8 Back-to-School Essentials for Parents: Sustainable Swaps for Easier Days
Back-to-school season brings a lot of excitement, but it can also bring a whole new level of busy.
Between packing lunches, getting kids to school, managing homework, running to sports and extracurricular activities, and somehow keeping the house together, the school year can feel like a constant cycle of eat, clean, repeat.
That is why I love finding simple swaps that can make everyday routines a little easier.
A quick credit where credit is due: This list was inspired by fellow Norwex Independent Sales Consultant Alice Jen, who put together a collection of back-to-school swaps that I thought were too useful not to share. I’ve added some of my own thoughts and product details to help you decide which swaps might make sense for your home.
You certainly do not need to make all eight swaps at once. Instead, think about which ones might make sense for your family, your schedule, and the things that seem to create the most mess or frustration during the school week.
🍎 Kitchen Swaps for Busy School Days
1. Fresh Produce Wash
If your kids are anything like most kids, snacks are probably a pretty big part of the school-year routine.
The Fresh Produce Wash is something you can use to help clean fruits and vegetables before you prep them for the week.
I personally use it on things like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and vegetables. I simply follow the directions on the bottle, let the produce soak as directed, and rinse it afterward.
For parents, I could see this fitting nicely into a weekend or meal-prep routine. Wash your produce, get it ready to grab, and make it a little easier to reach for fruits and vegetables throughout the week.
- Strawberries or blueberries for school lunches
- Veggies ready for after-school snacks
- Fruit for sports practices
- Produce packed for weekend tournaments or family activities
It is one of those small steps that can help make the rest of the week feel a little more organized.
2. Reusable Silicone Bag Set
The Reusable Silicone Bag Set is one of those products that can go way beyond school lunches.
The different sizes make them useful for leftovers, snacks, travel, and plenty of other things around the house.
For back-to-school season, I could see using them for:
- Fruit and vegetables
- Crackers, pretzels, chips, or veggie straws
- Hummus and something to dip
- Granola or other snacks
- Leftovers
- Snacks for sports practices
- Meals or snacks for weekend travel
And these are not limited to food. I have also used them for things like storing cords or electronics when traveling.
The larger bag can even be used to make popcorn in the microwave, and the flat bottom makes these especially useful for things like soups and other foods that you want to store upright.
That versatility is one of the things I like most about making a reusable swap like this. Instead of reaching for a disposable bag every time you need to store something, you have something you can continue using in different ways.
3. Silicone Food Storage Containers, 4-Pack
If your school-week routine includes meal planning, leftovers, or trying to have snacks ready before everyone heads out the door, the Silicone Food Storage Containers can be another helpful option.
I personally love these for leftovers and for putting together little snack boxes.
You could use them for things like:
- Tacos or spaghetti from dinner
- Mac and cheese with fruit and vegetables
- Little sandwiches or PB&J
- Cheese, crackers, and deli meat
- Fruit and peanut butter
- Yogurt and granola
- Veggie straws, pretzels, or crackers
- Hummus and your child’s favorite dipping snack
The different sizes also make them convenient for different needs. Maybe one is holding a full meal while another has an after-school snack.
And if you’re constantly running between school, sports, dance, and other activities, you could even use one to keep reusable silverware or other small items together so you have them ready when you need them.
One of my favorite features is that they are collapsible. You don’t have to collapse them, but when you do, they are easier to store when they’re not being used.
I also love the idea of giving each child their own color. Depending on the age of your kids, they could help choose their snacks and get their containers ready for the day.
You could even prep everything on Sunday, assign specific containers to each child, and have things ready to grab throughout the week.
4. Counter Cloth House Set
Let’s talk about one of my favorite everyday swaps: Counter Cloths.
When I first became a Norwex consultant, I realized I was using paper towels largely because they were right there.
So I changed where I kept things.
I put my paper towels away in the pantry and left my Counter Cloth House Set next to my sink.
Now, that is what I see first and what I reach for.
As a result, I have significantly reduced how much I use paper towels. I may go through one roll every year or even year and a half.
Counter Cloths are perfect for all those little messes that happen throughout the day:
- Spilled water, milk, juice, or coffee
- Crumbs from snacks and lunches
- Sticky counters
- Messy kitchen tables
- Quick cleanups around the sink
- Wiping down surfaces
- Little messes from younger kids
You can also use them as reusable napkins. I personally like having them available when I’m traveling or eating on the go.
And here’s another idea for busy families: keep a Counter Cloth House Set in the car.
If you’re constantly running from school to sports to dance to other activities, you never know when someone is going to spill something. Having reusable cloths available in the car means you have something ready to go.
You can keep a reusable bag or tote in the car for dirty Counter Cloths, then bring them inside when you’re doing laundry and replace them with clean ones.
It’s a simple little system that can make life on the go a lot easier.
🧺 Cleaning & Laundry Swaps for the School Year
5. Basic Package: EnviroCloth + Window Cloth
Sometimes you just need to clean something right now.
That’s where I think the Basic Package can be incredibly helpful.
The EnviroCloth and Window Cloth can be used throughout your home for everyday cleaning, and you can use them with water.
For a busy parent, that can mean having something ready when you only have five minutes to get a space cleaned up.
Think:
- Kitchen counters
- Mirrors
- Windows
- Bathrooms
- Light switches
- Door handles
- Fingerprints
- Car interiors
- Car seats
- Seat belts
- Quick spills and messes
And just like the Counter Cloths, I could see keeping an extra set in the car.
If someone spills something on a sports jersey, dance costume, car seat, or another item while you’re out, having a reusable cloth available means you can start addressing the mess immediately.
You can also use these with a Multipurpose Everyday Cleaner Concentrate if you prefer.
For me, the biggest benefit is simply having something reusable and ready to grab.
6. PowerZyme Laundry Detergent
If there is one thing parents probably don’t need me to tell them, it’s that there is always laundry.
PowerZyme Laundry Detergent contains enzymes designed to work on things like dirt, grime, stains, and odors, which makes it especially interesting for the things that come with an active household.
Think:
- School uniforms
- Sports jerseys
- Practice clothes
- Dance clothes
- Sweaty workout gear
- Shower towels
- Bedding
- Everyday kids’ clothes
- Those unexpected messes and accidents
It is also one of the laundry products I use regularly.
And one practical thing I really like is the ability to add it to Autosave. Because running out of laundry detergent when you have a mountain of laundry waiting is absolutely the worst.
Having your regular laundry products automatically delivered means one less thing to remember at the grocery store or add to your running list.
7. Laundry Stain Remover
Because accidents happen.
Maybe your child runs into you while you’re holding a coffee. Maybe makeup gets spilled. Maybe lunch ends up on a shirt. Maybe there is grass, dirt, grease, sweat, or an art project involved.
Sometimes you just want to be able to deal with the stain right away.
That’s where I like having Laundry Stain Remover available.
I follow the directions on the bottle and then wash the item with whatever laundry detergent I’m using.
I don’t always use PowerZyme. It depends on what I have on hand or what I have earned from Norwex. But, my go-tos for laundry detergent are Ultra Power Plus or PowerZyme, both being powder laundry detergents.
And when you’re away from home, you don’t necessarily need to carry the full Laundry Stain Remover with you.
A Travel EnviroCloth and a little water can give you an easy way to start addressing a stain before it has a chance to set.
That could be particularly helpful if you keep a small kit in your:
- Car
- Work bag
- Gym bag
- Sports bag
Because when you’re constantly on the go, sometimes dealing with a mess immediately is much easier than dealing with it later.
8. SportZyme
And finally, we have the product I think of as the “in-between laundry” solution.
I don’t personally use SportZyme as much as I probably could, but I love the idea behind it for active families.
Not everything that smells needs to go immediately into the washing machine.
SportZyme can be used on things like:
- Sports gear
- Workout clothes
- Shoes
- Gym bags
- Backpacks
- Lunchboxes
- Sports uniforms
- Practice gear
- Padding and other athletic equipment
- Dance gear
You could also use it in areas where odors have started to build up, such as a garage or another space where sports equipment tends to live.
For parents, I think this is one of those products that makes sense because kids’ stuff doesn’t always make it from practice to the washing machine immediately.
Sometimes the shoes stay in the garage. The gym bag stays in the car. The backpack gets tossed by the door. And the sports gear somehow ends up sitting there until the next practice.
Having something that helps address odors in between washes can be a really useful addition to that routine.
💚 Want to give one of these swaps a try?
If you’re not sure where to start, I’d be happy to help! Text Emily and I can put together a personalized shopping cart based on what would work best for your family, or you can browse everything available on Emily’s Norwex website.
You Don’t Have to Swap Everything at Once
One of the things I like most about sustainable swaps is that they don’t have to be an all-or-nothing decision.
You can start with the thing that frustrates you the most.
Maybe you’re tired of constantly buying disposable food storage bags. Maybe paper towels seem to disappear from your kitchen. Maybe laundry is taking over your life. Maybe your kids’ sports gear has developed a smell that you would really like to address.
Start there.
The goal isn’t to completely reinvent your household overnight. It’s to find small, reusable swaps that make sense for your family’s actual routine and make those busy school days a little easier.
And once you find something that works? You can always add another swap later.
💬 Your Turn
Which of these swaps would make your school-year routine a little easier?
💚 A Quick Thank You to Alice Jen
A special thank you to fellow Norwex Independent Sales Consultant Alice Jen for putting together the original back-to-school list that inspired this post.
I loved the idea of looking at Norwex products specifically through the lens of what might actually be helpful for parents during the school year, and adding my own perspective and ideas for how these products could fit into everyday routines.
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