Back to (Green) School

Now, I love my child -- seriously, I do. She is the light of my day, the apple of my eye, the wind beneath my wings.

Ahem.

That said, I admit that there's a part of me that's (possibly a tad too) excited about her starting preschool in a few weeks. Yes, some of my excitement has to do with all the new experiences that will be open to her when she starts school with her new friends and her new teachers. An inappropriate amount of it has to do with all the new experiences that'll be open to me, given that I'll now have three hours every day all to myself -- can you imagine? A cup of coffee in peace, people! Taking a shower in peace! Surfing online ...

... but I digress.

But if I'm being totally honest, there's a small, slightly nerdy part of me that's looking forward to buying the school supplies. Ever since I was the kid, I loved buying school supplies -- it meant a whole new school year! New things to be learned! Every blank notepage or unopened pen was just filled with promise for me.

Clearly, I didn't have many friends.

In any event, the time has come for those of us with kids to start stocking up and preparing for the semester to come. And since we're going to be shopping anyway (and, ostensibly, every moment with our children is a moment to teach them...cue violins), we might as well do our back-to-school shopping with the environment in mind. And luckily, there are lots of resources that can help.

The always great Green Guide (see badge in the right sidebar) has a great article on the best sources of sustainable school supplies -- everything from recycled-paper notebooks to the lowest toxicity markers to the best lunch box for your kid. Definitely worth checking out -- the suppliers listed all have websites, but check to ensure that they ship to your country -- not all of them ship outside of the United States (though many do).

And speaking of lunch boxes, Time.com has an article featuring the best lunch and snack choices to fill them -- just add "organic" in front of the items suggested, and your kid will be well and properly fueled.

And finally, if you're zealous enough to actually organize a workspace for your little one to do his or her homework, you could always spring for this fabulous recycled felt organizer from Vivavi. That said, if, like me, that's a bit rich for your blood (and/or your kid, like mine, goes through Honey Nut Cheerios like they're going out of style), check out these cool cereal box organizers you can make courtesy Martha Stewart. And instead of using the contact paper Martha calls for, I bet you can think of more creative ways to decorate these that'll use what you already have around the house.

Happy shopping everyone. Here's hoping our kids have a great school year.

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Comments

[Daisy]

And don't forget the "re-use" possibility! As your kids get older, they will already own some of what's on the list, such as scissors and rulers and pencil cases. I'll admit, I was rather proud that I went through my entire graduate program (Masters degree in Education) without ever buying a notebook or binder; I used my children's old ones.