On The Go Chicago

Like most new parents, my green footprint significantly increased when I had children. I think significantly increased is putting it mildly.  It was something like going from a size 9 shoe to Shaquille O’Neal’s size 23!

Unfortunately, my desire to be green competes with my need for convenience.  I have resigned myself to making small incremental lifestyle changes in the hope that over time I can significantly reduce my family’s footprint.

It was amazing to me the amount of trash I was generating on my average outing with the girls.  Between Ziploc bags (several a day), shopping bags and water bottles I felt like I was emptying out half my diaper bag into the trash when we got home.

So this year I am focusing my efforts on being greener On The Go!

I am sure most of you have already switched to re-useable grocery bags and stainless steel water bottles, but following are a few tips on other small changes you can make to be greener on the go.

Say goodbye to Ziplocs and hello to re-useable bags - I was using Ziploc bags for snacks, sandwiches and often times I put all my little Ziplocs in one big gallon size bag.  I’ve tried out a number of different re-useable bags and like different ones for different uses.  All of them are washable, BPA free and relatively affordable (especially when you consider the price of Ziplocs and how fast we went through them).

• Snack Taxi – This product was showcased on Oprah, and is among the most popular re-useable snack/sandwich options.  I also recently had the good fortune of meeting one of the owners (Chicagoan) of MightyNest.com – a website dedicated to helping parents research and purchase non-toxic alternatives for a safe and healthy home. They too highly recommend the Snack Taxi as a Ziploc alternative.  I’ve tried out both the sandwich and snack size, but prefer this product for sandwiches.  My two year old has a hard time opening and holding the snack size.  The sandwich size works great and really washes up easily.  Even sticky PB&J wipes right off.  The Snack Taxi was the most durable of all the re-useable bags I tested.
• Fresh Snack Pack – These bags look more like a traditional Ziploc, but are BPA free and re-useable. The sandwich size unfolds to create a little placemat too, which can be handy.  Like the Snack Taxi, my two year old has a hard time opening and holding the snack size bag, but we love the sandwich size bag.  It is surprisingly durable and REALLY easy to clean.
• FoodStuffs Reusable Snack Package – These bags have a velcro closure that is easy for my two year old to operate. They are also bigger on the bottom, so they sit on the table nicely and hold A LOT.  This bag was the easiest for my two year old to operate.  I currently have the owner of this store sewing me a gallon size bag.  In all of my online research, I have yet to find a large re-usable bag to replace gallon size Ziplocs.  I’ll let you know what I think once I receive it.
• Kids Konserve Sandwich Bag – This product is also available at MightyNest, and works great for sandwiches.  I love that it turns into a placemat too. Like the others, it washes up easily and seems pretty durable.
• Snack Trap – They now offer BPA free Snack Traps.  Like all moms I know, I could not live without this product.  They don’t completely eliminate the mess, but they sure do cut down on the number of flying Cheerios coming from my stroller. One more tip, they make lids for Snack Traps.  I might be the only one, but I was unaware of the lids for the first year I used them.  Why oh why do they sell them separately?

Lunch Bags/Lunch Boxes - Did you know that during a school year, one child creates an average of 67 pounds of lunch waste? (Environmental Protection Agency).  Since my kids don’t go to school yet, I asked my friends at MightyNest for a recommendation.  They love the Kids Konserve Waste-Free Lunch Set.

Re-useable Shopping Bags - As mentioned above, I am sure most of you have seen, if not switched to, re-useable shopping bags for your groceries.  I have made a concerted effort to not only use re-useable bags when I go grocery shopping but for all types of shopping.  I found the biggest obstacle to using re-useable bags at the pharmacy, convenience store or mall was that I never seemed to have them with me or the right size.  I now have two re-usable shopping bags in my purse (the kind that roll-up and snap into a little ball), two in my stroller and one in my diaper bag.  I also have two large plastic shopping bags (similar to the paper ones you receive from a department store) in my car.  They only cost $3.99 at the Container Store, and fold up pretty small.  I now bring them with me when I go shopping, and have not used a bag from a clothing or shoe store all year.

I by no means consider my self to be “green”, but I do feel like I can make little changes in my life to help shrink my “Shaq” size foot print into something a little more reasonable.  Let me know what your family is doing to be greener. I would love some new ideas!