There’s nothing easy about back-to-school shopping. The school-supply lists, finding just the right clothes and tracking down products to make your life easier can seem like a herculean task.

And believe me, I’m no Greek demigod.

This morning on 9News, I’ll be talking about cool back-to-school products at 6:40 a.m. and at 8:40 a.m. on My20, we’ll be doing a fashion show with all the latest trends (see them here). I’ve done some digging and here are my top six finds for products

Products

1. iLuv Vibe Dual Alarm Clock with Bed Shaker for iPod®, $37.59
If you have a hard-to-wake-up child like mine, you will LOVE the iLuv Vibe Dual Alarm Clock with Bed Shaker for iPod® from Target. What makes it so cool? Not only does it include digital dual alarm clock and a universal iPod dock but it has an innovative bed shaker feature that vibrates a bed or pillow to wake even the heaviest sleepers. It features 7 different ways to wake up, stores up to 10 programmable favorite radio stations, and has a 10-step LCD dimmer plus a large, easy-to-read display. It plays and charges your iPod, and it has an auxiliary input for any audio device with a 3.5mm jack. Available in blue and pink…because boys need to wake-up, too.

2. Shoes–Bright, fun colors from Little Feet
According to Little Feet–one of Denver’s best children’s shoe boutiques–the brighter the better when it comes to a canvas or mesh sneaker! Colors like lime green, neon yellow, purple and blazing blue are popping all over the place. The trends for fashion boots are buttons, bows, flower appliques and textures like smooth patent leathers.
Featured: The Merrell Moc Burst Mary Jane is a suede sneaker Mary Jane-style, suitable for dress, playground and even gym class with its non-marking sole. Available in Fuchsia, Bright Purple, and Basic Black; toddler size 4 – girls size 3. Priced from $49.95-$59.95.
K-Swiss Vertical Tubes The Vertical Tubes are the latest trend from K-Swiss. Available from Little Feet in lots of fun bright colors like hot pink and lime green, and in both velcro and lace-up options its non-marking sole makes it perfect for gym class, too. This sneaker has a great lightweight, minimalist feel, perfect for the kid who is always on the run. Available in sizes Toddler size 7 to Big Kids size 4. Priced from $39.95-$56.95. BONUS: BE SURE TO ENTER OUR $50 LITTLE FEET GIVEAWAY!

3. Labels–KIDECals, starting at $17

If this is the year you’re going to be organized look no further than KiDECALS, which started as a wall decal company founded by Boulder mother, Hilary Chandler. Where she saw the need to easily and affordably decorate children’s rooms, she also saw the need to quickly and easily identify children’s belongings for daycare and school. KiDECALS’ waterproof name labels, which are dishwasher and washing machine proof, quickly became popular in Colorado and are now sold in every US state and Canada. They are easily customizable, have many cool designs with oodles of options such as photo labels, allergy alerts and even luggage tags.

4. Kikkerland UL01 White Electroman Multi-Outlet, $17.99
Gone are the days of boring old power strips for today’s tech-obsessed young people. When I asked my friend what her daughter wanted for college, she said all her friends are coveting Target’s White Electroman Multi-Outlet who is ready to lend a helping hand (or leg). You can plug in up to four different items at a time with a maximum 15 Amps. and 120 Volts. Plug Electroman into any safe, grounded outlet (maximum 1800 Watts) and the green light indicates when power is running to arms and legs. There is a 15 Amp circuit breaker/on-off switch with reset feature for overloads or short circuits.

5. Lunch Totes from Mixed Bag Designs. Starting at $11
If there’s something every kid needs, it’s a lunchbox and I was thrilled to learn about MixedBagDesigns.com. Not only do they offer eye-catching products including reusable grocery bags, lunch totes, and casserole totes made from recycled polypropylene (the same plastic used in yogurt containers) but they are also set-up to do fundraising. The colorful catalog offers a variety of Mixed Bag Designs helps organizations achieve their fundraising goals by offering a versatile and attractive product that gets people excited about supporting the cause. Anything is better than cookie-dough sales.

6. Rubbermaid LunchBlox Sandwich Kit, $10.29
And of course, you need something in those lunch totes and I love Target’s LunchBlox Sandwich Kit. The pieces of the lunch blox can be configured to fit any lunch bag and snap into the lunch blox blue ice to keep your lunch chilled for up to four hours. The kit comes with a sandwich container, two sauce containers that are perfect for small side items and one side container that is great for small portions or items like pasta or potato salad.