Oh no! Back-to-School season is beginning to rear its ugly head. Whaaaaaa!!!!! Run! Hide under the trampoline or inside the camper! Shhh... We'll just pretend we don't know that the school bell will ring in a few weeks!
Well, we can cry or run and hide as much as we want, but we would be wasting valuable time... time that could be used to get ORGANIZED!
My tip for today is KEEP SCHOOL LUNCHES ORGANIZED.
Here's what I am challenging you to do: Make a "Make-a-Menu Lunchtime Chart", which is a list of items your kids love to eat for lunch. This is going to be placed in 2 places. You will post one copy near the lunch prep station (Yep, we're going to put a station together and your kiddies are going to make their own lunch!). You will post another copy in your Make-a-Menu Notebook.
STEP #1:
Get out a sheet of paper. Make the following columns: Drink, Main Meal, Vegetable, Fruit, Snack. Sit down with your kids.
STEP #2:
List as many items under each column as you can think of. Don't worry about coordinating the drink with the main meal, or the vegetable with the fruit, or whatever. Just make the list.
STEP #3:
Then type it up and make it look pretty! Print out your two copies.
STEP #4:
When you are done, add some of the items to your grocery list and then put the lists into the Make-a-Menu Binder.
We will get the lunch station assembled later. Your job between now and the beginning of school is to get lunch boxes, containers, thermoses, etc. organized. You will also need to be searching for awesome deals on the items your kiddos listed on the favorites list. In addition, you'll need baskets or containers for organizing the food items. I'm going to use plastic stacker pull-out drawers, because my kitchen is small. Basically, just think about finding a location that keeps everything in one place and is accessible to the kids.
By the way, if you or your hubby/wife take a lunch to work this system is for you too! Make a lunch list for everyone in the family!!
And lastly... The truth is that part of me secretly looks forward to school and the daily routines that follow. There's the thought of a cleaner house to look forward to. And there's the though of not being in perpetual meal preparation mode while my children eat anything that doesn't move. But don't tell anyone my secret, especially my girls...
