My weekly school supply shopping trip took me to six stores this week.

I immediately ran into a personal weakness: I can't pass up a great deal, even if I don't need something! That means I wound up with school supplies I don't need for my own kids, but I will donate them. More on that in a moment!

First, here's what I found and where. Some of these deals were in the Sunday ads, but some of them were unadvertised store specials, so I hope this helps you.

Office Max: A tub of pencil grips and various sized erasers for 25 cents, kid scissors for 20 cents and 24-count crayons for one cent. There was an in-store limit of 3 on all 3 items. I bought them all and spent $1.38.

Fred Meyer: Classic color Crayola markers for 99 cents. A pack of Crayola colored pencils was also 99 cents. The Sunday ad said they were buy one get one free, but that wasn't marked in-store. I pointed this out to the cashier and she honored the ad. I also brought my own bag to Fred Meyer (I was buying a few other things too) which earned a 10 cent discount. So I left with two boxes of pencils and a box of markers for $1.88.

Rite Aid: four boxes of 10-count, #2 pencils for 99 cents.

Walgreens: three packs of wide-ruled loose leaf paper for $1.59. I saw the same packs for 50 cents apiece at Fred Meyer, so I could've saved another 9 cents.

Target: classic color Crayola markers were $1.00 - a penny more than I paid at Fred Meyer. I went ahead and got another box to replace my daughter's when they run out mid-year. 24-count crayons were 27 cents. A lot of stores had glue sticks on sale, but Target had the best price. A six pack was $1.00 Unfortunately, I need the large glue sticks for my daughter. I'm still waiting for a bargain price there. I also got my son's supply box for 50 cents. It was marked in the store for 79 cents, but I showed the Sunday ad to the cashier and she honored it. By the way, Target also had a two pack of erasers marked in store for 20 cents. They rang up at 97 cents - nearly five times more than they should've! I checked, and the sale price had expired. But since it was still posted, I asked the store to honor it and they did.

Bottom line, be sure to watch your items ring up. It was just a few cents here and there, but having the ads in hand and watching the cash register made a difference on three of the items I bought.
All told, I spent $12.08 this week and checked several things off my list.

Now, as for all these extra crayons and erasers I wound up with, I'm donating them. KOMO 4 and STAR 101.5 are partnering with Bartell Drugs to help disadvantaged kids get the school supplies they need.

You can donate here at Fisher Plaza starting now, and at any Bartell's from August 10-30th. The supplies will go to World Vision's two Puget Sound storehouses where teachers can pick up free school supplies for their students in need.

Thanks to everyone who's commented or emailed me with shopping suggestions. Keep them coming!