Zero Waste Lunch

My child's zero waste lunchbox. 

When you are organized you can do so many things that you might not be able to do otherwise. One of the things that being organized allows me to do is pack zero waste lunches for my kids. It is a small thing that makes me happy. 

My main goal for my children's lunches is to have everything together in one package, so that they can focus on eating the (mostly) healthy food that I pack. 

The photo above shows the insulated lunchbox loaded up. The ice pack (on the left) is tucked in the pouch so it can stay put at lunch and not get lost. On the other side my child has a cloth napkin, a Nalgene bottle (BPA free and made in the USA), utensils and a two tiered bento box I found on sale at Old Navy last September (also BPA free).  

Of course, an organizer's kid has to have everything labeled. This is a great example of good, better, best labeling. I used a combination of Sharpie pen, Brother P-touch and Name Bubbles labels. Except for the napkin, everything has a label, even each individual utensil. 

Bento box using silicon cups to separate food.

The second photo is an example of a lunch I packed for my kids this summer. I use silicon cupcake cups to separate the food in the bottom tier of the bento box. The top tier is just thick enough for a sandwich. This lunch contained cucumbers, tomatoes and basil from our vegetable patch. The fresh mozzarella ball is store bought. 

Last week I volunteered at the school during one lunch hour. The parent volunteer's role is to help the young kids open containers, clean up trash, keep things together and on the particular day I volunteered, it seemed that half the class had to use the bathroom during lunch. 

Even if your goal is not a zero waste lunch, make sure your kids can easily open the containers or packages in their lunchboxes. While it may seem easy for us, I opened a lot of cheese stick packages last week. 

Carolyn Anderson-Fermann is a public speaker, organizing expert and founder of Simply Organized Life. Carolyn will be presenting "Easy Organizing for Busy Families" at My Urban Toddler in Saline, Michigan on September 26, 2012 (childcare is available, check with My Urban Toddler for details). Register with My Urban Toddler by Wednesday, September 19, 2012. 

Kitchen Organizing Tips

Enjoy Summer's Bounty with a Tidy Kitchen

 

Summer is officially here! My favorite thing about summer in Michigan is our abundance of fresh local produce. With an organized kitchen you can enjoy the foods of summer even more.

 

Here are some quick and easy ways to keep your kitchen organized and clean:

 

1) Clean Up After Every Meal

Organization breeds organization. You (and hopefully, your family) will be more likely to keep a tidy kitchen when you clean up after every meal. Wash or put dirty dishes in the dishwasher and wipe down counter tops.

 

2) Know What You Have

Before heading out to the grocery store or local farmers' market, check your refrigerator and pantry. Base your meal plan and shopping list on what you already have on hand. This will save you money and eliminate food waste.

 

3) Wipe Down Your Refrigerator

A 2010 Wall Street Journal article reported that most Americans clean their refrigerators only once or twice a year. Why wait until it gets gross? If you shop weekly your refrigerator should be nearly empty the day before. This is a perfect time to wipe down your refrigerator. An old rag with vinegar and water works great.

 

4) Put Paper in its Place

It is a fact of life. Paper is going to end up in the kitchen. Find a designated place for papers to land in your home away from food preparation. I have a desk in my kitchen where papers land temporarily. In addition, I utilize a 3M Command spring clip on the wall for papers related to upcoming events or deadlines.

 

Carolyn Anderson-Fermann is a public speaker, organizing expert and founder of Simply Organized Life. Carolyn will be presenting the hands on workshop "Tame the Paper Monster" at My Urban Toddler in Saline, Michigan on July 20, 2012 (childcare is available, check with My Urban Toddler for details).

Avoiding Food Waste

Faith in Action Volunteers, Dexter, Michigan

Waste of any kind bothers me, but I am particularly sensitive with regard to food waste. Perhaps this comes as a result of my rural upbringing, the fact that both my parents were raised on farms or that my oldest brother is a farmer. Farm life isn't easy and farmers work really hard to put food on our tables. 

I have been working with clients in kitchens lately. Since founding Simply Organized Life in 2005, on average, a kitchen organization results in about four garbage bags of waste. This makes everyone feel bad. I am not there to judge, but to help clients move forward in a positive way. We cannot change our past, but we can change our future. 

Here are some simple tips to avoid food waste in your kitchen:

1) Buy only what you need between shopping trips. This means that if you go to the grocery store once a week, buy only what you need for the upcoming week. If you are not sure what you use in a week, a simple way to track your usage is to write the date you open an item on the container. For example:  Upon opening up a box of cereal, mark the date on the box and see how long it lasts. 

2) Resist the urge to stock up on sales. This is where folks get into trouble. Something might be a great deal, but if it ends up spoiled or expired, it really is not a savings in the long run. Stocking up can also create clutter, making it difficult to see what we have in our pantries or refrigerators. 

3) Keep an eye on what you have. Take five minutes once or twice a week to scan your refrigerator for things that need to be eaten up before they go bad. Scan your pantry or food storage area about once a month. Most non-perishable foods have expiration dates printed somewhere on the package. 

4) Donate excess. Perhaps you shopped hungry, or just could not resist some sales at the supermarket or warehouse club. It is okay. Remember, we only look forward, not back. In the Ann Arbor, Michigan area we have wonderful resources for helping those in need of food. In Ann Arbor, donate excess food to Food Gatherers. Residents of Dexter or Chelsea can donate to Faith in Action. 

These tips will help keep your kitchen clutter free and save lots of money for your family. 

Carolyn Anderson-Fermann is a public speaker, organizing expert and founder of Simply Organized Life. For more spring cleaning and organizing tips sign up for "Spring Clean Your Clutter" to be held at Ann Arbor Rec & Ed on Friday, April 27, 2012. 

Other Container Options

The sistema container sets mentioned in April's post are a great way to containerize and manage food storage. While the system mentioned can be found at Sur la Table, Macy's also carries a similar line of storage containers by Martha Stewart that are a great way to organize your kitchen and pantry. Additionally, don't overlook Gladware containers for reusable food storage!

You can use any of these options to containerize - that is, to stick to a few stackable sizes of storage containers. Pick a couple sizes that you'll get the most use out of; ones that can fit a variety of sandwiches or leftovers. Stack lids and containers together, and you'll have a clutter-free way to store and save a wide variety of foods.

When searching storage options online, don't forget that customer reviews can be especially helpful in finding the right type of containers for you!

Organizing Recipes

In the August edition of my monthly e-newsletter, Your Simply Organized Life (click here to sign up), I will answer a reader question regarding organizing recipes torn from magazines or newspapers.

Here is how I like to organize recipes in my own household. I have a simple one inch binder (shown below) for all the recipes I collect. This limits me from collecting too many that we may never try. If something isn't to our tastes, it gets recycled to allow room for another recipe.

Inside of the binder (see below) each recipe is housed in a plastic sheet. This is great when things get messy or the recipes are not quite the right size. I find this solution to be simple, easy and inexpensive.

Kosher Kitchens

I love to read, but due to limited time I am quite selective about what I spend my time reading. Just yesterday I recently finished reading a mini-book (24 pages) titled "How to Organize the Kosher Kitchen" by California based organizer, Lisa Mark.

Lisa's guide is great for professional organizers of any faith, for Jewish people who keep Kosher or for folks who just want to learn more about Kosher Kitchens. I particularly liked her personal story at the end of how she went from being a non-practicing Jew to spending hours preparing her Kosher kitchen. Lisa also lists a great resource for color coded labels and utensils. Something that seems essential if you want to keep Kosher in a small space.

When Things Go Wrong

When things go wrong it's good to be organized. This week both our dryer and dishwasher broke. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but it has put a little kink in our normal household routine. Fortunately, we have repairs scheduled for tomorrow and we are organized.

Being organized kept us from piles of undone laundry. As the person in charge of laundry in our household, I try to keep on top of laundry. For me, it's easier to do one load every day or so, rather than trying to do it all in a weekend. In addition, we do not have that many clothes, so we need to keep them in circulation by doing laundry frequently.

My husband is the one in charge of cooking in our household, which I translate to all things kitchen. He's also great about keeping the dishes done and put away, so when the dishwasher went on the fritz we only had a few breakfast dishes to hand wash. In fact, thanks to my husband the rule is no dirty dishes left in the sink at our house.

This may all seem a little rigid, but it just takes a few minutes daily and now has become a habit.