Results from the March Reader Survey: Do you prefer online or in store shopping?

Last month, our readers survey asked how you prefer to shop for school uniforms. Two-thirds of you responded that you preferred to shop in stores. The remaining one-third of you preferred to shop online.

Shopping in person is usually best in a few scenarios. You definitely want to shop in person for the first back to school shopping trip for any student new to school uniforms. It will give him or her a chance to try on several types of uniform items and decide which styles suit them best. You should also try different brands too to learn which your student prefers. Some brands carry different fits such as slim, plus, husky, while other brands only carry items in a regular fit.

Once you've learned which brands and styles you prefer, many of you switch to the convenience of online shopping. Once you have learned which top or pair of bottoms are favorites with your kids, you can stock up in the next size on those items during seasonal sales and use coupon codes featured in the Uniform Mom Weekly Report Card newsletter. When shopping online for clothing be aware of the store's return policy just in case. Because I hate to eat the return mail shipping charge, I prefer shopping with retailers that allow online returns to their brick and mortar stores.

Photo Credit: By Cpl. Glen Santy (https://www.dvidshub.net/image/636265) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

February Poll - What's your favorite place to shop for school uniforms?

I want to hear from you. Please take a minute to chime in on this month's poll and tell me your favorite retailers for school uniforms.

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Monthly Poll: Lunch boxes

One morning, we found our daughter's lunchbox next to her book bag near the front door with a wet spot on the outside.  We opened the lunchbox to find what had been a half eaten container of applesauce was now a gooey mess throughout the inside of the container and through the fabric. Yuck!

The inside of the lunchbox was pretty easy to clean with a little kitchen spray cleaner and a sponge.  Where the applesauce had leaked through the fabric, I ran it under cold water and then let it air dry.

My daughter has the insulated lunch bag from Lands' End that matches her backpack.  We bought them when she was starting Kindergarten.  I wrote about the book bag previously (read my review here), as it has held up very well to daily use for over a year and a half now.  The lunch bag doesn't get use as often because she buys school lunch a few days a week.  However, as the example above outlines, it gets exposed to spills, leaking goo and a never ending assortment of crumbs.  In my opinion, it can be a breeding ground for cooties and germs.  Since I use it regularly to pack food items that I intend for my daughter to eat, I take special care to clean and sanitize it best I can.  One of my girlfriends told me that she favors a lunch box with a hard surface that can be cleaned easily rather than the soft insulated bags made from fabric.

So tell me how often you buy a new lunch bag or box for your child?

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Uniform Mom Back to School Spending Survey

According to Statistics Brain, the average annual cost to parents for outfit their kids with school uniforms is $249. Unfortunately, this source doesn't provide any background on what they include as school uniforms. When buying my daughter's Kindergarten wardrobe, I found that I spent about that amount of clothing alone, not including shoes, coat, backpack and lunchbox. The additional items she needed cost me around another $150. This year, I didn't have to get many items for Back to School, but I'm finding myself buying school clothes a few items at a time as she outgrows the ones she had. I'd like to learn more about experiences of Uniform Mom readers. Please take a minute to tell me about your spend on Back to School shopping this fall. I'll leave this survey open for a while, and when we just a decent number of responses, I'll summarize and share with you all. All answers are confidential. No identifying information collected.

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