School Supplies and Uniform List

Who this is for

What the school asks for, set against what is already in the drawer. Each row holds an item, how many are needed and how many you have; the sheet works out what is left to buy and what it will cost at the price you write in.

Parents and carers kitting a child out for a new school year, a new school or a growth spurt, and anyone who has bought a third pencil case because nobody checked the first two.

What this helps you track

• Every item on the school's list, grouped as uniform, PE kit, stationery, books or other
• How many of each are needed and how many you already have that still fit
• What is actually left to buy, worked out rather than guessed
• What the shopping will cost at the prices you write in, item by item and in total
• Which items have been bought and which are still outstanding

How to use it

1. Write the child, the school, the year and the term at the top.
2. Copy the items from your school's own list, one per row, and choose the group each belongs to so the sheet can be sorted by it.
3. Write the size or any detail — colour, logo, model — and the number needed.
4. Count what you already have that fits and is fit to wear, and write that in the have column.
5. The to-buy column takes the have figure off the needed figure, and the cost column multiplies it by the price you enter. Totals appear at the foot in the browser version and the workbook.
6. Tick items off as they are bought and keep the sheet for next year, when most of the list will be the same.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Does it tell me what the school requires?

No. Uniform and equipment lists differ by school and change from year to year, so copy the items from what your school sets and use the sheet to keep track.

Where do the prices come from?

From you — a shop, a website, the school's own supplier, last year's receipt. Nothing is printed in, and the cost column simply multiplies whatever you write.

What if I have more than I need of something?

The to-buy column shows nothing rather than a negative number, so a surplus of socks does not reduce the cost of the blazer.

Can I keep one sheet for two children?

You can, using the detail column for the name, but the totals will be combined. A sheet per child keeps the sizes and the cost separate.