While consumerism defines our culture, smart parents of young children save money where they can. Creative parenting doesn't cost a lot of money as you will see with these cheap essentials for parents.
Bulletin Board
A low-tech organizer that works great for keeping up with schedules, school notes, chore charts, grocery lists, calendars, art work, and A+ papers. We have two by the back door where they can be seen as we come and go each day. If plain cork board doesn't go with your decor, you can make it fancy with these instructions from Creating Home Decor.
Kitchen Timer
An inexpensive tool in the kitchen that has multiple uses for parents. Help your child stay on track at homework time by setting times for work and for breaks. Deal with dawdling by setting the timer in the morning for your child to be ready to head out the door. Make chores more fun by playing 'Beat the Clock' to clean the living room.
Big Plastic Boxes
Buy several at your local discount store to use for storing toys, games, arts and crafts, sports equipment, doll and dress-up clothes. Label each box and stack them in the closet for easy access. Collect and save an entire school year's worth of projects, papers, and memorabilia in a box for each child. They are also perfect for storing off-season clothes, hand-me-downs, and those clothing bargains your child is growing into.
Cheap Toys
Some of kids and parents' favorite toys are the least expensive. Play-Doh, crayons, markers, finger paints, watercolors, scissors, glue, and chalk are inexpensive choices for creative play. Instead of expensive art pads, keep a stack of plain copy paper on hand. A dry-erase board is my daughter's favorite toy for 'playing school'. Save magazines, stickers, ribbon, buttons, and other doo-dads in a box for making collages.
Classic games are usually the cheapest also. Games such as Dominoes, Racko, Chinese Checkers, Uno, and Skip-Bo are classic for a reason - they're fun! When it comes to books, video games, and movies, keep your eye out for used ones at garage sales, thrift stores, and sale bins.
Cheap Clothes
It makes no sense to pay a fortune for clothes your child may outgrow in a few months. I know savvy parents who buy boxes of good-condition children's clothes on EBay. Locally, garage sales and thrift stores always have lots of kids' basics for play. Fancy dresses and shoes that are handed down from friends or found used often are in pristine condition after being worn only a couple of times. Be careful when shopping off-season sales at department stores. It's hard to guesstimate what size your child will be wearing in a year.
