For many, September means going back to school (and August for some of us)! And whether you have children going back to school, heading to mother’s day out for the first time or your children are still at home with you (and maybe you’re planning a few more picnics), there are lots of ways you can go green at lunchtime. Even if you don’t have children at home, the stores all seem to be full with lots of choices now is the time to make your selection while the options are greater–and often on sale too!

There are some simple ways you can choose reusable lunch storage items. Some ideas include an insulated lunch tote, reusable water or beverage tote, cute freezable ice packs and even fabric napkins. No matter what you choose, you can feel good knowing that you’re using less of our natural resources to produce items like paper and plastic bags, one-time use water bottles and even water to make ice! You’ll even notice the difference in your pocketbook when you save all that money!

How about heading up a plan to reduce waste at your child’s school? There are many ways to do this–Waste Free Lunches and Your Guide to Green both give ideas to get you off to a great start!

Laptop Lunches, Lunchopolis, and Lunch In a Box not only give you TONS of ideas of what to put IN your lunch but also options on the different types of containers you can use. We’ve actually been using some from The First Years for several years now–what I love about them is that I can pack the “cold” items separately from the others and refrigerate them until it’s time to go. They snap together so that everything is all together in the lunchbox.

Help your kids learn how to stay neat and save the environment at the same time with fabric napkins. You can make your own out of lots of fun fabrics available from fabric or craft stores. We have a variety of year-round themes as well as some seasonal ones. We make them smaller—like the size of a beverage napkin—good sizes for little hands. Not a sewer? Check out the neat options at Fabkins and order some—you can even get them monogrammed!

Lastly, our kids also take a snack to lunch and we LOVE the SnackTaxi reusable fabric bags! We even use them for sandwiches sometimes! They come in so many cute patterns and two different sizes. Best of all we’re not using tons of plastic bags that will end up in a landfill somewhere. They may seem a little expensive up front but think about how much money you will be saving on bags for sandwiches and snacks. Last year, my son’s preschool coordinated a group order to save on shipping–easy to do and helps everyone save a little more green. You can throw them in the wash or just wash with your other dishes and put out to dry (that’s what I normally do).

One more thing! I know there are all sorts of water bottles out there these days–the choices are endless but hopefully you’re using one and not buying bottled water to send in your lunches. We bought some of the Thermos Funtainers at Target this year to send milk or other healthier beverages to school and also the containers that will hold warm or cold foods. My kids are looking forward to having more options for lunches because of these containers. There are lots of kid friendly designs available this time of year but usually year ’round too (I usually find them in the Camping section during the rest of the year).

Whew! Lots of ideas for going green at lunch, huh? I hope you like some of these ideas and would love to know if you decide to try any of them! Until later…happy lunching!