I am no Pinterest mom, but I love the cute fridge organization acrylic containers as much as the next guy. They look so crisp and lovely when they’re all freshly filled. However, these people with their one tiny container of blueberries just…I don’t know…that isn’t going to work for my family. So I never tried to have that aesthetic, even though I loved the idea of it.
You may have noticed we have a decent sized family over here, and school lunches are one of the things I truly hate putting together. I dislike making lunches the same way I dislike car seats, outerwear, and potty training. They are my least favorite parts of having children 😅 So I set up a bit of a system where the kids know what categories to take, if that makes sense. However, believe it or not, they all like different things 😅 Punks, lol! Having opinions and such. So. I stocked the heck up. And we’re not restocking anything until that thing is GONE gone. As in all things in that category. It’ll make sense. Hear me out. And don’t come for me if you don’t like my options or think some of it is junk. I’m aware. We have balance, and the kids eat really, really well. Promise ✋
So. We have yogurt. Cups and tubes. I think we’ll mostly stick with cups for the next while, the novelty of the tubes has worn off a bit. This last time I bought Activia with fibre. Not everyone likes the little grain bits so we’ll likely buy something different next time. Or maybe two kinds, so they eventually do get the extra fibre, lol! Since I wouldn’t restock it until it was all gone. See what I’m doing here? Also not pictures is lactose free yogurt for the lemon drop. But I foolishly put the babys name on the container so you’ll just have to take my word for it.
Then I made a cheese box! This has been eaten from for a while now, so all the fun new ones are pretty eaten down. The Babybel anyway. I have learned that the kids don’t love the swiss ones. And most of the kids HATE Laughing Calf, which is hilarious!!! 🤣 Solly actually cried when he ate it, hahaha! I don’t mean to laugh that he cried, but man, you had to be there. It was SO funny. He was so upset! Nooooo Laughing Calf for Sol! 🙅♀️
So don’t come for me and my plastic bags. I know. Its wasteful and unkind to the world. I get it. But it saves my butt and makes this one part of having five kids in school simpler. I hacked up a big pack of celery, and bought a couple of containers of grape tomatoes, and bagged them into little veggie packs! Some of the kids love celery, and some love tomatoes. Once they’re both gone, I’ll restock with something new. Or, the same stuff if kids want that. But we’ll see. There’s still time.
Apples, always. I bought a couple of big bags of clementines and they actually peel and taste SO nice! Like, Christmas orange style! As you can see, we’re already low on them. But kids will have to eat apples once they’re gone. Kiwis won’t last long either. They’re a favorite for Rowan and sometimes a night snack, also.
Ok. We’re in the pantry now!
I have a huge stack of oatmeal packs. I mostly have them for the babies. Sometimes for Brady. The other kids don’t love them. Though I do wonder if Dekker would take one in a thermos or something on cold days. We’ll have to see.
The next drawer down is apple sauce. Its simple. I don’t love it. The kids do, though. Its an easy snack.
Then granola bars. I have shirked my granola bar making duties for quite some time, so for now, I’m just buying them, and thats ok. Usually I have two kinds going, but they demolished the Quaker yogurt bars. Just nutrigrain left!
And then fruit cups! Originally these were only for the babies. Now that the morsel eats everything, they’re for everyone. And yes, that is the last lone jello fruit cup that I bought by accident, lol!
This top drawer is actually non school snacks that more so show up in the evening. Cashews, pistachios, and dried apricots.
And lastly, squeeze pouches and fruit to gos to throw in a diaper bag for a baby.
In the freezer exists a crazy amount of banana bread. This is around half of whats left in there. I like for everyone to take one each day. Once they’re out, I’ll likely make something else. Or just tweak it slightly. Maybe the next round will be pumpkin bread. We’ll see.
So. This is how we rock lunch these days. Its been fun and interesting giving them more options and seeing what everyone likes and dislikes. I certainly cannot cater to everyones exact preferences every time, but its helpful to know, and I know they’re enjoying the variety as well. So each day, the kids each bring banana bread, something fresh, and a cheese. The rest, they can fill out as they’d like. Its all snacky, which is easier for everyone, though its not all trashy convenience food. Some of it is, for sure, and I’m comfortable with that, lol! I have way fewer lunch items come home at the end of the day. Way less spoiled food tucked away. So I’m here for it!
While all the cute moms making reels have these little organizers, I finally found the right products for us!! They are from Walmart, and they are clear plastic shoe boxes!! 🤣 I kid you not.
There are different sizes, and I never use the lids, but they are perfect! I use the boot ones in my freezer and the regular ones in the fridge. Aaaaand they’re cheap! Between $10-13.
And then, in the pantry, those clear drawers are right along the same lines.
There are really big ones, and slightly more narrow ones. They’re not super heavy, so they bend a little if they’re overfull, but they’re the same cost as the shoe boxes, so its feasible to just have maybe a couple more and spread things out a bit. I also have these in my bathroom to make up for the storage space I had in the last place that I do not have here. Oh and I hold unfinished crochet projects in some as well. They are good for so so many things, and again, affordable!!
These exist in Walmarts kind of by the cloth storage cubes, near some of the laundry baskets, entrance mats, step stools, etc. Do you know the spot? They’re over there somewhere. Hidden gems!!
Plastic gems, perhaps 😅 but gems nonetheless!