By Chef Alli on July 11, 2018
A Better System for Back-to-School Lunches
When the craziness of back-to-school begins, I remember being thankful for a system that helped keep my kitchen and pantry organized.
Below are simple steps to organize your back-to-school chaos without driving yourself crazy:
STEP 1: Stock Up on Storage
Purchase bins, baskets and clear containers for storage in both your fridge and your pantry. These will be “home” for those hard-to-organize lunchbox needs. While you’re at it, stock up on resealable plastic bags in various sizes, lunch bags, napkins and any other disposable items you’ll need. Place these items together in a clear storage bin. Then when you’re ready to pack lunches, you won’t have to search for your supplies.
STEP 2: Kid-Friendly Clearance
Clear out the lowest sections of your pantry and your fridge to make space for lunch and snack items. Label your chosen bins and baskets and place them in both areas, making sure it’s easy for your kiddos to access. Find a lower cupboard that you can organize with bins as well – this is where you can store and contain all the plastic containers, cups, lids and straws the kiddos will need each morning as they pack a lunch. There’s really no need to stack or sort, just throw them into the designated bins when they are clean.
STEP 3: Divide and Conquer
Next, stock the fridge bins with all the items that need to be kept chilled such as sandwiches (made the night before), juice boxes, veggies, fruit cups, yogurt and grab-and-go snacks like cheese sticks. In the pantry, load your snack baskets with individually packaged snack foods such as chips, cheese crackers, cookies, breakfast bars and fruit snacks. Not only does this keep you from having boxes of half-empty snacks, but it also makes it easy for everyone to grab what they want from the bins and baskets to assemble their lunch on those early mornings.
STEP 4: Be a Weekend Warrior
In order for your “organized chaos” system to flow well throughout the school week, you must faithfully inventory and restock each weekend. This includes prepping fresh veggies and fruits into grab-and-go portions for the week. It’s proven that kids and adults are more likely to reach for carrot and celery sticks, stemmed strawberries or cantaloupe chunks if the prep work is already done. We also found it super handy to keep a grocery list on a magnetic pad of paper on the fridge, so everyone can jot down what items are running low.
STEP 5: Sit Back and Reap the Benefits
First of all, with this method there is less time involved in sorting and organizing after you wash the dishes or bring in the groceries. You just dump items into their designated containers and get on with your day.
Secondly, it creates a “home” for key lunch and snack items. Everything will have a place the entire family can be familiar with. They might not be able to keep them neatly stacked, but they can at least keep them in their place.
Finally, this method encourages independence in young children (and old). By knowing where everything is and what is available, children can do more of their own work to pack lunches, find snacks and put dishes and groceries away.
