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A Waste Free Lunch Story from a Reuseit Mom + an Offer to Win Her Fav Lunch Pack- Congrats Ell-Bell

6K views 97 replies 96 participants last post by  cparkly 
#1 ·
Congrats to Ell-Bell!!! You have received a PM from us. Reuseit will send you your prize!

contest for waste free lunch.png

Hi Moms!

The following story is from Natalie. She is an employee of Reuseit.com, a company that provides convenient & fun reusable products to help households reduce their carbon footprint. More importantly, Natalie is a mom of a 5 year old, named Teno. She kindly shares her story of what she just experienced in getting her first child back to school!

We thank her for this personal story and for giving our members the chance to win the "6-pack" Lunch Kit she chose for Teno.

A Waste Free Lunch

For three years I've been helping eco-minded moms choose safe, kid-friendly lunch items for their families. "Save $85 a year by switching to reusable snack and sandwich bags," I'd tell them. "Choose a leak-proof water bottle and stop buying juice boxes!" It all seemed so simple to me, the mother of a toddler and an environmental know-it-all.

Then something happened. Teno, my precocious little 5-year-old, became a kindergartner.

Suddenly I found myself overwhelmed by the idea of a waste-free lunch. What will I pack? What if he can't get the cap off his water bottle and he spends his whole day thirsty? What if his yogurt goes bad and he gets food poisoning? How on Earth will he remember not to throw away his napkin?

Ok, Natalie. Deep breaths. You can handle this. This is your job! Think of the 5 Steps to a Waste-free Lunch. Take it one step at a time.

1. Choose a reusable lunch bag.

After considering various materials (recycled PET, organic cotton, etc) I decided to go with a reuseit™ Made in the USA Insulated "6 Pack" Lunch Bag. The top-loading design makes it easy to pack a lunch without squishing anything. Made from lead-free nylon, it's a durable bag that will help insulate and keep the food inside fresh.

I also picked up a PackIt Insulated Lunch Bag for variety. It's a bit large for a 5-year-old's appetite, but we've been using it for camping trips until he gets a little bigger (and hungrier.)

2. Pick up some food containers.

I chose a variety - insulated, stainless steel and safe plastic. I figured they'd be perfect for pasta, fresh cut veggies and I could use the thermal ones for soups in cold weather. Not that he eats soup, but I like to be prepared.

3. Replace plastic baggies with reusable snack and sandwich bags.

This is where I could have spent days making a decision. I am easily distracted by cute things, and these are all so cute. I decided on some of the boy-friendly designs from ReUsies and a couple of solid-colored bags from reuseit™, just in case he decides he's too much of a big boy for patterns. They're both machine-washable, so I can send sandwiches, cut veggies and other snacks to school without wasting plastic baggies and send them through the wash when they need a clean-up.

Teno1.jpg

4. Napkins, utensils and more…

Teno has been using his spork at the dinner table for years. He thinks it's really funny, and I don't mind having one utensil to wash instead of two. So that was an easy choice for his lunch bag. I used transfer paper and my home printer to customize a set of organic cotton napkins - craftier moms than me might embroider them or create fun felt appliqués. I threw in a reusable ice pack to keep everything cool, and I was almost done.

5. Skip the juice boxes and bottled water - choose a reusable bottle.

Again, I went with a variety here. My son uses a lot of different water bottles at home, but it was important to me that the ones I sent him to school with were leak-proof. How sad would it be if his whole lunch got soaked? I decided on a few Nalgene MiniGrip bottles because they're lightweight, dishwasher-safe and they won't leak. I also picked up a few more of Teno's favorite bottle - the CamelBak stainless steel bottle with a built-in straw.

Teno3.jpg

For the past few days, I've been serving Teno his dinner packed in his different lunch items so he can get used to using them and I can get an idea of different things I should pack. Doing this helped me to realize that some aluminum water bottles I'd selected were too hard for him to open, and it gave me a chance to talk to him about bringing all of his cool lunch stuff home every day so I can wash it and pack another lunch for the next day.

While I can't say he's terribly excited about the idea of having to wake up early every morning for school, he is very excited about his lunch bags and his fun napkins. And now that all my fears and worries about lunchtime have subsided, I can feel good about packing him a healthy lunch every day, reducing our carbon footprint, and even saving some money because I'm not buying all those disposables. Plus, it's freed up plenty of time for me to worry about what he's going to wear, whether he's going to get into trouble and all the other fun fears I have about sending my firstborn off to school!

Teno2.jpg

To help you send your kiddo off to school with a waste-free lunch I'd love to give a "6-pack" Lunch Kit (a US-made insulated lunch bag, a matching snack and sandwich bag and a reusable ice pack - $29.95 value) away to one Mothering.com reader.

Plus, reuseit.com is offering $5 off your order of $50 or more*. Just enter MOTHERING in the coupon field at check out. *Order expires 9/20/11, one use per customer, cannot be combined with other coupon codes.

To enter to win the lunch kit!

  1. Go to Reuseit.com and check out the fun products we have (required)
  2. Come back to MDC and post one thing you found interesting on our site (required)
  3. If you haven't already, "Like" Reuseit and MotheringMag on Facebook (optional)
Details:

  1. You must be a member of Mothering.com/community.
  2. Only one entry per MDC Member. Additional posts will not be considered an entry, but feel free to comment and keep the conversation going!
  3. You must have at least 7 post to be considered for this prize.
  4. Mothering will be using Random.org to fairly choose a winner.
  5. This chance to win the "6-pack" Lunch Kit closes on Monday September 12th at 5pm, PST.
Thanks!
 
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#57 ·
I've never considered sipping tea through a straw before, but these fascinate me- http://www.reuseit.com/store/loose-leaf-straw-wisdom-wands-p-2325.html. It's so pretty and look at all the tea leaves my Irish mother-in-law could read afterwards.

Thank you for this well timed contest. I'd love to win, but even if I don't it was a good nudge. I'd been meaning to go back to reuseit and buy another water bottle for my daughter. Contest entered and shopping done
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#59 ·
My daughter went to her fist day of preschool today. I didnt; realize we were supposed to send her with a snack (oops). i haven't had a lot of luck finding the right combo of items to form a good package for her. I love the choices at Reuseit.com. I also had never even thought about a glass straw. Brilliant!
 
#61 ·
i love the rebel green reusable lunch bag in the pretty planet print. so cute and recognizable, you'll instantly know it's yours. i thought it was great that it came with an organic cotton napkin too!

i just joined and this was the first article i read. it's so helpful because my baby just started kindergarten!!
 
#69 ·
Can't decide what I like. I like the Earthlust steel water bottles, but then again I might choose one made in USA if I were buying. Really impressed with how much stuff they offer is made in USA. Also I like the Lunchskins, the reuseit baggies, and lots more.
 
#73 ·
These sandwich "wrap-n-mat" things look brilliant: http://www.reuseit.com/store/wrapnmat-regular-p-137.html We re-use plastic bags right now, but they are a pain to wash, and often my sandwich falls apart when I am stuffing it inside. This would solve both problems as it looks easy to wash and just wraps right around the sandwich. Brilliant!
 
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