How about some green tips for back to school?

September 2, 2008, 2:09 pm
Filed Under new products, random babbling | |

So who’s started back to school already? Care to share anything “green” you’ve been doing? I have to admit, this is a tough one for me. I run a really disposable kitchen. There are so many things we can do with our kids to encourage being environmentally sound, but school & lunches - I’m so bad at this. I buy individual sized snacks. I use plastic bags to pack a sandwich. I send the kids to school with a juice box. All those things are being harmful to the environment. Yes, I know reusable containers are the way to go, but I just don’t do it.

So, this is my vow - I’m going to try to be more “green” when it comes to my kids lunches. Here is my tip for the day:

Bento lunches - these are so cool. Bento is a single-portion take out meal or home-packed meal common in Japan. There are lots of sites out there that sell Bento containers & one I’ve been really looking at lately is LaptopLunches.com. The idea is that you have everything all together in one main container & there are no plastic bags. This is what one of the laptop lunch sets looks like:

There are some other really cool looking Bento boxes & stuff, but I don’t even want to go there. 1. I’m afraid my kids will get too caught up in the cuteness & then not eat. 2. I don’t plan on making anything but a basic, standard lunch, so any rice press or things like that just won’t get used. My biggest problem with these Bento sets is that I’m not sure I trust my kids enough yet with them. My 9yo would LOVE this, though. She’s all about organization & I *think* now that she’s starting 4th grade that she should be responsible enough to bring one of these home every day instead of accidentally throwing it out in the trash. My 6yo, however, would probably throw it out. He’s just starting 1st grade, so he has to learn how to have lunch at school, too. Maybe what I’ll do is try to make up some of my own Bento boxes with my own containers & see if that works for us. I do actually have an old container of mine that my Mom bought me a while ago. It’s partitioned & just the size of a square sandwich container, but it’s thicker because it has multiple compartments.  Anyway, so I’m rambling now.

I think the basic idea here is to try for a litterless lunch. See what you can do to make your kids have no waste after they’re finished with their lunch. (I draw the line at washable napkins, though. I just can’t send my kids to school with a cloth napkin & expect it to come home.)

And now for another sneak peek of my kit coming to SBE on Sunday:

And since going green with back to school lunches is a difficult thing for me, what I want from you are some tips. What can I do to make a litterless lunch for my kids? Give me some of your tips so I can try to make my kids’ lunches green!

Now for a chance to get my kit before it’s released. But, there are strings attached. Can you create a layout with this by Friday? If so, comment here & I’ll pick a few to get the kit in advance with the stipulation that you create a layout and post it to some galleries by Friday, Sept. 5th. Just agree to post to at least one of these galleries & I’ll pick some winners: SBE, DST or MSA. The winners will create their layout, post it & then email me with the link. So who’s up for the challenge?!


Comments

5 Comments so far

  1. Terri on September 2, 2008 3:19 pm

    I can do a layout for you, Jenn. I’m inspired by your post and will be checking out this of which you speak…Bento. hmm. I can post in SBE or DST. Not on MSA, and I don’t need any other addictions, so I’ll pass on that! Yikes!

  2. Aly in GA on September 2, 2008 4:10 pm

    I would be over the moon to do a layout for you, Jenn. I can - and do - post to all 3 galleries, but several others.

    As for a litterless lunch, I cop out and have my oldest buy lunch. My 3yo starts preschool tomorrow and, although they have to bring their lunches (he’ll be going M/W/F), all he’ll eat is peanut butter and honey sandwiches or mac n’ cheese. I can’t send the latter, and (since I trust his preschool teachers,) I’ll send his sandwich in a plastic keeper they can toss back in his lunchbox every day. Oh yeah, no paper bags here… reusable lunchboxes (which probably damaged the environment in the plants they were made, by underpaid workers, but I can’t extend the guilt that far.)

  3. Aly in GA on September 2, 2008 4:12 pm

    Um, that should be AND several others, not “but”. I usually post to 3S, DST, NDISB, MSA, SA, SBB, SBE, SM, SO, and SBG & Sun if enough products used qualify (they’re “closed” galleries)

  4. Jeannie on September 3, 2008 7:40 am

    The new kit looks like it’s going to be wonderful. Can’t wait to see the rest of it. I love the colors you’ve used.

    I was really excited to see you mention Bento lunches. I’ve been learning how to pack a bento for about a year now (you can see a couple of my first attempts in my SBE gallery). I hope that they really take off here in the States.

  5. AKrubygal on September 4, 2008 4:16 pm

    Being that it’s 9/4, I can’t commit to a LO by 9/5 but I can let you know what we do for packing lunches. My husband and I take lunch to work everyday (no kids). Tupperware/rubbermaid is our solution. Can add up $$-wise so you have to buy things a bit at a time. But, our dishwasher gets filled up (air-dry cycle!) pretty much everynight. We carry our lunches in a cloth sack with an ice-pack.

    I love your site and have bookmarked it! Keep the GREEN comin’!!

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