Back to school shopping is here! Whether your kids will be in school or you’re schooling at home this year, the supply lists are long – and let’s be honest, kind of fun to shop for! There are so many options online and in stores for products all similar to each other, so we’ve pulled out a few of our favorites for the top of your lists. These are products that work for your students and also work for this Earth we’ve been so graciously gifted. They are more eco-friendly than their typical peers and frankly, some are even fun to make.
Product | Crayons
Price Range | Free
Do you have little stubby crayons left in the bottom of the container like we do? Little shreds of paper wrapper and a lot of products that can’t really be used as crayons? Okay, so it’s not just us…
Follow one of the many easy tutorials online to make your huge stash of stubby little crayons into something amazing. We’re engaging all three of the “R’s” here: reuse, reduce, and recycling! All you’ll need is a bowl of water, some stirring sticks, an oven, and some candy molds in any shape you like.
Image: shraga kopstein
Two variations to remaking usable crayons is how the color palette comes together. One option is to throw crayons of any color and let them melt together for some beautiful rainbow potential. My favorite way, however, is to separate them into color families, then cluster them together from there. This means you’ll still have the benefit of having a blue crayon, and green crayons, etc. but within the blue crayon is a bunch of different blues. They make for really beautiful coloring projects!
Product | Eco-Friendly Highlighters
Price Range | $3.50+
Image Courtesy of Stubby Pencil Studio
If you’re like me, that nauseating smell of markers – especially highlighters and Sharpies, gets me every time. I think to myself, “if they smell this bad, what in the world are the ingredients?” Behold, a new and better way to highlight! Try out these highlighter pencils that do the same work, but with none of the toxic ingredients (or smells)! They come in single colors (green, pink, yellow, orange, blue) or in packs of four to six for a bit of cost savings.
BONUS TIP: Are you, like me, often looking for a way to journal or mark something in your Bible but so frustrated with the ink showing through the page or the highlighter ink even soaking through? This is your solution!
Products | Laundry Detergent and Cleaning Products
Price Range | $20-$150
Image Courtesy of Common Good
My goodness do these kids comes home from school days dirty! Its the clothes, the lunch products, the backpack, the shoes. Sigh, the shoes and the hours of scrubbing and digging out dirt. Yep, you know those moments. Why not clean up your cleaning routine with effective products that have far less harmful or unknown ingredients?
Common Good is just one such brand that carries most everything you’ll need for all the stinky stuff that comes home. We use their detergent in our home and it’s just as good as the big box store-bought brands. What do I like about this one, though? First, no huge plastic container that will live on for years in a landfill. Refills are ordered and shipped in recycled cardboard, and in pretty large quantities so that there’s no need to use all that packaging often.
Check out their surface cleaners, dryer balls, and dish soap too!
Products | Stainless Steel Bento Box
Price Range | $27-$31
Image Courtesy of Amazon
As school starts up, parents all over the country take a collective deep breath to start thinking about making lunches again. Sometimes sending a nutritious and yummy snack or meal to school can get boring for the snacker or labor intensive for the maker. Ease up on the stress with this or another version of a stainless steel bento box. One per child in the house will work, they are safe for the dishwasher and best of all, little compartments make for easy decision making during meal prep! Ditch the plastic version, though!
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Root and Vine