One Change Per Month: Packing A Lunch

It is a new month and time for a new post on One Change Per Month, but this week has been absolutely full! Full in a good way, but none the less, there hasn't been much extra time. I am posting photos from the last couple weeks, that makes for easy posting, and trying to get us back into our school routine. Which reminded me that some months all we can do is maintain. Sometimes it is best to not add something new to our "To Do List."

We started Classical Conversations on Monday and so far it seems to be as good as I had hoped it would be. I think it will be a great fit for our family. But, as with anything new, it is taking some adjusting to a new way of doing school. This program is helping me to be a better teacher in some areas where I needed to improve and it is providing a structure that is very workable for our family. It also means that I get to pack lunches one day a week. Now, the kids have packed lunches for past homeschool groups and we aimed to pack a good lunch and create minimal waste. But since it is a new school year, I am again looking to fulfill those two goals.

So, for the change this month I want to emphasize boxed/packed lunches. First of all, everything that can be packed in a reusable container should be. This cuts down on garbage from plastic baggies and, while baggies aren't expensive, it is more cost effective to not have to buy them so often. A friend of mine made us some of these and they work well for cookies, sandwiches and things like that. Instead of juice boxes, consider backing juice or water in your own water bottles. Once again, it is cheaper and creates less trash.

As much as I love a lunch in a brown paper bag, lunch boxes or baskets are the way to go. They are reusable and they tend to protect the food a bit more. No one likes a smushed sandwich or cookies. Well, my younger kids don't mind smushed cookies, but that is not what I am referring to here.

Keep your eyes out for creative lunch containers. We have found used, but in excellent shape, lunch boxes. We don't buy new lunch boxes each year, so a used lunch box isn't a big deal to my kids. I guess that is a benefit of homeschooling. If my kids were in a school and there was peer pressure to have a new lunch box each year, I might get them one. A good way to avoid buying a new lunch box each year, if you want to avoid that, is to avoid boxes with trendy designs and cartoon characters on them. Those tend to get outdated pretty quickly. You can also pick up baskets at thrift stores and paint and line with cute fabric or even a cute dish towel for a creative lunch tote. In looking for lunch boxes, think outside the box. A lunch can be easily and effectively transported in any number of containers, not just those designed to be a lunch box.