Weekday mornings are
usually anything but leisurely and every second counts when you are trying to
get the kids out the door and off to school. Here are a few simple
ways you can make packing lunches a little easier:
Prep Work
o Plan Ahead and Save Yourself Time.
Saving yourself a little time in the
mornings is much easier when you plan ahead. On Sunday evening, fill a shoebox bin or
decorative basket with a week’s
worth of snacks (applesauce, pretzels, granola bars, etc.) so that you can
easily grab the day’s
snacks and toss them into a lunch box. TIP:
This also makes the perfect snack station for after school.
Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle
o Skip the Packaging. Reduce the amount of trash lunch generates by
choosing self-contained snacks like oranges and apples. Mandarin oranges are especially perfect for
lunch because they are just the right size and very easy to peel.
o Free Bento Box (kind of). Packing lunch is much
easier when you have the right containers.
Sure, you can go out and spend all sorts of money on lunch containers,
but why not just use your leftover takeout boxes? A divided takeout box is the perfect
alternative to a bento box and when washed by hand can easily be reused many
times.
Dollar
Store Must Have
o Easy Fridge Organization. Organizing lunch
snacks in the fridge will save you time and is much easier with a small plastic
basket or tub from the dollar store.
These small containers are perfect for keeping yogurt, cheese sticks, juice
boxes, fruit and veggies organized in the refrigerator. TIP: Pop your squeezable yogurt into the freezer, throw one in the
lunch box with your regular ice pack in the morning and by lunch time it will
be thawed enough to eat and perfectly cold.
For all of
my tips pick up your own copy of my Tips for the Clueless Chick books and follow the Clueless Chick on Facebook and Twitter.
Until next time,
aka Chick #1
