For the first time in a long time, this summer-to-fall shift is a back to school moment for real in my household -- my two and a half year old begins a (very minimal) preschool program (in October). We're going with her, as it's a cooperative school, and generally anticipating a tremendous amount of cuteness and hilarity. We're also anticipating an onslaught of stuff.
I am by nature and by profession anti-stuff -- how much junk does one kid need? I wasn't brought up this way and I used to be a big consumer. But the greener I get, the less stuff I can tolerate. Every person who asks me advice on how to stock a nursery pre-baby, for example, gets the same answer: all a baby actually needs is a boob, a diaper, and a swaddling blanket. How much does any of us really need? But there are certain times of the year, just as there are certain times in life (like the arrival of a newborn), that come with a stuff-alanche. For the beginning of the school year, I'm talking new clothes, new shoes, new book bags, new lunchboxes, pencils, pens, highlighters, white out, art supplies, pencil cases, stickers, notebooks, calculators, staplers, glue sticks, and so, so much more. I cannot begin to stress how much of this is totally, completely extraneous. What happened to the last school year's items? Did they suddenly lose their capacity to work over the course of a summer vacation? ...
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Back to School? Don't Go Shopping! 
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