THE SEPTEMBER GREEN HOMES CHALLENGE

MAKE BACK-TO-SCHOOL TIME BACK-TO-GREEN TIME

If your summer was anything like mine, it wasn't quite as green as you wanted it to be. Oh sure, you may have biked a little more, but road trips to see friends or visit the beach didn't exactly reduce your carbon footprint. Nor did all those take-out meals with the kids. Not to mention running the air conditioning a little more than strictly necessary. You may have even cooled down with bottled water!

Well, now is the time for a fresh start. Green Homes will help you green your back to school experience. Let's start with the school supply list. Unless the old ones are torn and unusable, you can reduce your consumption by skipping the new back pack and lunch box (A reusable lunch box is a sustainability must. If you didn't have one last year, move this to the top of the list.) For ideas on how to pack a more eco-friendly lunch, check out Wastefreelunches.org.

Many of your basic school supplies come in environmentally friendly options. Most of the big retailers now sell notebooks, paper, and other supplies made of recycled content. Your local Office Max, Office Depot and Staples (and their on-line counterparts) all have eco-friendly alternatives for your paper needs. If you look a little harder, you can even find pens, pencils, highlighters and markers made of recycled content. Go to greenearthofficesupply.stores.yahoo.net/index.html for eco-cool items like pencils made from recycled jeans and old money. However, their most eco-friendly option is the EarthWrite pencil. The older version is made from 100% recycled paper, the newer ones from reclaimed wood.

Once you've stocked up on school supplies, time to jump in the car and head to the mall for new school clothes - right? Wrong. Many people don't realize that on-line shopping is the more eco-friendly option. Although shipping items by truck or plane has an environmental cost, it is less impactful than the hundreds of separate trips to the mall that consolidating all those items into one load eliminates. If your child goes to a school that requires uniforms, odds are it has a uniform exchange program. Take advantage of this wallet and earth-saving option. Drop off your old uniforms and pick up some new ones. This is the basic Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, people!

Speaking of the Environmental 3R's, what are you doing with all the rest of your old stuff from the last school year? We've already talked about the back packs and lunch boxes, see if your child can reuse her old calculator, ruler, compass, protractor, binder and book covers as well. The left-over pages in last year's notebooks make for great scratch paper. Reducing consumption and reusing what you can makes sense for both the environment and your bottom line ; especially in these challenging economic times. That leaves the "recycle" bit. Make sure you are properly disposing of old electronics. Most municipalities have drop-off centers or collection dates for used electronics. http://www.nrdc.org/cities/recycling/gelectronicsrecycling. Your school might even be interested in some of your old equipment. Did you know that your old sports equipment and gym shoes can find new homes as well?


Okay, so your child is all geared up. You've donated or recycled your old stuff. Now it's off to school. But how to get there? This is a BIG part of our September challenge: at least one day a week have your children walk, scooter or ride their bikes to school. Transportation accounts for 66% of all U.S. oil consumption. (U.S. Dept. of Energy.) And eighty-eight percent of all trips are by car. If your child can walk or bike even more than once a week, the health and environmental benefits will quickly add up. There are psychic benefits as well, nothing clears their heads for a day of learning like a little exercise and fresh air.



So there it is: the September Green Homes Challenge. Green your back-to-school experience. On an on-going basis, have your child bike or walk to school at least once a week, but more often if possible. Keep checking here for tips on how to green your child's school days.



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