Eco Friendly Back to School Tips

The back to school season can be stressful on parents and their wallets. By striving to stay eco-conscious during this busy time will also save you money. Follow these tips to avoid over-buying, wasting school supplies and money while staying green as you prepare your children to go back to school.

Most elementary and middle school teachers require their students to cover their textbooks to prevent wear and tear throughout the year. Recycle wrapping paper or colorful comics from the newspaper to cover your child's school textbooks instead of buying new textbook covers. If you only have themed wrapping paper, like birthday or Christmas, which your kids don't want on their text books, flip the paper inside out. Keeping the design on the inside leaves the books covered in blank white paper which your children can decorate with markers, glitter, stickers and photographs. This easy craft gets your kids excited about going back to school white saving money and staying green and eco-friendly.

Instead of buying disposable brown paper lunch sacks, which waste money and trees each days, pack your child's school lunch in her own re-usable fabric lunch sack. You can also stay green for the economy and your wallet by making your child's bookbag out of recycled fabric or denim instead of buying one.

Buy lined writing paper in bulk instead of smaller 100-count packs. Check out wholesale retailers near your home or watch for the best deals. Most retailers, like Wal-Mart, place their school supplies on sale for back to school. Take advantage by purchasing school paper at the lowest prices of the season. By waiting until your child runs out, you run the risk of running out at the last minute and buying smaller count paper packs at a higher price per volume.

Plan each back to school shopping trip to avoid over buying on school supplies. First, obtain a list of needed supplies from each of your child's teachers. Cross-reference the lists to see if any of the supplies can be used for other classes to avoid buying doubles. Next, raid your home and children's room for existing school supplies. Many parents buy new crayons, markers, pencils, pens and book bags every year even though their children still have many of the same items from the years before. Reuse school supplies, like protractors and compasses, from elder siblings and mend book bags and pencil bags to reuse, reduce and recycle.

Take stock of your neighborhood and set up carpools with your neighbors. Instead of three parents taking their children to school each morning, one parent can take all three children. Parents rotate each day which can save each family up to two school drives each week. Or, if one parent in the neighborhood works close to the school, the other parents can chip in with gas money to save everyone time and money. The savings in money, fuel and air pollution add up quickly.