Emergency Supplies

I can't count the number of times my kids have come to me at the "last minute" requesting supplies for school or a church activity. Just yesterday, 10 minutes before we left for school (and he/she had to be on time to school for a major exam), one of my children (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty) said he/she needed tabbed dividers. I nervously bounded upstairs to look in our supply closet hoping that the extra ones I'd bought for the last emergency were still there. Lo and behold (and thankfully) they were. Very late Sunday night another child (who shall also remain nameless and is another chronic offender) said he/she needed posterboard to complete a school assignment that night. Yes, we had that, too, but it was semi-bent and dusty. Who cared at that point?

I wish these were isolated incidents. They're not. Maybe your children are perfect and you never find yourself in these types of situations. Maybe they're like my almost-perfect children, and you do. In that case, let me offer some advice as a semi-seasoned mother of children ranging in age from nearly 13 to nearly 25.

Buy in bulk before the school year begins. This is approximately the amount of school supplies you should have on hand for those (in my case) not-so-rare emergencies. You may need to devote one room of your house to store these items.

At least 10 protractors--and place them in various locations throughout your home
5 sets of tabbed dividers
5 extra 3-ringed binders
6 boxes of pencils
6 boxes of pens
10 glue sticks
5 pink erasers
3 or more packages of lined (college or wide-ruled) 8.5x11" paper
3 or more packages of copy/printer paper
2 packages of card stock in assorted colors
5 Sharpies
5 Flair markers
3 boxes of crayons
3 boxes of colored pencils
2 bottles of white-out
2 printer cartridges in black
2 printer cartridges in color
Prismacolors (expensive!)
10 pieces of posterboard (white and colored)
3 staplers
2 boxes of staples
1 large container of paper clips
1 large box of sheet protectors
10 pair of scissors
10 rolls of tape
2 rolls of masking tape
2 rolls of duct tape
Pain killers (for you)
5 pocket folders
5 report folders
5 packs of 3x5" cards (lined and unlined)
5 packs of 4x6" cards (lined and unlined)
2 dictionaries
A stack of blank CDs
5 flash drives
large pack of Post-It Notes
5 calculators (including 1 scientific one)
A plethora of batteries in various sizes

Have I omitted anything? If so, I probably have it somewhere in my house.