It is now August which means the kiddos will be going back to school soon and while you may have transitioned to the green living style during the summer vacation how can you continue this green life after school starts, after the busy schedules resume and the long days of homework are coming in the door? Well, allow us to help you continue your progress into the green lifestyle.
First, if your child does not ride the bus and instead gets picked up and dropped off daily, maybe look into starting a student carpool group, each parent can take a week of taking the kids to and from school and each week you would alternate. This can save gas, emissions of pollutants into the environment and even time if it’s your off week.
Next, skip the baggies and paper bags for packed lunches, instead find a nice lunch box, tote, or insulated bag your student likes and use that. You can also purchase stainless steel water bottles and even cloth baggies and napkins. Send a set of travel bamboo silverware and you have a completely “green” lunch packed and ready to be enjoyed!
When looking at the back to school shopping try to pick the items that are in recycled packaging or even no packaging at all. The less waste you have the better for our environment. If you can go shopping with a friend and split it all, then you will only have to purchase one large pack of pencils instead of two, saving some excess trash.
Ditch the screen and spend time in nature. As a former high school student (I know we have all been there at SOME point) the first thing you want to do when you arrive home from an 8 hour school day is grab a snack and hit the couch, but if the weather is nice send the kids outside even if it’s to eat their snack by the swing or on the porch. Along with this comes conservation, turn lights out when a room is not in use and do not let the water run, these too are small ways anyone of any age can be a little more green.
Don’t ditch last year’s supplies just yet, you may be able to reuse and repurpose those items such as crayons, binders, folders, pencil boxes, etc. All you need is a little time and imagination and I am sure you can find a way to reuse or repurpose some items from last year.