5 New Habits For a New School Year

This post is sponsored by Everywhere Agency on behalf of Sistema® ; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

It is that time of year again. We are preparing our kids to go back to school. With a new year, comes new goals, new routines and new habits. I love the beginning of a new school year because it feels like a blank slate, and an opportunity to start over, making some productive changes.

This year, we are incorporating some behaviors and practices to help us thrive this school year.

1. Getting our clothes ready the night before.

This seems so simple…I’ve heard so many mom’s rave about how helps reduce stress in the morning. Unfortunately, we have hesitated incorporating this into our lifestyle. On way too any mornings, we were going back and forth about outfits, what needs washed or ironed…huge waste of time. Doing this the night before will make things much more peaceful and less hectic during our normal morning routine.

2. Packing Healthier Lunches.

My boys attend a charter school, and need to make their lunches every day. Bringing their lunches to school already positions them to eat healthier than choosing to buy food and snacks every day from a cafeteria. At the same time, we can occasionally get too relaxed with packing healthy items during the school year.  If we’re not careful, our boys try to pack as much “junk” as possible. Limiting those types of items in my house will make a difference.  I’m typically in a hurry, and may devour un-healthly snacks in the afternoon. It is important for our family to take better care of our bodies this year, and packing our lunches gives us a lot more control over this. The key is planning meals ahead, keeping healthy options on hand.

I have discovered many awesome storage items from Sistema® that make packing lunches much easier for all of us. Boring brown paper are just no match to fun and colorful Sistema® containers. They offer a large array of items to fit all of your needs.  Here are some of our favorite that are helping us focus on healthy eating this school year.

My children pack a sandwich every day. This year, I’m slicing tomatoes and rinsing lettuce in the beginning of the week. They will be available for the boys throughout the week so they can easily add veggies to their sandwiches. The Sistema®  Sandwich boxes come in a pack of three. This is perfect if you have multiple children or don’t feel like cleaning the same container everyday. They are great quality, and will last throughout the school year.

The Small Split containers are perfect for on-the-go snacks when I am running around during the day. For the boys, they can easily pack two different snacks in the same split container. This is great for healthy snacks like cheese & crackers, hummus & carrots, or a variety of fruits and vegetables. The easy locking clips are great for any age child, and keep the food fresher, longer. You can grab these in your kids favorite color and they are ready to go.

My absolute favorite item is the Salad To-Go Kit. This thing is genius and a game changer for my entire family. I can separate all my salad toppings from my salad greens. Nothing gets soggy throughout the day. I can even prep this for the whole week, and it will stay fresh. There is even a perfect compartment for the dressing of your choice. I thought this was already super convenient and amazing until I realized there was silverware that actually clips to the lid…Just amazing! My kids can easily take a salad for lunch. I can use this to eat healthy, rather than hitting-up a drive thru, grabbing this as I head out the door.

All of these items are really easy to prepare ahead of time, and grab on your way out of the door. You can easily purchase them on Amazon.com ,where they are running a back to school promotions throughout the month of August.

3.  More Creativity. Less Entertainment.

When my children get home from school, they always ask to watch a T.V. show. I think it is important to reduce electronic media and games during the school year. As parents, we think of this as a way for them to unwind, but I am really encouraging other ways for them to do that this year. When electronics are turned off, it’s amazing how creative our kids can be.

4. More Family Dinners.

If I were honest, we don’t eat dinner together as much as I would like, or I think we should as a family. This school year, I am going to focus on more family dinners. That does mean the kids and I will need to practice more patience. We can push back dinner time a little bit until my husband gets home from work, and we can all sit down together. I believe this is important during the school year, and connect with each other’s schedules throughout the day. I am really excited to make this more of a priority.

5. More Goal Setting.

There is nothing like goal setting to help us all be more productive during the school year. I would love for us to all have a new goal we create in a specific areas of our lives every month that we will share with each other. I’m so excited to do this.

These are the 5 things we are excited to add into our routine this school year and make a priority for our family. I hope you all have a great start to the new school year.

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