchase at all if it won't last.
Seeing The Value
I’m certainly not saying that you should never buy new! What I am saying is that I’ve come to see just how valuable both patience and shopping for secondhand items are, and I hope you do too because, again, classroom purchases add up quickly!
So consider waiting a while before making a purchase for your classroom, especially if you are a new teacher. Take the time to see what opportunities might fall into your lap, and check out secondhand sources for some awesome finds and great savings! If you've scored an awesome second-hand find for your classroom or have a great shopping source you think other teachers might like to know about, please share in the comments below!
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