I like to go to yard sales.  One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, right?

One thing I look for at these sales is toys.  You can often find Legos (like at my sister’s yard sale, thanks for saving them for me sis!) or favorite play figures.

Of course, you’ll want to clean these new treasures before passing them on. I used to fill the sink with some hot water and soap and let them soak for a while, Unfortunately, if your kid is with you they’ll want to get their hands on them right away.

Dapple Toy Cleaner Wipes is a friendly way to solve this little problem.  Packaged in a convenient travel pack, these all-natural wipes are perfect solution for the serious yard sale junkie. Using green technology, these wipes contain baking soda, purified water and essential oils.  The fabric is biodegradable, too.

These wipes are not anti-bacterial they just work like a good old-fashioned hand washing, which is better for a child’s immune system (let’s them build up resistance to some germs now and then) Of course, you’ll want to use these on everything your child comes in contact with from shopping carts to that “gotta have” used toy.

Winner of the iParenting award and the Yahoo Seeds For Success, this is one item you won’t want to leave home without. Look for it in the generous thirty –five-wipe canister or the handy spray.

OK- yes, you could make your own- but sometimes, well, we all need a convenient ready-made solution

I’m a big believer of buying quality.

OK, actually with the recent economic downturn, I’ve reasserted myself as a buyer of quality over quantity. Which is why this Back-T-School, I’m buying fewer items, but better quality items.

Pricegrabber just completed a survey that found that:

41 percent of online consumers with school age children plan to cut back on back to school spending because of the weakened economy

The top 3 money-saving techniques online consumers used most often to purchase back to school items: shop at discount/bargain/outlet stores (51%), use shopping comparison Web sites (38%) and visit retailers’ Web sites to print out coupons (27%)

I think I fit right in with that group. I’ve been shopping at outlet stores, using Pricegrabber to comparison shop and religiously looking for coupons before I buy.

I’m also shopping for quality which is why I like this JanSport Messenger Bag. With planned obsolescence out and buying things that last back in, this number one seller seems an obvious choice for back-to-school.

This messenger bag is available in a whole host of colors and features a main pocket and two smaller storage compartments. It also features a water bottle holder and smaller zip pocket on the back.

Of all the things you need to buy new each year, back-to-school clothes, notebooks, shoes and lunch boxes, a new backpack may be the most unnecessary. Not that every child doesn’t need a backpack these days to cart home the ever growing pile of assignments designated. “homework”.

It’s just this shouldn’t be something you have to buy every year. With the slumping economy and the increased focus on living life a little less materialistic, this is a great time to teach your child to buy quality things that last.

OK, sure, your child is clamoring for the latest commercial character on their backpack and you can pick them up cheap, but a hip color or design and nifty REAL backpack (i.e. the kind made for people who actually go backpacking) features have their own “cool” factor.

The JanSport Super Break Backpack is the number one seller for students around the world and it comes in a variety of stylish design. Sturdy enough to last for years, the Superbreak backpack has a large main compartment and a front pocket big enough to store pens, pencils and an ipod. Both the shoulder straps and the back are padded for extra comfort while carrying those heavy books home.

Though, don’t expect that to be any consolation when your child expects you to explain everything in those heavy books to him or her!

Summer is half over and the stores are beginning to fill with Back-To-School supplies. Besides the pencils, paper and glue listed on your list, you most likely will be looking for something in which your little one can carry all of those things.

Most children these days carry a backpack to school. Most kindergartners and young elementary ones carry one too big for their tiny frames. This causes strain on growing bodies and medical professionals are starting to raise the alarm about how ergonomically incorrect this is.

Rather than buy your young child a regular-sized school backpack, consider buying a mini backpack like this one from Jansport. The smaller size causes less back and muscle strain and keeps kids from stuffing too many things in them, creating an even worse problem.

Children in kindergarten and 1^st grade rarely have books to carry anyway and this, 11.5 x 10.5 x 6.5 backpack is plenty big for worksheets and folders, as well as the smaller books read by this age group.

Do your child a favor this year and buy a sturdy backpack in just the right size. You’ll prevent injuries that may include headaches, muscle pain and skeletal problems. Since your child may be carrying a backpack most every day, this may be on of the best things you can do to ensure he or she grows up, “big and strong”.