School dayzzzzz are here again. Having all the right gear is NOT necessary. You will pass the second grade with or with out the coolest new back pack. This back-to-school list, however, is for the moms, not the kids. The kids are beneficiaries, for sure. But this round up is centered around back-to-school items that make MOM life easier. Lets start with the elephant: school lunches. If you enjoy making lunches…. good on ya. This mom does not. It’s mostly the fact that I care a lot about what and how much my kids are eating, but I’m also suuuuuuuuuper tired. It’s a weird purgatory I live in. Anyway, here are a couple of my favorite school lunch must haves that help take off the edge.

The Yum Box:

We’ve tried a slew of lunch boxes over the years. These are my favorite to date. Here’s why:

Each compartment seals when you close the top. Ranch, peanut butter, hummus, salsa…. any dip? No problem.
They are dishwasher safe. That’s nice.
You can choose your compartment configuration. Bigger kids=bigger/fewer compartments. Duh. And for some reason this forces you into more appropriate food portions. Not sure why baggies shame us all into filling the whole thing up.
They fit perfect in my favorite pack-it freezer lunch packs (and just about any other).

Pack-IT Freezer Lunch Bags

These lunch bags have built-in freezer packs in the walls of the bag. The kids lunches come home COLD after a long day in the sun. This makes things on the return flight, way less nasty.
They collapse flat for easy storage in your freezer over night. LOVE these. They also come in stand up bags that we use for our pre-k guy who doesn’t have a back pack and we can slide in his water bottle. WINNER.

Stasher Bags

Sometimes you need a baggie. We’ve used reusable Stasher bags for years. They are dishwasher safe, seal up nice and tight and no need to go through a million plastic bags. I’m not going to win any environmental-small- footprint awards, but I am trying to move in the right direction. This one is easy. We also use these for toiletries, beach dry/wet bags, small toys, whatever. They come in all the same sizes zip locks do.

The Rack

This little rack has become one of my favorite new kitchen items. This low profile rack allows you to dry your bags. Whether its your Stasher bag or you are reusing your plastic bags, this little rack makes it all possible. And it folds up flat if you have a husband who hates “things on the counter”. Eh hem. It also doubles as a hold-my-bag-open-thing. That’s its official name from their marketing department :)

The Hooks

Now that lunch is packed, lets get to school. But first lets put our work bag, three kids backpacks, sports bags and then pick up three more kids and their bags. I don’t have anything that can help with the mayhem that comes with carpooling, but I did find these nifty car hooks that get your kids bags off the ground and more importantly, out from under THEIR FEET. These ones are low profile and offer a water bottle hook if that is your jam. My cute little Vana White is not included with purchase.

The Stamp

I wish I could wear a haz-mat suit when it comes to retrieving my kids clothes out of the lost and found at school. When I do find something in the “pile” I carry it home with a stick and boil it. Perhaps a wee bit dramatic? Labeling their things has become a second job for me. I love labeling. Which is really fortunate because Graham, my oldest son, would lose his head if it were not attached to his body. Having our name on everything has increased our retrieval rate significantly. I found this $12 stamper that has made my life easier. I went around and stamped everything that could be stamped which was mostly hats, sweatshirts and jackets. It is designed for clothing and will hold up in the wash and not leak like a pen.

The Stickers

For everything else, I recently found these personalized name stickers. They work on clothes, water bottles back packs, lunch bags, toys, shoes… anything! I put our last name so all three kids could use them. They have many options. For example, an 80-pack of the peel and sticks are $18 or pack of 48 iron-on labels for fabric are $17. With my link you will get another 20% off. Did I mention they can go through the washer, dryer and dishwasher? LOVE.

The Plan

I can’t believe after all this, these suckers need to be fed again? The amount of food preparation that comes with parenthood is mind numbing. I am no Betty Crocker. Anyone that knows me, knows that I cannot boil water and talk at the same time. It’s just a gene that is missing. I am however, still head food coordinator. Having a plan helps. That and grocery delivery service. This one is cute and JoAnna Gaines made it so I’m hoping some of her mojo rubs off on me.

The Command Center

This is our new command center. Check out my post with all the links and the process to creating your own that works for you and your family. ps. The 90’s rap reference refers to not only my dorkiness, but also because all three kids names start with the letter G. Check it out here!