Cut some stress from your day with these tips on how to streamline your lunch packing routine!
Is there anything more annoying than having to pack a lunch? Whether you are packing it for your spouse or for your kids, it can quickly become a tedious task. You may have a Pinterest board full of cute lunch ideas, but reality it looks like peanut butter and jelly on a daily basis. Follow along as I teach you how to streamline your lunch packing routine.
How to Streamline Your Lunch Packing Routine
Do a Little Prepping
Something I have noticed that helps a lot with lunch packing is prepping. Spending a little time on Sunday washing and cutting the fruits and veggies helps a ton. I like to put these in baggies and place them in the fridge, so they can be grabbed and put into the lunches.
Know What You Will Be Packing
Another way to make lunch packing easier is to know what you will be packing. Jot down a few ideas for lunches and then stick to your plan. Knowing what you will be packing for lunches is sure to make the process more efficient. Here are some ideas for lunches, just to get your brain wheels turning.
- Tuna Sandwich
- Homemade Pizza
- Taco Salad
- Turkey Sandwich
- Chicken Salad Wrap
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Rollups
Getting creative with school lunches does get easier. I like to write the ideas down when they come to me. Sometimes it feels as though children are silently scoring their parents on a scale of 1-10 on how well they did with that day’s lunch.
Make the Kids Help
Want to know the real way to make lunch packing easier and more efficient? Make the kids help! It’s amazing how much kids are capable of and how much parents think they are not capable of. I would say if your kids are 5+ they can help with the packing of the lunches. Of course, you will want to make it as easy as possible for them, but you can make it happen. As your kids get older, the lunch packing process will become even easier for them.
Freeze Food Ahead of Time
Another little trick that you can use to make lunch packing easier is to plan ahead and freeze food. Again, I do prep on the weekend and freeze these items. Freezing items makes packing lunches super easy. I like to buy the frozen bags of veggies and dump them into lunch containers, right along with items like frozen pizza, pasta, casserole, and so on. If your kids have access to a microwave, they can just heat everything up for the same time period.
I would love to hear how you make lunch packing easier on yourself. Oh and don’t forget this—always do the lunch packing at night. If you plan on doing it in the mornings, it will make your life so much more difficult. If you don’t have room in your fridge to house bulky lunch boxes, at least have everything for the lunches sitting on the shelf and ready to put into a lunch bag. What tips can you offer someone who is trying to make lunch packing easier and more efficient?
More Packed Lunch Ideas:
7 Easy Ways to Save Money on Packed Lunches
8 Things You Need to Make Fun Lunches for Kids
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com says
Jess, great tips to make that lunch-making a bit less tedious. I like to limit sugar intake, so I only eat/serve homemade desserts. I bake cakes in half-sheet pans (last week I posted my banana sheet cake), cut them into 32 rectangles and freeze them for lunchboxes or serving in the future. Even with the frosting, a slice comes in at under my 6-teaspoons-a-day sugar limit (but I wouldn’t eat or drink any other sugar that day).