There is not much more I love to do than organize! It is great stress relief and makes my heart so happy once it's done. With four kids, our morning routine before school would be extremely difficult and there is no way that we would be on time anywhere if we weren't prepared.
I have learned that if I sacrifice just an hour extra on Sundays, it makes our week so much smoother. I (or Rusty) spend that hour making 13 sandwiches that we bag and then freeze. I make PB&J and meat and cheese sandwiches with mustard/mayo, place them in Ziploc bags and then FREEZE them for the WHOLE week...It is definitely more cost effective over the Smuckers sandwiches and I already have all the stuff out, so why not be time effective too! My kids have never made one comment about them tasting any different. My kids love them so much that they never ever eat at the school cafeteria.
This is the assembly line...Paxton is the only one that is picky so on his meat sandwiches I put a P on the Ziploc in the freezer so I know which ones are his.
Then for the fruit - I pre-bag grapes with oranges and put them in a container in my fridge. My kids also eat apples (which I don't cut up), pre-cut cucumbers, and pre-bagged pickles.
This is in my fridge...I wanted my kids to know these were not part of a regular snack, they are only for lunches.
Then I pre-bag chips (I do a variety) and cookies (variety here too) and keep them in bins in my pantry.
These are also off-limits snack buckets (only for lunches) that sit in the pantry. They are low enough that the kids can help:)
So everyday when the kids get home, they put there lunch boxes on the counter and while they do their reading, I grab all the things they need and re-fill the lunch box for the next day. So quick and so easy!
What are some of your time saving ideas for the school routine?
Oh, my goodness-I could never be that organized! I've been proud of myself because since Neil was diagnosed with diabetes that I have been making him omelets on Sunday night and keeping them in containers so he could have breakfast before he goes to work/school. I also divide his snacks up in baggies and put the carb count on the baggie for him but that's as organized as I can get! Lol! Love reading about your family life and keeping up with ya'll. Aunt Mary
ReplyDeleteYou know I love this. :)
ReplyDeleteWith just one kiddo in school I don't have to be so organized, but I do keep extra frozen PBJ's in the freezer for mornings when we are in a rush.
Jack is a very early riser and is always up before the rest of us so I make big batches of waffles or pancakes and freeze them in individual baggies in the freezer. He pops them in the toaster, uses bamboo toast tongs to get them out safely, and, voila!, breakfast is served. :)
yay! i'm glad you are blogging again! can't wait to follow your family's adoption journey!!
ReplyDeleteLove reading about your family (and organization)! ;) I'm the same way...if it doesn't get done the night before, it makes the next morning cRaZy. Assembly line lunches the night/afternoon before!
ReplyDeleteAWESOME! Thanks for the organizational help! :) Lord knows I need it!
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