Waste-free and Eco-chic!

It has been for years that I have been on my slow journey to preparing waste-free lunches. It all started back in elementary school. Back then, I had little more say in my lunches than my choice in lunchbox, but that was all that mattered. It was for materialistic purposes, though, as my mom was the one who sought after a reusable box and I had no concept of the havoc trash wreaks on our planet. As I grew up and entered high school, however, something very sad happened. I ceased to use a reusable lunchbox for a few years as lunchboxes always looked nerdy and uncool. Fortunately, that's not the case today. You can find myriad lunchboxes today, often referred to as lunchbags as they sometimes look like purses. I adore mine, it's my second Koko lunchbag (The first one is still usable, mind you-when I upgraded I gave it to a co-worker who was trying to be more eco-friendly). I have the Michelle Lunchbag in Neon Garden- so cute and it looks like me.

Well, in the last few years, I have been paying extra attention to all that other stuff inside the bag. What about all that waste? The plastic sandwich baggies, the napkins, the yogurt cups, the candy wrappers and chip bags, the soda bottles...the list goes on and on. When you think about it, about half of what we pack for lunch becomes trash (And that's IF you pack. Buying lunch is worse and in so many other ways as well). So I've been trying to pack waste-free lunches.


First off, until I start making my own yogurt, bread, peanut butter, jam, etc. I will never be truly waste-free. But what I definitely have addressed is the temporary container issue. Two years ago, I ditched the plastic baggies. I bought reusable sandwich and snack bags, called Lunchskins (pictured above). I started out with just one or two, and immediately went back to buy 6 total: 3 sandwich size and 3 snack size. I've had them for 2 years now and haven't replaced them. I found them pretty inexpensive at MOM's Organic Market, recently, and so I bought 2 more. But when I got home, I realized I didn't actually need them, my others were still perfectly fine! So as to not contribute further to the waste issue, and not to succumb to my materialistic tendencies, I returned them. I've also stopped using disposable flatware, and I've replaced paper napkins with linen cocktail napkins. And of course, I always have my reusable water bottle with me.

One of the more difficult steps has been to cut out individually wrapped food products. They made packing lunch a breeze. In turn, however, I've become more conscious about the food I eat and thus healthier. Above is my yogurt in a reusable tupperware container. The yogurt is still store-bought and comes in it's own recyclable container, but buying in bulk is great and until I make my own yogurt-this is the greenest solution.

So what does an eco-chic, waste-free lunch look like?
Complete with Solio solar charger for my cell phone, iPod, and PSP. And a cute picnic blanket that I got for free from IKEA in exchange for a donation of childrens' books.