Is your kitchen back-to-school ready?

Posted by Ben Thompson on 08.19.17

With the first day of school just around the corner, we thought a blog about getting your kitchen back-to-school ready was timely. So much goes into preparing for the new school year from buying school supplies, new clothing or uniforms, and shoes to saying “goodbye” to another great summer.   One thing that can make this transition so much easier for both you and the kids is to have your kitchen set up and ready to handle the daily comings and goings during the week. We’ve put together a list of simple tips that will have your kitchen back-to-school ready in no time.

Get your kitchen back-to-school ready

  1. Purge & Organize. Go through your pantry, cabinets, and drawers and clear out any worn out lunch bags, thermoses, plastic containers, and outdated food. Next, organize items by type and determine if you need to purchase anything.
  2. Set up a lunch making station. You will need to designate a cabinet or drawers in your kitchen and a drawer in your refrigerator. Your cabinet and drawers should contain anything you need to pack lunches including food containers, bags, napkins, and utensils. In your refrigerator, pre-pack veggies and fruit in easy to grab containers or bags and store sandwich fixings and drinks specifically for lunches in this area too.
  3. Create a grab-and-go snack area. After school, your kids will come charging in looking for a quick snack. Set aside an area in your pantry or dedicate a drawer or cabinet in your kitchen and fill a few baskets or bins with pre-selected healthy snacks. Designate one drawer or shelf in the fridge for yogurt or juice snacks. Be sure to separate lunch items from your grab-and-go snacks.
  4. Post a family calendar. Never miss a game, party, science project deadline, or birthday by keeping a calendar in a spot where everyone can see it. Chalkboards or white boards work great for this purpose, plus you can get one large enough to create grocery lists or posts notes on it as well. Have a fun family pow-wow on the weekend to review the upcoming week so everyone is on the same page.
  5. Plan your weekday dinners. Creating a weekly menu will allow you to get your grocery list together and if time allows, make or prepare a few things ahead of time such as slicing veggies or browning meats. On a weekend, make one of your favorite meals and freeze it for an evening when you are tight on time.

We hope you find these tips helpful. Here’s to a great new school year for you and your family!

Topics: Love Where You Live, Kitchens, Thompson Tips, kitchen, thompsonremodeling.com, back to school, Thompson Remodeling, thompson remodeling grand rapids, thompson remodeling grand rapids mi