The Renaud Otten Team is proud to have completed a “Going Green” course and would like to pass on some tips to you.

Fall has arrived and, with it, school lunches, packaged foods, raking leaves, falling pine cones, and more.   Those of us concerned with protecting the environment are looking for ways to cut down on the trash we create. 

If school lunches are now part of your daily routine, keep in mind that many schools in the Ottawa area are making their classrooms “green”, meaning that they are not allowing children to throw their trash away in the school trash bins.  Instead, children are required to bring it back home again.

Instead of stocking up on snack bags, cases of bottled water or juice boxes and sandwich bags, try purchasing a some permanent containers.  Sandwich-sized and snack-sized containers are found at Walmart and even the dollar store.

Instead of buying individual sized yogurt, try buying large containers of yogurt and scooping some into a small plastic or metal container with a screw lid (so it doesn’t easily spill in a lunch bag).

Instead of stocking up on plastic cutlery, send traditional cutlery.  If you are worried about your child losing your stainless steel silverware, try buying some inexpensive cutlery at the dollar store or Walmart.  Your kids will feel special being given “real” cutlery instead of the same old plastic stuff!

If you have any other “green” suggestions for environmentally-friendly school lunches, let us know.

As always, we are here to help with any real estate questions you may have at 613-288-2455.  Or, visit our Ottawa real estate website for more environmentally-friendly tips, such as “5 Ways to Green Your Home”.