How to be More Eco-Friendly this School Season

Summer's over, fall is now in full swing, and you’re likely now back to the daily school routine, if you have  kids. Now that you have a few weeks under your belt we figured it would be a good time to consider how you can improve the process and apply some additional eco-friendly steps to be just a bit "greener" this school season

Get your child involved in packing their lunch 

More than 20% of food produced in the USA goes to waste and when you help your kids pack their food you help them to become conscious about the environment. When your kids pack their lunch, they tend to waste less food because they are more invested in the process, and feel they played a part in preparing their meal.

Depending on their age (10 and up), your child may know their way around the kitchen, and be able to put together a healthy lunch, assuming there are healthy options to choose from. If you have a younger child, in order to speed up the process its best to present them options, ie. “would you like carrots, or cucumber?” “do you want a hummus wrap? Or cheese and berries?” By giving them choices, and having them put their lunch in a container the night before they’ll be more willing to cooperate and eat their lunch. Healthy foods, happy kids, and less waste is a win win!  

Use re-usable containers and skip single-use plastics

Here’s a good question, why should food that takes you 2-3 minutes to consume be packaged in wrappers that take up to 100 or more years to decompose? In many schools, using eco-friendly reusable containers has become an expectation, and there are so many cool options available these days, from bags and wraps made of beeswax, bamboo containers, water bottles, metal straws and stylish lunch boxes, bags and bento boxes made from sustainable materials.   

Try the capsule wardrobe approach when shopping for your kid's clothes 

A capsule wardrobe is the perfect solution for busy moms and dads who want to cut out all the kids clothing clutter, reduce unnecessary spending on new clothes, and become more minimal and low-waste. Also, it just makes your life EASIER.

Creating a capsule wardrobe for my twin toddlers came with a lot of advantages and frankly it was just a lot of fun. I interacted with my littles and got to learn more on their fashion sense and what type of outfits they really loved.   You could also buy second-hand clothes from various stores and it would cause a great positive impact on the environment! Check out our recent post to learn about how you can build a capsule wardrobe for your child. 

Walk with your kids to school 

If the option is there, and you live close enough why not consider walking your kids to school? It’s a nice way to start the morning off where you can catch up, talk about plans and goals for the day, and get a little exercise in too. If doing this every day seems a bit tedious, aim for even 2 or 3 days a week. Every little bit counts, and you and your little one will grow to enjoy this morning routine together.  

Some final thoughts on how to be more eco-friendly this school season...

When it comes to adopting more environmentally conscious habits, we always advocate that every little bit counts, and making small steps towards greener practices is better than trying to tackle everything,  burning out, and retreating to old ways.  Introducing a few of these ideas into your weekly routine becomes easier over time. Just give yourself time to get there and you’ll start to realize the amazing benefits it will have on your life, your family’s life, and the health of our planet!  

Live well,
LB