Back to School! Huzzah!

Here’s hoping that this school year is a whole lot different than last year.  Kiddos will be filling classrooms, packing their desks with Trapper Keepers and love notes, trading lunches, and fighting over who gets to sit by who on the bus.  The halls will be bustling with squeaky sneakers and shuffling papers.

Some of us have converted to devout online supply shoppers; others still like the thrill of a good Target run.  Either way, you can find ways to make this post-pandemic (fingers crossed) school year a little easier on the environment.

Chances are, you’re going to be working from a supply list.  If you’re up for it, check in with your child’s teacher before you buy.  My kindergarteners had 3 bottles of Elmer’s glue on their supply list last year.  After spending a few minutes envisioning my daughter chugging the glue straight and my son rubbing it in his hair….I messaged the teacher.  “3 bottles of glue?  For kindergarten?  Really?”.  Her response, “Oh no.  We don’t use glue. I don’t know why that’s on the list.”  Right, okay.  No glue.  Maybe there are other things that have just been left on for nostalgia or even an oversight.

Second step.  Shop your house.  Do you have anything left over from last year or from rejected craft projects that never quite got finished?  Gather them up!  Clear out last year’s home school desks if you haven’t already.  Raid the junk drawer.  Collect what you have and cross any matches off your shopping list.

Now it’s time to shop.  Whether you’re shopping in store or online, only get what you need.  You should also look for products with as little packaging as possible.  Ask for online items to be shipped in one box instead of several small packages, and choose items that are made with recycled content whenever possible.

A few simple steps can put a fresh, green coat on your school shopping.