When the children were young, I used to promise myself I’d be one of those organised mothers with everything done and dusted for going back to school by 1 August. Did I ever do it? Not a hope. There I’d be a few days before school started, hauling three children around the shops trying to get things done. School books were the worst, with long queues and a shocking bill at the end of it.

So I’m not surprised reading Ciara Leahy’s report on page 14 that the back-to-school bill is still a headache for the majority of families. What does surprise me, though, is how few families in the mummypages.ie survey are in a position to buy generic uniforms. Only 13% of those surveyed can buy their school uniforms in the cheaper multiples. In the majority of cases, parents have no choice but to buy expensive crested uniforms and in many schools this also applies to sportswear.

I know durability is important, especially when it comes to boys’ trousers, but surely management boards need to look at the costs they impose on families with unnecessary demands regarding uniforms.

The same applies to school books. I could never get over how quickly they changed. Our primary school had a policy of passing books to the next class. It worked very well and saved a packet. But there was no such scheme in our secondary school. You could, however, leave books with O’Mahony’s in Limerick and they would attempt to sell them on secondhand.

I made a policy of saving the Children’s Allowance for three months beforehand and even though it was a fine fist of money, it never stretched to cover everything.

Still, it’s a long way from the uniform that had to be bought for me when I was a day pupil at St Mary’s College, Arklow. It consisted of a pleated kilt and crested jumper, plus a blazer and a gabardine coat. The only saving grace was that I didn’t grow much and the gabardine and blazer lasted me the full five years.

I had a wool skirt and every Sunday night I used to put long tacking stitches along the pleats to hold them in place while I ironed them in. If this wasn’t done the skirt just went into a complete bag. We also had a competition uniform of a light blue jumper and darker blue gym skirt. To be fair, both uniforms were very smart and built to last.

As a result of all the uniforms bought over the years, I never have a problem looking for something to wear around the yard. The hot press is full of whitish polo shirts that replaced shirts and ties, along with good, heavy school jumpers that won’t be worn out for years.

What also lasts for years is the contents of my makeup bag. I keep buying the same things until they are out of stock. I find makeup very expensive, so I’m really enjoying our new columnist Dolly Buckley and her down-to-earth advice. If you haven’t bought a new lippy for years or wonder whatever happened to your eyes, she’s well worth reading.

Finally, there’s still time to enter our FBD National Farmyard Awards. Put in your entry and be in with a chance of winning some great prizes. Good luck.