Back-to-School Greens

Back-to-school blues? No way. It’s a back-to-school celebration around here–well, at least from my perspective. I’m thrilled that the kids are going back to school today, September 2nd, much like the dad in this vintage Staples commercial was:

Nonetheless, if your kids are going back to school today–or have already gone back–I hope you were able to fold some green living tips into your back to school. Here’s what we’ve accomplished this year:

* No new shoes
We took a good look at my kids’ shoes and determined that none of them needed new shoes. What helps us out in this respect is this: now that my youngest is attending middle school, none of the old shoe rules apply. Before, in elementary school, kids were not allowed to wear open-toed, backless shoes, for fear they’d hurt themselves at recess. So it was all sneakers, all the time. This year? My daughter can wear Crocs, flip-flops, clogs and, if she feels like it, her sneakers.

By the way, had we determined we needed new shoes, I would have made sure we donated or recycled the shoes that were still usable but didn’t fit. Some places that take shoes include Shoes 4 Souls, which brings shoes to people in developing nations (I just wrote about this organization for one of my magazine clients), and Planet Aid. You can also send worn-out Crocs to Soles United so that they can be recycled.

* Limit new clothing purchases
While we did some of our back-to-school shopping at the outlets in New England, the truth is we’ve been picking up new clothing all summer long, when we had coupons or stores were having sales. Also, my daughters have learned they can really stretch their bucks when they buy used clothing, since we’ve been making them spend their own money on what we deem “frivolous” clothing purchases. So a lot of what they’ll be wearing for back to school came from teen-oriented resale franchise Plato’s Closet, where my fashion-conscious 6th grader was able to pick up the Abercrombie, American Eagle and Hollister labels she covets without breaking the bank. And my graphic-tee-loving 8th grader was able to find vintage-looking t-shirts for just a few dollars each. Also, I’ve taken to taking them to our local Goodwill shop, which helps to support a good cause, and they’ve struck fashion gold there, too. (By the way, having just discovered that our local Goodwill has a drive-through donation window, we might have also brought any used shoes or clothing that the girls weren’t interested in there to donate.)

* Reuse various school supplies
As I’ve written about a few times, we have a school supply box, which is where we put any leftover school supplies at the end of the previous school year. It’s also where I place school supplies that I’m able to purchase at ridiculously low prices, such as the Staples penny sale, during which I could get a six-pack of spiral notebooks for something like 10 cents. Well, we didn’t need six notebooks this year, so you can be sure we’ll save them for next year. Anyway, much of what my daughters are bringing in their backpacks to school today came from that supply box. We needed to purchase very little to start off their school year.

Speaking of backpacks, both of my daughters are taking the same backpacks to school this year that they did last year. In fact, my eldest daughter is using the same backpack for the third year in a row. They are also reusing their lunchboxes and pencil boxes, too.

* Pack (almost) zero-waste lunches
In addition to reusing lunch boxes, we are working hard this year to create as little waste as possible with their lunches. Each girl will be taking a reusable water bottle with her, a sandwich in a reusable “sandwich keeper” that I got at a Tupperware party, and snacks in reusable containers that, when they begin to break or crack, are recyclable as well. And should they decide to buy something at the cafeteria, I can take comfort in knowing that their school now offers a recycling program.

I feel like we’ve got a pretty good handle on the back-to-school greens. What have you done to go green and save green as you go back to school? Post a comment so I can hear your ideas or if you’d like to share any suggestions.