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Green Tips for Back to School

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We are nearing the end of August, which means all across the country parents and children alike are preparing for the upcoming school year. That’s right, back to school time. Time to stock up on school supplies and maybe a few new outfits before the first bell rings. While a new school year is usually an exciting time of year, it can also be pretty stressful as a parent. To help you prepare for this upcoming year, Greenability Magazine, has put together a few tips to help make this school year a little easier and a little greener!

12 eco-friendly back-to-school tips

Go back to school in style with a sustainable and economical pack of supplies.

As summer fades into fall, the hustle and bustle of back to school shopping begins. The pressure to buy new clothes and school supplies, along with healthy daily lunch prep can be tedious and time consuming for the eco-conscious shopper. With a little planning and these back-to-school tips, your fall transition can be easy on you and the environment.

School Lunch prep

il_570xN.355291141_it791. This school year, skip the disposable plastic sandwich bags and choose BPA-free reusable containers instead.

2. Pack a washable cloth napkin, thermos and reusable utensils.

3. Pack lunches the night before, and choose fresh fruit over prepackaged food.

4. When buying fruits and vegetables for school lunches, support local farmers markets.

5. Use a stainless steel or up-cycled lunch box.

School supplies

6. When buying supplies, resist the urge to buy in bulk. Instead, find last year’s unused school supplies and look for items that can be reused.kids-recycling-photo

7. Designate a storage space for school supplies at home to prevent overbuying every year.

8. Buy recycled paper, and encourage your kids to start recycling now to make it a life-long practice.

9.Consider using cardboard or canvas binders instead of standard plastic binders.

10. Choose refillable or biodegradable pens and recycled pencils.

Big purchases

11. If this is the year for a desk or computer for your student, consider buying used or repurposed items. Surplus Exchange, 518 Santa Fe St., Kansas City, MO, sells gently used and refurbished computers, laptops, iPads, tablets, printers and other electronics. There’s also a big supply of desks, chairs, file cabinets and other furniture.

Back-to-school clothes

12. The first day of school outfit can be a big decision for kids and parents each year. Make sure your students know that trendy and fashionable clothes can be found in thrift shops and second-hand stores. Always check that each potential purchase is in its best condition, unless you plan on repurposing and restyling it. YouTube is a great resource for thrift store inspiration with “Thrift Store Hauls” and tips for finding the best quality and deals on kids and adult clothes. If you are not in need of school clothes, use the thrift store as an accessory haven for other back-to-school needs.

Make Sure Your Child’s School Is Fragrance-Free

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When any parent sends their child off to school, they are doing so trusting that their child will be safe. There are a number of concerns parents have while their kids are at school. Things like….”Are they getting the best possible education?”, “Are they making friends?”, “Are they being bullied?”, etc…. The last thing a parent should have to worry about is the quality of air in their child’s school. Poor air quality can lead to a number of allergies and/or respiratory problems. The air quality in schools can be negatively affected by what type of cleaning products they use. Cleaning products with fragrances can be particularly harmful. Luckily, there may be some things you can do as a parent to help. In this article from Green Cleaning Magazine, they give 6 tips on how to help keep your child’s classroom fragrance-free.

 

6 Tips for a Fragrance-Free Back to School Zone

back to school

It’s back to school season when every parent puts a focus on protecting their child’s health in the classroom. One of the often-overlooked areas, however, is the presence (and prevalence) of air-contaminating fragrances.

More than 53 million children and 6 million adults in the United States spend significant amounts of time in more than 120,000 school buildings across the country. Studies have shown, however, that certain cleaning products used in the school setting, such as industrial-strength cleaning products and room deodorizers, contain chemicals identified as potential asthmagens (triggers of asthma symptoms), allergens, carcinogens, and air contaminants. In fact, about 25 percent of chemicals in school cleaning products are considered toxic—and they also contribute to poor indoor air quality. Women and girls are especially vulnerable to fragrance: with studies showing that that they are two to three times more likely to have fragrance allergies than men and boys.

The good news is that schools are becoming increasingly aware that healthy and environmentally-friendly facilities foster academic achievement and staff well-being. And, as states have begun to enact air-quality policies, many more eco-friendly products have become available for school use. To date, ten states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation to advance green cleaning in schools and more eco-friendly products have become available for school use.

How can you encourage your own school to limit the fragrances in your child’s environment? Here are six solid tips from Women for a Healthy Environment (WHE).

1. Encourage your school to purchase janitorial supplies with green cleaning in mind. Many manufacturers and retailers use terms such as “environmentally safe,” “green,” and “non-toxic” to boost sales. Some of these claims are valid but many are not. Choose products that are rated “green” by independent third-party organizations.

2. Encourage your child’s school to ask its employees to refrain from wearing scented products (especially ones where the sole purpose is to produce a scent).

3. Ask your principal to designate classrooms and other areas as non-scented/fragrance-free zones.

4. Share resources that your school may use to educate employees and parents, such as this WHE Fragrance Free Toolkit and this poster about fragrance sensitivity that can be placed around the school.

5. Discuss a fragrance-free school policy with your district. Click on the link to the resource guide above for examples of fragrance-free school policies.

6. Provide triclosan-free and fragrance-free hand sanitizers and chlorine-free and fragrance-free hand wipes to your teacher for use in the classroom.

Back To School The Green Way

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Keeping with the whole “back to school theme” (my last post was about preventing head lice in kids), I thought we’d take a look at how to send the kids back to school the green way. In this article from Big Spring Environmental, they literally show you the ABC’s of going back to school green. You are given tips on things like, how to cut back on waste at lunch, eco friendly supplies, and better ways to commute to and from school.

The Green Way Back to School

School waste

©Ethical Ocean

It’s hard to believe that summer is coming to an end and it’s time for students to head back to the classroom. Why not make preparations for the new school year fun and purposeful by “thinking green?” Stop for a minute and think about how much waste goes on in schools with just the notebook paper, plastic sandwich bags and paper sacks that are discarded. According to Ethical Ocean, 35 to 45 percent of trash in the solid waste stream comes from institutions like schools. Of that share, 40 percent of the total waste stream is composed of paper products. Big Spring Environmental has put together a short lesson on back-to-school shopping and planning to help students and parents reduce this and other waste.

The ABC’s of Back-to-School Green

Pencils

Credit: TreeSmart

A is for Apple: Okay, so they may not be Macs from Apple Computer, but many schoolsare starting to incorporate computers and online schoolwork and textbooks into the classroom, which will significantly cut down on paper waste over time. One of the first and largest computer initiatives in history was launched by the Huntsville City School System last year and it is a great model for leaving a smaller carbon footprint. When back-to-school shopping, buy paper products including notebook paper, notebooks, sticky notes and tissue that are made from recyclable materials.  There are many interesting and eco friendly school supplies that are great for back-to-school needs.

B is for Boxes: In addition to paper waste in schools, there is also the issue of lunch packaging waste. According to Ethical Ocean, the average school age child throws away 67 pounds of lunch packaging waste each year, which amounts to 18,760 pounds per average elementary school! That is a staggering amount of waste that could be reduced dramatically by using lunch boxes and reusable Tupperware containers. Also, putting multiple food items such as fruits and vegetables in the same container adds to the reduction in packaging waste.

C is for Clothing: One of the biggest costs of returning to school, besides school supplies, is new clothing. Most students want to look good for their return to campus but there are other ways to look good without breaking the bank, while reducing clothing waste. Why not throw a clothing swap party for the kids? Everyone brings clothes they they no longer want to trade for gently used items. It’s simple, fun and a great way to recycle clothing and get a new personal style. Shopping and donating at a consignment store is another way to add new style the “green way,” plus you earn money by donating the clothing you no longer want!

Carpool sign

(c) Can Stock Photo

All good lessons need a teacher to present them, but our “T” word is transportation. The task of transporting the kids to and from school continues long after the back-to-school wave has crashed. Walking or biking to school instead of driving or riding in a car saves greenhouse gases from being emitted and gives the student more exercise. Being conscious of how your actions affect the environment can help students realize that healthy habits and going green can go hand in hand.  Carpooling is another way to reduce carbon emissions. It’s a great lifestyle practice to “go green” as often as you can and incorporate it into more aspects of your life. Other people will catch on and the reduction of waste and greenhouse gases will be more noticeable. Go green when going back to school this year and help spread the word that the green way is the best way!

 

Tips To Prevent Head Lice In Kids

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Back to school time can be a very exciting time for a child. As a parent, it can also be a rather stressful time for you. Besides your worries that your child is safe, doing well in class, and making friends, there is another issue which is sometimes forgotten about at school until it’s too late… head lice. Head lice outbreaks are fairly common but a problem nontheless. In this article from Backup Care, you are given several tips on how to prevent your children from getting head lice and/or transfering it from one child to the next.

5 Tips for Preventing Head Lice in Kids

liceThe news of a head lice outbreak at school is one of the most common, albeit most upsetting, aspects of raising children. Some schools seem to have an outbreak every year, and transmission is common among kids who come into close contact with one another through play and socialization. While there’s little you can do to limit kids’ exposure to head lice, there are a few things you can do to reduce their chances of bringing an infestation home.

  • Talk About Appropriate Versus Inappropriate Sharing – After spending your kids’ early years impressing upon them the importance of sharing, the last thing that you probably want to do is start talking about times when they shouldn’t share. This is, however, one of your most effective lines of defense when an outbreak of head lice is ravaging the population of your child’s school. Make a point of talking about appropriate sharing versus inappropriate sharing with your child before messages come home about reported cases of head lice to minimize her chance of bringing these little critters home.
  • Check Kids’ Hair Regularly – You should regularly check your kids’ hair for lice, even if there have been no reported outbreaks of lice in their school. It’s especially wise to do so after sleepovers and overnight play dates to reduce the chances of your kids’ bedclothes and the rest of the house becoming invested by any nits or lice they may have picked up at a slumber party.
  • Buy Hair Products That Do Double-Duty – There are shampoos, conditioners and detangling products on the market designed to prevent or lessen the likelihood of a head lice infestation, and many are made from all-natural substances. Look for these products when your kids start attending school, and just make the switch a permanent one while they’re still young and unclear about how lice are spread.
  • Maintain an Open Line of Communication With Teachers and School Administrators – Your child may have a letter sent home from school detailing a recent reported case of head lice or an ongoing outbreak, but that letter may also never make it to your hands since it probably won’t need to be signed and returned. Making sure that you’re maintaining an open line of communication with your child’s teachers and school administrators can help you get the message about possible infestations when the news breaks, helping you to contain the situation if your child has been exposed and prompting you to check for signs of lice.
  • Help Older Kids Understand How Lice Spread – Small children may become terrified at the idea of tiny bugs living on their head, and may not yet be able to grasp just where they come from or how kids spread them to one another. Older kids, however, can understand that head-to-head contact, sharing hats and hair products and other behavior of this kind can help one person transmit head lice to another. Make sure that, when they’re old enough to process the information without panicking, your kids know how head lice spread and what they can do to minimize their exposure whenever possible.

Should all of your efforts prove to be in vain, there is a wider selection of treatment options available now than in years past. All-natural treatments are even gaining ground in many circles, though some products may require more than one application to be truly effective. Be sure that you’re not only treating kids’ heads, but also their beds, clothing and personal items to stamp out an infestation, should one take root.

  • Talk About Appropriate Versus Inappropriate Sharing – After spending your kids’ early years impressing upon them the importance of sharing, the last thing that you probably want to do is start talking about times when they shouldn’t share. This is, however, one of your most effective lines of defense when an outbreak of head lice is ravaging the population of your child’s school. Make a point of talking about appropriate sharing versus inappropriate sharing with your child before messages come home about reported cases of head lice to minimize her chance of bringing these little critters home.
  • Check Kids’ Hair Regularly – You should regularly check your kids’ hair for lice, even if there have been no reported outbreaks of lice in their school. It’s especially wise to do so after sleepovers and overnight play dates to reduce the chances of your kids’ bedclothes and the rest of the house becoming invested by any nits or lice they may have picked up at a slumber party.
  • Buy Hair Products That Do Double-Duty – There are shampoos, conditioners and detangling products on the market designed to prevent or lessen the likelihood of a head lice infestation, and many are made from all-natural substances. Look for these products when your kids start attending school, and just make the switch a permanent one while they’re still young and unclear about how lice are spread.
  • Maintain an Open Line of Communication With Teachers and School Administrators – Your child may have a letter sent home from school detailing a recent reported case of head lice or an ongoing outbreak, but that letter may also never make it to your hands since it probably won’t need to be signed and returned. Making sure that you’re maintaining an open line of communication with your child’s teachers and school administrators can help you get the message about possible infestations when the news breaks, helping you to contain the situation if your child has been exposed and prompting you to check for signs of lice.
  • Help Older Kids Understand How Lice Spread – Small children may become terrified at the idea of tiny bugs living on their head, and may not yet be able to grasp just where they come from or how kids spread them to one another. Older kids, however, can understand that head-to-head contact, sharing hats and hair products and other behavior of this kind can help one person transmit head lice to another. Make sure that, when they’re old enough to process the information without panicking, your kids know how head lice spread and what they can do to minimize their exposure whenever possible.

Should all of your efforts prove to be in vain, there is a wider selection of treatment options available now than in years past. All-natural treatments are even gaining ground in many circles, though some products may require more than one application to be truly effective. Be sure that you’re not only treating kids’ heads, but also their beds, clothing and personal items to stamp out an infestation, should one take root.

 

Organize Your Kids’ Closet

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When it comes to getting your kids ready to head out to school, I bet one of the biggest issues in the morning is what they are going to wear. This problem can become easier if their closet is in order. Well, thanks to this article  from our friends at Housekeeping, you can get the kids’ closet organized before they go back to school.

20 Blogs with Tips for Organizing your Kids’ Closet before Sending Them Back to School

While it may seem like summer vacation just started, it’s already time to think about getting the kids ready to go back to school. One way to get your kids ready is by organizing their closets.  Organizing their closets will help you assess what your kids will be able to use going into the new school year and what needs to be replaced when you go back-to-school shopping. These 20 blogs will help you sort through clothes and figure out how to best organize everything.

Sort

The first step in any organization project is to assess what you have in the given area that you are working with. To begin tackling closet organization you’ll need to have your child try on all of his clothes; this will help you determine which items you are keeping and which should be donated or discarded. Take a look at these five blog posts to get more tips on sorting through the stuff in your child’s closet.

Define Spaces

All closets are different, so it’s a good idea to take measurements to determine what you have room for before you begin buying shelves and other organizational tools to put in the space. These six blog entries will give you plenty of ideas on how to define the space you have in your child’s closet.

Use Bins and Boxes         

Kids often have trouble folding things and keeping them tidy, so having boxes and bins for toy storage will allow your kids to help put things away without worrying about if it’s neatly in there or not. Check out these six blog articles for more tips on how you can use bins and boxes to organize your kids’ closets.

Label Everything

It can be difficult to remember what’s in each bin or box, especially when they’re above eye level or if you aren’t using clear containers. This is when labeling comes in handy.  Read through these six blog posts for tips on labeling items in the closet to help keep everything organized and accessible.