3 lunch box packing tricks to streamline your morning before school

We know that while packing your kids’ lunchboxes the night before school can be time-effective, life can get in the way. Between juggling after-school activities and that dinner-bed-bath routine, having the time to prep can filed under virtually impossible.

That’s why, we spoke to the Insta-famous School Lunchbox Dad on his three lunchbox packing tricks to streamline your morning before school. In partnership with Westinghouse, the girl dad of two, George Georgievski, is sharing his guide to avoiding panic lunchbox packing.

1. Ask the kids what’s on the menu

Knowing what you’re going to add or create before you pack lunchboxes is essential to avoid procrastinating in the morning, or looking at an open fridge without a plan.

When the girls are eating their breakfast, I’ll ask them what sandwich filling and fruit they want to eat, so that I can quickly mass-chop and organise their lunches. If you want to make that even easier, try using a calendar for the kids to fill out what they’d like for the week. This can be done on a simple whiteboard.

2. Nobody likes Mondays, but future-you will

If Sunday prep isn’t for you, take time on Monday morning to prepare for the rest of the week. Using my mass-chopping method (as mentioned above), I organise fruit and veg into air-tight containers and pop them into the fridge.

This saves time for the rest of the week as I’ve already prepared fruit and veg for the next following mornings, while also making sure the kids are happy with what’s being served without needing to rush around for the next few days.

3. Check the weather

The Australian climate means we’re often dealing with heat, humidity, or an onslaught of both. If I know the weather’s going to be hot, I’ll avoid taking time to add meat or dairy for my kids’ lunches and add my bake-ahead and frozen pizza scrolls that I cook in advance.

This means I can quickly microwave them to defrost and pop them in the girls’ lunches for a delicious, easy lunch solution, while the girls are getting ready.

Bonus tip: don’t underestimate a good lunchbox!

My number one tip to streamlining your lunchbox packing process is making sure you have a good lunchbox to clean. I like to use Bento-style boxes to ensure a mess-free lunch and so that I can easily wipe them down once they’re home from school or the morning of.

Here’s a line-by-line reminder so you can streamline lunchbox packing time…

Organisation

• Includes knowing what you’re going to do before you do it
• Type of sandwich filling
• Asking the kids the night before
• Generally, procrastinating in the morning takes time
• Calendar for like they’d like for the week

Preparation

• Chopped in air-tight containers in the fridge
• Fruit and veg mass chopped

Weather

• Warmer days – cooler bags in the fridge, cool water ready in the fridge, ice pack
• Good lunchbox, washed containers, making sure anything clean