Sunday, August 10, 2008

Back to School...but this time come back Green.

(Robert Doisneau Photograph - School Kids)

I was in Wally world the other day...yes Am would disapprove :/, but I was there as I am too often...and it was unbelievable the number of people that were crammed into the school supplies aisle... as well as the entire store. I mean I was thinking that maybe big stores should think about having shopping road rules, you know...
one way aisles
4-way stop signs at the end of the aisles
maybe on the wider aisles they could even have a passing lane if you're feeling speedy & adventurous.

anyhoo, so it was crowded, and people were buying all the school supplies for their kids (that they most likely already have sitting at home).
it's back to school yes, but back to school doesn't have to mean...go to the store and make sure you become high consumers while spending ridiculous amounts of money on supplies you already have.
and if you do need paper, why not buy recycled paper for a change?

So don't venture into those high traffic aisles just yet...
make a list of the things you REALLY need.
Reuse= sharpen those pencils you have, test those pens, reuse the lunchboxes you bought last year...dig out those old boxes of crayons and pick out the best in each making yourself an "almost new" box. sharpen your coloring pencils, share some supplies with a friend...

here are some helpful websites to help you make your Back to School experience a greener and smarter one.

Green Earth Office Supply Stores.

Green Field Paper Company.com

and what about Lunchboxes?
(100% recycled cotton lunch bag from reusablebags.com)
try buying a reusable water bottle, you will save yourself some money while being enviromentally friendly.
include more organic nutrition with less packaging...give them leftovers in these
-use cloth napkins and reusable utensils
-Laptop Lunchboxes
-Other Lunchbox options at Reusablebags.com

other helpful articles:
School Supplies for the Stingy
Saving Advice
and this entire website is excellent for any mom. dad
Nature Mom
-Lu

3 comments:

Kimberly said...

Love this post, Lu, as school supplies and recycling are two of my favourite things.

Regarding the reusable water bottles, I HIGHLY recommend the Sigg stainless steel bottles. We use them all the time.

I have the highly fashionable and functional eco themed one "Friends don’t let friends drink from plastic" at work. Fi loves drinking from her Sigg kid-sized "Paddington" themos. I like there is no plastic taste and no harmful BPAs.

I am going to check out the green office supply sites for the next time I'm out.

Cheers to another great post! xx

Kimberly said...

Hey...I'm doing better than I thought.. I went over to Nature Mom's blog and discovered that Fiona's lunch bag is also environmentally friendly! She has one of the Crocodile Creek green bags.

lu-n-am said...

haha you were already doing good miss kimberly, if only everyone did the same as you! that blog is great~ :)

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