ESTERO, Fla. Stephanie Crockett, a mother of five, found a way to avoid the tax-free holiday checkout lines — without sacrificing too much extra money. Crockett’s children range in age from 1 to 14 and she says waiting until the weekend before school starts to do her shopping is not an option. Instead, Crockett purchases all of the supplies her children may need throughout the year, before tax-free weekend, in preparation for the upcoming school year. “I tend to start right now for next year,” Crockett said. “The filler paper, the folders, the stuff that you know halfway through the year, they’re going to need again.” Crockett looks for items on sale, as well as other deals. “They were running a huge sale at Miromar [Outlets] and we bought the boys shoes ahead of time and their backpacks,” she said. Crockett purchased 34 items before tax-free weekend, including folders, glue and everything on the Lee County kindergarten and third-grade supply list. Her grand total was $92. If she would’ve purchased the items this weekend, her total would have been $87. “It feels really good that I’ll be at home with my family. We’ll probably be at the pool hanging out and they’ll all be in the store shopping,” Crockett said. Big ticket items like laptops and clothes will be included during the tax-free holiday, which begins Friday. For a full list of tax-free items, click here.