Diana: 0:06

You're listening to the Decluttered Mom Podcast, a podcast built specifically for busy moms by a busy mom. I'm your host, Diana Rene.

In 2017, I had my second daughter, and it felt like I was literally drowning in my home. Okay, not literally, but I felt like I couldn't breathe with all of the stuff surrounding me. Over the next 10 months, I got rid of approximately 70% of our household belongings, and I have never looked back. I kind of feel like I hacked the mom system, and I'm here to share all the tips, tricks, and encouragement. Let's listen to today's show.

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Decluttered Mom podcast. Today I'm going to play for you a short part of one of my courses. It's from Simplify the School Year, and it's all about why you should pack lunches the night before. If your kids are in school and you are spending lunch with them, why this is so helpful, and also just a few tips to go along with it.

So without further ado, let's hop in.

Let's talk about one of the easiest ways to make your morning smoother without waking up earlier: make lunches the night before. It sounds simple and it is, but like most of the systems in this course, it is not just about saving time. It is about saving mental energy and preventing the kind of morning chaos that leaves everyone on edge before the day even begins.

If you have ever found yourself standing in the kitchen at 7:38 a.m. staring at an empty lunchbox, here's what you already know: packing lunch in the mornings is not just about the food. It is about the decisions. What do we have in the fridge? Do I need to cut the fruit? Wait, where'd the lunchbox go? Whose turn is it to get a hot lunch today? Do I need to thaw something or swap something for a food allergy in class?

Listen, that kind of thinking is fine, but not when you're also making breakfast, finding someone's shoe, and signing a permission slip. The fix? Move those decisions to a quieter moment the night before.

So in our home, lunch prep is part of our nighttime rhythm. It happens after dinner cleanup or right before showers and bedtime routines, and it's not formal, it's not stressful. Sometimes I do it solo while listening to a podcast. Sometimes the girls help, but either way, it's done before we go to sleep.

And if anything in the lunchbox needs to stay cold, we just put the whole lunchbox in the fridge overnight with it open for airflow. Then in the morning, all we have to do is add the ice packs and go. No scrambling, no forgotten yogurt or string cheese, just grab and done.

And I cannot tell you how many mornings I've opened the fridge, seen the stacked lunchboxes, and just exhaled. It is one less thing for morning me to worry about. And future you will be so grateful.

So here's how we're going to create a true lunch station. This is a designated area in your kitchen that holds everything you need to pack lunches quickly. Think lunchboxes, bento containers, Tupperware, snack bags, food picks, a pen for writing notes, and a stash of pre-written lunch notes.

I recommend using a cabinet or a drawer close to your prep space so it is all in reach when you need it. Then pair that with a bin in the fridge for prepped food. I'm talking like fruits, veggies, proteins, anything else that can be batched ahead.

Prep in batches when possible. So slice your fruit for two or three days at a time if you can. Portion snacks for the week at one time. Use leftovers intentionally so lunch is half done already.

Also, get the kids involved. Even little ones can help pack their own napkins or pick a snack from the bin. Older kids can assemble their full lunch with a visual guide or checklist, and this is a great task to outsource to them.

You do not need Pinterest bento boxes or cutout sandwiches. Sure, you can always have those available if you want and you have extra energy one day, but mostly just focus on foods your kids will actually eat and keep it consistent.

See if your partner will take ownership of this task, especially since we've included a full year of simple lunch ideas in this course and another lesson. This is a great opportunity to shift the mental load if possible. You don't have to carry it all.

A clear menu makes it easy to divide and delegate in your home.

But what if you forget? You will. I do too sometimes. Some nights are just too full. Some evenings everyone's sick or bedtime runs late, or you just really need to go sit down after an exhausting day with your frustrating boss.

That's okay. The goal is not perfection, it's consistency over time. And even doing this three or four nights a week instead of zero makes a huge difference.

There have been seasons where this habit falls apart for me and I feel it immediately. We're rushed. I am way more irritable. The kids forget parts of their lunch. We start the day already behind. But the moment I bring this one habit back in, things soften. It's like the whole morning has more room to breathe.

So your action step is try it just once. After dinner, while the kitchen's already messy, take five minutes and pack the next day's lunches. Use what you already have if you need to. Keep it simple and just notice how different your morning feels tomorrow.

This is one of those systems that looks small but carries big weight. You are gonna feel the impact right away.

I hope that was helpful for you. I know it was short and sweet, but sometimes we just need really quick and really practical, right? I hope that you put some of these into practice.

If you found this episode helpful or any of my episodes helpful, I would love it if you could just share it with one friend because sharing really helps our algorithm with the podcast. We are trying to reach as many busy moms as we can this year through the podcast. And so it would be so helpful if you did that.

And as always, send me a DM on Instagram if you have any questions or just want to give me any feedback. And we will see you next week. Thanks for hanging out and listening to the Decluttered Mom podcast.

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I hope you'll come back next week and hang out with us again.