6 Cool Ways to Customize Your Child's School Supplies

The annual scramble for back to school supplies is well underway. Paper, pencils, folders, notebooks and backpacks are some of the necessary supplies your student will need whether they are home schooled or go to a public or private school. As a student they know that the generic brands of these supplies can look a little um....boring, but as a parent we like the lower price tag these simple (OK, boring) supplies come with. 

The list each year for school supplies and the cost associated with the supplies just keeps going up! According to the National Retail Federation the average planned back to school spending per household (not including college age students) is just under $700! This includes supplies, clothing and electronic purchases for school. Yikes! 

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I know as a parent you are torn between buying little Johnny that custom Pokemon binder with matching pencils, case and folder that retails way above your budget or just sticking with the cheaper, generic, no bells or whistles binder and gear that is wallet friendly. We have all been there! 

But...

What if there was a third option that will make both your child and your wallet happy? Customizing or personalizing school supplies is a great way to take those boring generic supplies and give them a little upgrade and make-over so they look cool and still cost less. Win - Win!

To start upgrading those boring generic supplies check out Mint.com's FREE set of unique School Subject Printable that can be printed on plain paper or sticker paper and used to customize those boring generic supplies. Not only will these labels look good, they are a good organization tool for your child so that they can keep their school work, loose papers or folders organized.

Mint.com Blog

(click this link to get the downloadable file at Mint.com!)

As a homeschool family one of our back to school traditions is to spend time on our first day of school decorating and personalizing binders and notebooks. Each of my kids (including my teens) has their own three ring binder, folders and several notepads they like to customize. 

Because I know my kids love this tradition I make sure that before the first day of our school year I scour the dollar store for items like stickers, glitter or washi tape and even cool wall decals they can use to upgrade their supplies. 

The great thing about the boring generic three ring binder we use is the clear plastic cover over the front and back of the binder. It is so easy for my kids to make their own custom cover and slide it inside the plastic cover and change it whenever they get tired of their original decorations!


We will definitely be using the free school subject printable from Mint.com too since my kids use their big three ring binder to organize paperwork for all of their school subjects. This will help add some organization to their papers and make it easy for me as their teacher to find their completed assignments. 

Cool Ways To Customize Your School Supplies

Let's keep those creative juices flowing shall we? Here are a few more great ideas your kids can do to rock their school supplies with custom upgrades that are budget friendly!

1. Duct Tape

Add Duct tape to the front and back of plain notebooks to personalize them / Inner Child Fun

2. Mod Podge 

Fun, colorful or patterned paper can easily (and cheaply) be mod podged to the front of any notebook / PB Teen

3. Coloring Page

Color in this printable coloring page in your favorite colors. Use one for each binder! / Balancing Home

4. Embroidered / Sew

Great tutorial to make your own embroidered notebook cover at Knits & Brew.

5. Chalkboard Paint

Love to doodle? Can't decide on a design you like? With chalkboard paint you can change your design anytime, easily! / A Little Craft In Your Day

Your Turn

Back to school can be affordable and fun if you put a little effort into pre-planning! Show me your custom school supplies or comment below to tell me what your child did to their supplies to make it custom. 

Before we go....Parents, need some help staying organized and on top of the back to school craziness? Print off these handy (and FREE) Back to School Shopping Checklist! 

Also, don't forget to check out this post with some great back to school supply ideas you can get from the Dollar Tree! 

click HERE to read more