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Ah, summer! Baseball and sunshine, lemonade stands ... and back to school?

Yep. Summer or not, it's time to think about ways to save money shopping for back-to-school clothing and school supplies.

Hang onto your wallets! With the rise of "back to school" as a two-month marketing exercise for retailers, coupled with cash-strapped school districts which have pushed more of the supply burden onto students' families, it can be a tough job to get the kids outfitted without breaking the bank.

Try these school shopping tips to save money, time and your sanity when shopping for back to school:

Get in the know before you go

Before checking so much as a single back-to-school sales flyer, you need to know two things: what you need, and what you already have on hand.

What's on the list? No need to scrabble through cluttered drawers for last year's handouts! Local discount and office supply stores now feature checklist kiosks for nearby schools; school web sites are another good source for supply lists. Download or grab each kid's checklists, then scour the house for items already on-hand.

Shop at home first--and set up Supply Central

Any item already on-hand is a bonus freebie, so check the house for rulers and protractors, pencils and binder paper.

Set aside a supply stash. One way to conquer the "where is it?" chaos: designate a box, shelf or covered records box as School Supply Central.

This tip will serve you well throughout the year the year. Find that stash of 9-cent boxes of crayons or a few packs of binder paper from last summer's shopping spree? Tuck them into the box; the short stuff will know where to find new crayons when they need them in November.

Stick to your list--and your budget

School supply aisles look like toy departments these days, and kids have big gimme eyes for school-day flash and bling. Shop from your list to keep back-to-school spending within budget.