Where to start?

1) Go to your own cupboard or storage boxes first. If you haven’t already done so, check the stashes of pens, pencils, crayons and paper leftover from last year before buying new. SAVINGS:  $25-$50/child

2)  Use last year’s backpacks and lunch boxes. Most backpacks are made from pretty heavy duty material that can last for several years. SAVINGS:  $50-$125/child, depending on backpack.

3) Before you shop, swap. At sites like swap.com, you can swap everything from clothing and toys to games and sporting equipment. Want to swap in your community? Here are some ideas for setting up a neighborhood school supply swap.

4)  Shop yard sales and thrift stores for back-to-school clothes. SAVINGS:  $100 – $250/child, depending on your usual clothes budget.

5) Borrow sports equipment and rent musical instruments. Is your daughter trying hockey for the first time? Not sure if your son is a budding violinist or just likes to hear the bow scratch? Borrow skates or rent the violin until you’re sure a purchase makes sense. SAVINGS:  $50 – $250.

6) Keep a supplies drawer or bin throughout the school year. It’s easy to think you need pens or pencils when you can’t find the ones you have. Keep all the school supplies together in one spot – a drawer, some shelves, a bin – where anyone can get what they need without having to buy it. You don’t need anything fancy.  Old shoeboxes can hold tape dispensers, staplers, and paper clips. Empty sauce jars can hold pens, pencils, and rulers. Contain reams of paper with rubber bands. Make it easy, organized and convenient.

Total Savings: $225 – $675 per child.

Check Our Amazon Back-to-School Store

When you do need to shop for new supplies, ask for the greenest items available: recycled paper, pens that use non-toxic ink, cloth backpacks and lunch bags, stainless steel water bottles. You can start in our store, or simply take a look to get an idea of what to seek out when you head to the mall.

The post Six Green Ways To Save Hundreds of Dollars on School Supplies appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Back-to-school shopping can put a real dent in a family’s budget and create a carbon footprint a mile wide. To save money on school supplies, why not set up a swap with your neighbors and friends? You’ll save money and 

* Check the kids’ supplies list. Most kids will bring home a list from school, or you’ll be able to download one from the school’s web site. Ask your child to cross off what you already have or don’t want to buy, then circle what’s left. When you go swapping (or shopping), work from the list.

• Make an inventory of what you already have. Most families have enough pencils, crayons, glue, tape and markers left over from the previous year to start the new year just fine. In fact, many of us have way too much of this stuff. Figure out what your kids need now, then put aside the extras for later in the year when you need to restock. Box up your extras so they’re easy to exchange.

* Set up a swap in your front yard or garage. Invite neighbors who have their own items to swap. Designate different tables for pens and pencils, crayons and markers, paper and folders, lunch boxes, backpacks, and sporting gear. Ask that everything that’s brought be clean and usable. When it comes to lunch boxes, ask that they be metal, plastic free of phthalates and PVC, or cloth. People should bring their own reusable bags to cart their swapped items home in.

* Donate leftovers to a day-care center, or to a charity that provides school supplies to kids in need.

If you still need to go shopping when the swap is over…

• Ask for greener options. Many school supply stores now carry supplies made from recycled, non-toxic materials. But if you don’t find eco-friendly products at the store, let the manager know and ask him/her to order green for your future purchases.

• Rent or borrow. When it comes to musical instruments, sporting equipment, and tools for one-time classes like home economics or woodworking, figure out which items your child can rent or borrow.  This is particularly good for musical instruments – do you really want to buy a tuba just because your child is giving it a try this year?

• Remember the 3 Rs. Reduce (buy less, share, borrow, rent); reuse (think durable lunch boxes and water bottles), recycle (paper, plastic, electronics).

LOOKING FOR ECO-FRIENDLY SCHOOL SUPPLIES? WE HAVE LOTS IN OUR AMAZON STORE!

The post Save Money on School Supplies & Go Green: Swap appeared first on Big Green Purse.

In other words, as weird as it may sound, you need to treat the tools kids use to compose or color the same way you’d treat the food they eat: with attention to the ingredients they’re made from and the impact they’re going to have on your kids’ health.

That means looking for supplies free of lead-based pigments, synthetic fragrances, solvents like methyl alcohol and toluene, formaldehyde, and other nasty chemicals you’d never serve as part of a meal or snack. Here are links to responsible supplies that won’t make your kids sick when they do take a bite or decide to paint a Picasso on their arm.

Pens – Pens cross the environmental line in two ways. Their ink usually contains chemicals that have no human health benefit; and they’re usually made from throwaway plastic. In fact, a pen is one of those school supplies that subliminally teaches kids it’s ok to waste, since we’re so used to buying them in packs of 10 or 20 and tossing them into the trash even before they’re completely used up.

Fortunately, DBA Pens have come to the rescue. The DBA 98 is 98% biodegradable, made in the USA using wind power, and filled with an ink made from water, nontoxic pigments, vegetable-based glycerin, and sodium benzoate, a food-grade preservative.

A decent alternative is a refillable pen, like the ones we sell in our Amazon store. While I can’t vouch for the safety of the ink, at least a refillable reduces plastic waste. Plus, it’s easy to find refillables at most office supply stores.

Pencils – Fortunately, most pencils kids use today are made of graphite, not the more dangerous “lead” that they’re commonly described as. The most eco-friendly pencils are also made from recycled paper, wood, or cardboard. (NOTE: Some pencils are being made from recycled tires, but consumer reviews thus far indicate that they’re not easy to sharpen or use.) Given the fact that a pencil can be used almost completely, and can be more easily recycled than plastic in some communities, it generates less waste than a pen or marker. If kids have an option, using a pencil is better than a pen. Using a reusable mechanical pencil, which replaces the “lead” but not the entire pencil, is a good option for older kids; there’s no environmental benefit to using a throwaway mechanical pencil.

Crayons – I’m a big fan of crayons made from beeswax or soy, rather than the usual petroleum-based paraffin. The colors and texture are rich, and they pose no health or environmental threats to the kids who use them.

Markers – Look for markers whose low- or no-toxicity has been certified by the Art and Creative Materials Institute (ACMI) or the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Even then, give markers the “sniff” test. If you take off the cap and find the odor overwhelming, don’t use the marker, and definitely don’t give it to your child: chances are, it contains xylene, toluene or other chemicals that cause nausea, headaches and in some cases have been linked to cancer (why they’re still allowed in any kind of marker or product is beyond me!). Choose water-soluble, no VOC markers if you can find them, or colored pencils as highlighters.

Paints – When buying kids’ paints, look for no- or low-voc, water-based products, preferably certified non-toxic by an independent third party and made in the U.S. Some good choices:

 – Nature-of-Art’s certified non-toxic, water-based acrylic paints. Here’s an additional link to everything you want to know about nontoxic paints.

-Eco-Kids Natural Plant Dye Fingerpaint, made in the U.S.A

-Clementine Art Natural Paint

Are you a do-it-yourselfer? Give this “make your own fingerpaint” recipe a try (and let me know how you like it, ok?).

Want More? Shop Our Amazon Store.

We’ve compiled links to these and other eco-friendly school supplies on our “Back to School” store on Amazon (NOTE: we earn a small commission on purchases here that help pay our research and writing costs.) Have we missed a safe product you love? Let us know.

Related Posts:

Check Out Maggie’s Organic for Back-to-School Fashions

Taming the Back-to-School Shopping Beast

Students Start Food Fight So They Can Have Reusable Lunch Trays

Going Back to School? Go Green to Save Hundreds of Dollars

Lunch Boxes Should be Safe and Environmentally Friendly

The post Green Back-to-School Supplies: Part 1 – Pens, Pencils, Crayons, Markers appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Where to start?

* Ignore the huge supply lists that come home in kids’ backpacks. Over at the blog Green Talk, “Thrifty is the New Green for Back to School Supplies” reminds parents to check their “voluminous” stashes of pens, pencils, crayons and paper leftover from last year before buying new. SAVINGS:  $25-$50/child

*  Use last year’s backpacks and lunch boxes. (Mindful Momma notes in “The Price We Pay for Back 2School Cool that kids do just fine with gear they’ve used before.) SAVINGS:  $50-$125/child, depending on backpack.

*  Shop yard sales and thrift stores for back-to-school clothes. SAVINGS:  $100 – $250/child, depending on your usual clothes budget.

* Borrow sports equipment and rent musical instruments. Is your daughter trying hockey for the first time? Not sure if your son is a budding violinist or just likes to hear the bow scratch? Borrow skates or rent the violin until you’re sure a purchase makes sense. SAVINGS:  $50 – $250.

Total Savings: $225 – $675 per child.

For more great ideas that save money and spare the planet, drop in on the Green Moms Carnival over at SurelyYouNest.

The post Going Back to School? Go Green To Save Hundreds of Dollars appeared first on Big Green Purse.