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Blog: The Pile High Club--how NOT to become a member
 Back-to-School Scavenger Hunt
My kids start school tomorrow (crazy, I know!), and like every other parent, I have been diligently getting my ducks in a row. But UNlike most parents, this year, the Lambie household is doing a "green" back-to-school. What is that, you ask? Well, we're not buying the kids any new school supplies.
My kids will not have new LL Bean backpacks and lunch bags with their names embroidered on them. They will not open their desk to that "new crayon smell." Nope, my kids will come to school wearing used uniforms, carrying last year's backpacks and lunch pails and using a recycled Tupperware full of half-used glue sticks and pre-sharpened pencils.
Modern society (or at least the majority of mommies at my kids' private school) would say I'm not a good mother. "How embarrassing for your kids! You can afford to buy them new school supplies, why wouldn't you?!" Yes, I can. But why should I when what they have is still in working order? Their backpacks are a little dirty, but a toss in the washer and a good scrubbing can fix that. And why should I purchase new folders when I happen to have several (with corporate logos on them) that I received from different conferences I attended this year? And a quick, Back-t0-School scavenger hunt around the house revealed that we do in fact have enough pencils and crayons to rule the world… or at least to scribble our way through second grade.
Full disclosure: I am currently on a 30-day Spend Freeze, and it just happens to fall during the first week of school. So I cannot buy anything that's not 100% necessary, which, most of their supplies are not since we already have them—in spades—around the house. I did buy them both new school shoes, but that was 100% necessary because they both grew like weeds this summer and I'm not into toe-binding like the Chinese.
Still, even if I wasn't on this Spend Freeze, I don't know if I could justify consuming just for the sake of consumption. I'm just too practical for that. I have raised my kids with enough love and self-esteem that (hopefully) they will be able to brush off any bullies who give them a hard time about wearing last year's backpack, using a freebie pencil with a "Five Star Flooring" logo, or not having the latest swag hanging from their lunch bag.
I think it's a great lesson in using what you have—completely. Imagine if we all used everything up until it was gone or not usable anymore. Think of all the money we'd save. Think of all the packaging we'd not throw into our landfills.
Did any of you take the use-what-you-have approach with school supplies this year? If not, would you consider doing this if last year's school gear was still in good working order?
posted on: 8/16/2010 10:30:00 AM by Heather Lambie
category: Paper
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The Pile High Club--how NOT to become a member
by Heather Lambie
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About Heather:
My Husband - "Honey, how thin can you spread yourself before you're no longer there?" Me - "I don't know. But I'm in it to win it, so we may have to find out."
Heather's Website:
www.yourhomeeditor.com
Favorite Websites
- The Sartorialist
This site appeases my hunger for all things New York, reminds me of my time there, and gives me great ideas for unconventional looks.
- Toffee To Go
They are located in Tampa, very near me, but they deliver/ship nationally. They have THE BEST toffee EVER. It's buttery, salty, sweet--all my favorite things in one bite.
- The Container Store
I know this is a no-brainer for an organizer...but this place really turns me on!
- The Poetry Foundation
- Because I Said So (blog)
As a mom myself, this mom of 6 (!!!) has me in stitches.
- Michael Buble
If I wasn't happily married, I might be stalking him. Bar none, the best voice and best sense of humor!
Quotes That Move Me
- General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
"The truth of the matter is, you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it."
- Ivern Ball
"Most of us ask for advice when we know the answer but we want a different one."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The secret of education is respecting the pupil."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen."
- Abigail Van Buren
"The best index to a person's character is how he treats another person who can't do him good, and how he treats people who can't fight back."
- Dorothy Galyean
"Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere."
- Aristotle
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
- Mark Twain
"To be satisfied with what one has; that is wealth. As long as one sorely needs a certain additional amount, that man isn't rich."
- Jackie Kennedy
"If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do matters very much."
Places I'm Dying to Visit
- Hawaii
Any how, any way, any time.
- Los Cabos, Mexico
- China
- Japan
- Alaska (via cruise ship)
- Marbella, Spain
Places I've Already Been
- Australia (Sydney)
- New Zealand
- Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora
- London
- Paris
Spent only one day here (took the Chunnel from London when I was there) but it was one amazing, beautiful day where I walked the flea markets, visited the Louvre, people-watched and used all 6 senses to experience it.
- Trinidad & Tobago
My husband is from here, so we go several times a year to visit family.
- Italy (Milan, Vicenza)
- Jamaica
Things I'd Like To Do Before I Die
- Run a leg with the Olympic torch before the games begin
- See the monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico
- Ride a horse on the beach (in the water)
- See a prize fight (boxing) in Las Vegas
- Run the NYC Marathon
I ran the Disney Marathon in 2000 (pre-kids). Would love to run another post-kids, to prove I can.
- Have washboard abs.
- Eliminate self doubt.
- Own an apartment in Manhattan.
- Watch the ball drop in Times Square on New Year's Eve.
- Take an RV trip down the coast of California.
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