Back to School season is slowly creeping up on us. This year, buy products that will match the wear and tear of a year of heavy homework loads, leaking lunches and any other stain, rip or tear in our way.
Backpacks
All of these backpacks were tried and tested by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. The GHRI tested were evaluated for comfort, portability, space capacity, features, abrasion, water repellency, and spot staining. The same bags were then examined by younger consumers - schoolchildren - for a final world. These guys are at the top of their class:
JanSport (Classic Superbreak Backpack), $31 dollars on Amazon
High Sierra (Swerve), as low as $39.50 on Amazon
LL Bean (Turbo Transit), $89.95 on llbean.com
Inside the pencil box
These pens and pencils all make the Top 100 Amazon back-to-school items, and have features on several lists by The Sweet Home, Office Depot and Staples.
Uniball (KuruToga Mechanical Pencil), $5 on Amazon
Maped (10 Piece Geometry Set with Shatterproof Box), $6 on Amazon
Staedtler (Textsurfer Classic Highlighter), $12 on Amazon
Binders
The wire bound notebooks and bound binders are the definition of heavy duty. They defy any drop; no matter how many times they're flung open or thrown into a bag.
BlacknRed (Wirebound Notebook), $6 on Amazon
Case - it (Open Tab 2-Inch Binder), $12 on Amazon
Avery (Heavy Duty) Binders, With or Without Rubber Siding
Arts and crafts
These colored pencils are preferred by artists and students alike. They're wax based and have a soft core, and are available in a 24 and 48 pack.
Prismacolor (Colored Pencils) , $10 on Amazon
Lunchtime
This year, The Sweet Home conducted a 30+ hour research study on the best lunch boxes on the market. Yes, you read that right. These are the best of the best - easy-to-carry, keep stains and smells from lingering, easy to clean and the most durable of the competitors.
Land's End (EZ Wipe Lunchbox), $24 on landsend.com
Pottery Barn Kids (Retro Lunch Bag), as low at $24.50 on potterybarnkids.com
- Rubbermaid Kid's (LunchBlox), $5 on Amazon