Here's the truth... living an intentional life starts with creating an intentionally organized home. So creating healthy eating habits begins in your cabinets! So you've pulled out all of your snacks, you got rid of the bulky packaging, and you're ready to organize everything... but where? And how? If you need a snack zone but you're a little stuck, you'll want to check out my top tips for organizing your snack zone.
First, if you have kids, you'll want to think about these questions:
How can you get them on board with the system?
How can you make them more successful?
How can you get them invested to maintain it?
What snacks do you want in easy reach and what snacks do you want less accessible?
You don't have to meal plan for every little snack your kids eat, but be intentional about the food you're bringing into your home. Give healthy food a home in your kitchen (and pantry, if you have one) with labeled bins, baskets, or airtight containers. Your kids will know where to grab a healthy snack and you'll know when to buy more!
7 Tips for Organizing Your Snack Zone
1. Snack bins in the pantry.
Have bins for snacks specially designated for school lunches in a separate place from snacks for any time. It might seem silly to go through this routine even if the kids are home, but it will save so much thought, prep time, and clean up time, and helps to establish great routines.
2. Snack drawer in the kitchen.
I LOVE our snack drawer in our kitchen where kids can grab a snack before heading out to after school activities or for easily packing their lunches. You can use drawer dividers or acrylic containers to create homes for different snacks.
3. Healthy snacks on the kitchen counter.
I always keep a basket full of fresh fruit on my counter. Apples placed next to anything will cause them to ripen faster, but this system works great for us as long as I am regularly checking produce and moving it to the fridge once it is as ripe as desired (especially avocado, kiwi, and mangoes). My kids are also more likely to grab a fruit as a snack when it's out on the counter.
Using a lazy susan or divided lazy susan is a great idea for organizing smaller snacks like fruit leather, fruit sticks, etc. The more visible and easily accessible they are, the more likely they are to be eaten.
5. Airtight containers for chips.
I love using airtight containers for chips or other snacks that go bad when the bag isn't properly re-sealed or clipped. They stay better for longer and it's easy for the kids to grab, eat, and put away. Plus, air tight containers are great for pretzels, nuts, and avoiding cross contamination for gluten free snacks and crackers.
You can use large floor baskets or wood crates to store extras on the floor or bottom shelf of a pantry. You can also use wood crates or Nordic bins on the top shelf in your pantry. The idea is to store the backstock in a place that is less accessible. The shelves at eye level should only hold food that you're using regularly. That way you can shop your home when you run out of snacks before you shop the store.
7. Secret stash bin for mom snacks.
Tell me I’m not alone. I love designing pantries customized to each family, and part of that is sometimes making certain items less accessible to certain members of the family.
Your snack zone doesn't have to be fancy, but getting rid of packaging, using the right containers, and creating a system will make your life so much better! Snacks will be easy to find, they'll fit, the whole family gets on board, and it's beautiful (which always makes me happy). Just remember that the most important objective in setting up a snack zone is creating a system that is easy to maintain and easy to find whatever you are looking for.
Jen is the founder of Reset Your Nest, a Professional Home Organizing Business in Utah (servicing Salt Lake City, Park City, Ogden, Alpine, Highland, Mapleton, and St. George). She loves creating order and systems out of chaos and is known for bringing a beautiful aesthetic as well as easy to maintain function to any space. She shares her tips and tricks on Instagram @reset_your_nest.
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