I’m A Preschooler Mom – Here’s My Personal List Of The Best Back-To-School Sales

Muara Digital Teameditors and readers alike are diehard fans of Owala’s FreeSip water bottle – and if you’re also on the bandwagon, it’s time to stock up for your kids. This leakproof 16-ounce bottle is available in a plethora of delightful color combinations and is made of sturdy stainless steel that will keep beverages cold for up to 24 hours, according to the brand. The versatile spout allows kiddos to sip or chug, and the flip-up carrying handle makes for convenient transport.  

Us adults can benefit from Back To School deals, too! True Classic’s soft tees are a popular buy in my household, and because my husband is hard on his T-shirts, it would be smart of me to stock up while this multicolor 6-pack is on sale in Amazon’s Back-To-School discount event. They’re designed with a “modern” fit that’s supposed to offer a slimmer silhouette without being too constricting, and come in an incredibly soft cotton-polyester blend. With this bundle, you’ll get six shirts for around $13 a piece which isn’t bad at all!

If your kid is really reluctant to abandon their summer Crocs for “hard” school shoes – I know mine are – know that a happy medium kind of exists with Native’s Jefferson shoe. It has a court sneaker-like appearance with all the trappings of a Croc, including a super lightweight EVA foam construction and holes for ventilation. Wear them with or without socks to ease the transition into a new season. They’re on sale for up to 25% off in select colors. (Note that all of the retailers listed below have a slightly different color selection, but rest assured, there’s plenty to choose from.) 

Get them in Little Kid sizes1-12 and Big Kid sizes 4-6.

I have to wholeheartedly recommend a laminator as a school-year buy – we use ours frequently for art projects, and it’s a great way to preserve smaller crafts that the kids often bring home from school. Now’s the perfect time to grab while it’s 15% off!

If your child is really, really reluctant to give up their favorite summer shoe and you’ve decided you’re not choosing that battle, good for you – and we found a pair of Crocs’ Baya clogs on sale starting at just $13. These EVA foam shoes are designed with a supportive sole, a back strap for keeping them in place and a pebbled insole to give kiddos a mini foot massage.

Get these in toddler sizes 4-6.

Yes, you read that right. Dawn Powerwash dish spray is 40% off if you clip the on-page coupon before dunking it into your cart. You know what this is and what it does and how well, right? Get to it before the discount ends. 

With a rare 4.8-star rating across 100,000+ reviews, the hype is real. It’s not the lowest price ever, but it’s dang close. Scooping it while discounted is a no-brainer.

Brooklinen’s Big Bath Sale (a “bath” to school sale, if you will) is coming at just the right time for my household – if you’re anything like me, your bath-linen collection consists of a tragic hodgepodge of weather-beaten towels that are overdue for replacement. 

This bath towel set consists of two 290-GSM Turkish cotton bath towels in a stylish and absorbent waffle weave, each measuring a generous 58 by 30 inches. The duo is 20% off, but you can get up to 40% off when you invest in something like the aptly-named “move-in” bundle, which comes with four bath towels, four hand towels, four washcloths, and even a bath mat. Maybe you know a college student relocating from the dorms to their own apartment who could take advantage of this ready-made set. 

A colorful print like this is exactly what I need to get my kids excited about getting dressed in the morning – because Lord knows, it is not an easy task sometimes. (For adults, too.)

This cotton jersey dress has a heart-shaped patch pocket in the front and an easy fit that kids can slip easily over their heads. Nordstrom only has this “coral reef” print, but you’ll find a ton of other adorable options at Boden. (Better move quick, because sizes and colors are limited there.) 

It’s available in sizes for ages 7-12.

I’ll be darned if these aren’t some of the funnest clogs I’ve ever seen, courtesy of the iconic knit handbag brand The Sak. They’re covered with a recycled polyester upper and equipped with a leather sole that’s padded for comfort. They’re available in (seriously) a million colors and women’s sizes 6-11 for up to 38% off. One reviewer described them as “exceptionally comfortable” and compliment-grabbers.

If you missed PlanetBox’s back-to-school sale when it launched in July, you’re in luck – it’s still going! The up to 50% off (mostly) sitewide discount marches on and includes the option I have my eye on: the Shuttle stainless steel compartment lunchbox, which the company has highlighted as a good size for preschoolers and kindergarteners. The durable, BPA-free box promises to be leakproof (very important) and easy to clean, and is equipped with two compartments designed to hold a main course and a snack-sized portion. It’s also compatible with these little silicone snack pods (sold separately) and willcome with decorative magnets. Wirecutter famously anointed the brand’s Rover bento box – a larger option with a total of five compartments – as “worth every penny.”

Muara Digital Teamreaders are longtime fans ofCarote’s stylish nonstick cookware sets, so we were delighted to see the brand’s unique Dutch oven in Walmart’s blink-and-you-miss-it Flash Deals section. This 5-quart container has all the hallmarks of sturdy cookware – a cast iron core, porcelain enamel glaze and a tight-fitting lid – that will help bring all of your fall recipes to life for you and the kiddos. 

Walmart didn’t label it as such, but these pots were originally $199 on the official Carote site! With a 4.8-star rating plus an over 80% off discount, I can’t help but call this deal out.

Here’s another popular lunchbox pick that I have to mention: Bentgo’s Kids Bento-style lunchbox is fun, durable and also spill-proof. It’s super colorful and comes with so many small compartments for easy snacking, portion control and creative lunchtime ideas. Why not send a little one in your life to school with a lunchbox that’ll even make the teacher jealous? Amazon’s got this labeled as over 50% off but per our trackers (and the official Bentgo website), they usually run around $29.99 so you’re really seeing a 36% discount, which is still nothing to sneeze it. This will be their lowest price since April, FYI! 

Promising review: “Love these kid lunch boxes! We buy these exclusively now because the hold up so well, all year, and even multiple years! They keep food well stored and don’t leak and love the design with multiple spaces for food.” — Chelsea Meschke

Merrell’s having a nice 30% off “end of summer” sale, with decent inventory on popular styles like the kids’ Trail Chaser hiking sneaker that I was so close to buying for my girls at the beginning of the summer. (I’m glad I waited.) These tough little shoes have a synthetic mesh upper and a recycled PET lining, and have a Velco closure to help kids fasten their shoes independently. “Great shoes for the active kid, these last 3-4 times longer than other shoes I’ve bought the kids,” wrote reviewer Aaron on Merrell’s website.

I also have my eye on the brand’s Hydro Moc waterproof clog – you can get this perforated, alien-like EVA foam slip-on for men and women on sale in a few colors. It’s a smart late-summer purchase that you can enjoy well into fall. 

These 0.7-mm ballpoint pens produce ultra-smooth lines with quick-drying, “no bleed” liquid gel and people seriously love them. Folks deem it everything from a fantastic “daily driver” to “well made,” calling out its sturdy metal clip and soft grip as smart design choices. Nab a dozen for under $15 with a 16% off discount and see for yourself how a pen could be worth freaking out about.

Promising review: “Absolutely love the pens, they are thicker in writing but extremely smooth. The ink flow is great, the colors and mechanics are fantastic. They’re light but durable and a great value for money. ” — Ibrahim Mansoor

If your house is full of kids, adults and overrun closets, then here’s an organization hack for you (courtesy of a small-space organization expert). Try Cozy Essentials’ 20-pack of vacuum-sealable storage bags. Not only will they allow you to keep your stuff but they’ll also give you a lot of space back — and they’re also on sale. Amazon’s got them labeled with a 42% discount, but per our trackers’ report on the typical sale price, the deal is really more like 30% which is still solid. 

Muara Digital Teampreviously spoke with Never Too Small founder Colin Chee, who recommended these exact vacuum storage bags for getting oversized items to fit into nooks and crannies beneath furniture like beds or higher-profile sofas.  “[They] are great for storing blankets or extra pillows for occasional use when you have visitors, as well as winter jackets during the off-season,” he said. “I store them in my large travel luggage, which is only used occasionally.” They’re excellent for swapping linens between seasons, too!

The 20 polyethylene/polyamide bags come in one of five sizes and come with a hand pump for you to remove the air from them. The set also comes with four additional 24-by-16-inch “roll-up” bags, intended to be compressed manually and aren’t equipped with the suction valve. These are really going to come in handy when I have to pack up all of our summer gear until next year.