By Kathy Dore

Are there any busy stay-at- home moms or housewives out there reading this article? You do not need to answer me back because I can already hear your response. After many years of being a member of the “paid” work force, I have now found myself at home as a Mother of four children and a truck driver’s wife.

As such, we are in fact “working” at home. Because of this, we also need tools to get our jobs done. If I had to pick one of my favorite tools to use in my kitchen, it would be storage containers. I use storage containers everywhere. Maybe it is more than one tool, but it would be like your husband saying “sockets” or “drill bits”. There are many different sizes and shapes. Some have specific purposes and many are multi-purpose. Whatever the occasion, they are great at saving time and money. They come in all different price ranges, so they can be made to fit any budget.

Since it is September, I thought it would be a great time to talk about everyone’s favorite chore..packing lunches. Here is where your containers come in handy. When doing your back to school shopping, include assorted sized containers on your shopping list. These should include sandwich sized, snack sized, and “leak-proof” bowls. It would be wise to try the bowls at home first just in case. Not only are we being greener by using reusable containers, fewer sandwiches will be smooshed and less crackers will be crushed in the to and fro between home and the time for them to be consumed. On a budget-friendly note, buying containers can help with portion control and helps eliminate the need for buying “snack packs” which often comes with a higher cost for less content. Also on this shopping trip you should purchase two larger sized containers of two different colors. One container should be marked “Nut-Free” and the other should be marked “nuts”. The third container, probably can be smaller, should be labeled “treats”. This container should also be a different color. Trust me, even your youngest child will soon figure out from which container he/she wants to pick from!

Now, part two comes when you do your grocery shopping. Plan ahead who is going to need a lunch in the near future. After purchasing your initial snacks, divide them into the correct containers. This is as bad as it gets! Never again will every container get completely empty because as we see something on sale we buy it or we pick items up in our regular grocery shopping trips. When you get home, you take it out of the box, put it in its designated spot and you are done. This system does at least two things: it eliminates the worry of nuts because not only are the containers color-coded and labeled, all the products inside of them are labeled as well. Secondly, it takes away the going back and forth to the pantry because all of the containers contain a variety for everyone who will need a lunch packed.

We can’t eliminate our chores, but if we can save a few steps and get done them done a little quicker…well, I guess it was “time well spent”!