Reduce and Reuse at Lunch Time

Three times a week I pack my daughters lunch. I've learned to cut down on waste by reducing and reusing. I wanted to share with you some of my favorite lunchtime things.

I found reusable sandwich wraps. They're brilliant. No more wasteful disposable sandwich bags or wraps. With the Wrap-N-Mat I simply place the sandwich down and fold the edges. There's a small Velcro closure to keep it snug. It also serves as a place mat when she's ready to eat. These wraps are not just for sandwiches - it can hold cookies, crackers and veggies.

We use stainless steel for our drinkable liquids. Klean Kanteens are stainless steel reusable water bottles. They come in different sizes for adults and children and different drinking valve tops. I have an insulated sleeve for one of my larger canteens.

I've been a plastic bottle consumer for many, many years. I grew up with plastic. All the years of athletics, I always had a plastic water bottle waiting for me to drink. There's no hiding the fact that the water tastes icky after it sits in the bottle too long. With stainless steel, the water tastes so much better. I also feel a lot better knowing that I'm consuming water from a container that can't leach harmful chemicals into my body. Ooohhhhhh, If I only knew then what I know now. Live, learn, grow and make changes.

My daughters lunch box carrier is lead-free and is Phthalate and PVC free. Not all lunch boxes contain lead. Some test positive for lead but most are within safe levels. Lead is a part of our world. It's found in everything from paint, dust, soil, food and water.

I reuse baby jars as snack carriers. I usually send two in her lunch box. One is for veggies or fruit and the other is usually filled with crackers. Glass jars make perfect containers.

We're doing a small part in this disposable world by reducing and reusing our lunchtime containers.