The sun is soaring up high draining us to the core. The summers are not a welcoming season by many but it is the favorite of school-going kids and teens too.
This weather is here to stay and leaves us doing things that we usually do not like. Staying up late in the kitchen and cooking meals for the family is one of those. Needless to mention, the kids are ever-demanding in their summer vacations when it comes to snacking. So, is your kitchen summer ready? I am sure many would answer that with a big NO!
I have decided to spill some beans and let out some DIY hacks and tips to buckle up your kitchen cabinets and cupboards. Let us try our best to equip your kitchens in such a way to minimize the exertion and maximize the fun.
Kids are at home during the summer vacations. Also, the holidays are an open invitation to relatives and friends to visit and enjoy some quality time. Thus, you need to be equipped with the right spoons and forks that shall be your armor to fight this heat!
So, let’s cool down the kitchen heat to beat the summer breeze. These DIY tips are tried and tested and can be implemented within no time with a little bit of planning.
Organizing the kitchen might be a priority for you but at the same time keeping the kids busy is important too.
While doing so you must also start editing your wardrobes for rearranging and setting the summer wear handy.
Head to Market:
Before the kids go on a vacation, make a checklist for all the supplies and get them from the market.
The supplies will include food items (Like snacks etc), fruits, veggies, craft supplies, etc.
You will need veggies and fruits to prepare jams and syrups and craft supplies to keep your kids busy.
Include all the seasonal fruits like watermelons, mangoes, raw mangoes and cucumbers, mint leaves, lemons, coriander leaves, carrots, and beetroot in veggies.
While shopping for stationery supplies, keep a note of what your kids love to do. If they are good at painting, you can get more colors, drawing books, and canvas.
If they like crafts, you can shop for clay, pots, papers, quilling kits, etc.
While you shop, keep in mind how would you like to keep them organized and accessible too. Transparent compartment boxes or stationery caddy might be a good idea. This will make the assortment of items hassle-free.
Wardrobes
Though I don’t insist on setting your wardrobes according to seasons, the transition from winters to summer obviously requires some rearrangements. Find time to do some shuffling so that it’s easy for you to find the right outfits -whether you step out to work each morning or go out for a brunch or dinner with family. With the summer heat beating us down, we all start looking for those extremely comfortable and breathable clothes to wear at home and step out into. Get your and your kid's wardrobes ready for summer and arrange all the light-colored, breezy, and cotton fabrics so that they are easy to find.
Involving your kids in setting up their wardrobes can be an activity too.
Get all the swimwear ready in one place to enjoy pool time with your family.
Chilling time:
Arrange different ice trays or boxes in the refrigerator, as summers are the most loaded season in terms of fridge usage. Rearranging the refrigerator for an extra box of veggies, fruits, drinks, and coolers will make things easier for you.
To kick down the mercury level stock the cabinets and refrigerator with healthy fruit syrups and mixes. You can make detox mixes too by just freezing sliced cucumbers with mint leaves in ice trays, and those can be converted into detox drinks and served to guests visiting your home.
Also, you must keep a cabinet space/ water tray ready for water bottles so that they can be handy and available for kids going to play outdoor games or for elders moving out for a stroll.
Healthy Bites:
We all know mommies have a difficult time juggling in the kitchen with crafting dishes that suit every taste bud in the house. But during these hot and humid days, we can deck up our cabinet jars with some healthy and easy snacks that can be tasty and a quick prep too.
Bake or buy some ragi or whole wheat nachos and store them in air-tight containers.
Freeze avocado paste beforehand, and while dishing out the nachos, spread this paste, add a few flakes, and you are good to go!
Store the snacks in accessible jars and transparent containers, where the kids can easily open, pick and eat. Do not forget to tag the jars to make them easy to choose.
Creative Camps:
Before school ends, start hunting for some fun summer camps or activity centers in your vicinity.
Keeping kids engaged in something productive is important. Arrange boxes or create a craft cart with all craft and art supplies for the kids. label different boxes and organize them in a way that they are accessible for kids to use and put back.
We all try to keep them away from the gadget world. Thus, one must shop for craft and art supplies to drive kids’ free time into something creative and productive.
You could also make them paint the garden pots, assort the kitchen jars, and help you clean and arrange them. They could assist in making stickers for naming the kitchen jars too.
Or make decorative items for the house out of waste articles.
Imbibing habits like making the bed, cleaning the desks, watering plants, filling the water bottles, etc could help them become independent and also be bonding fun exercises.
FamJam:
Summers are those amazing days when we can host get-togethers, family night-outs, and a whole lot of exciting parties for kids and relatives. Thus, you must plan beforehand, wash, iron, and keep ready extra bed linens and upholstery too.
These weeks must be scheduled in advance, to keep yourself a bit free to spend quality and constructive time with your loved ones.
Visiting other guests or being a host can be equally fun when it is planned perfectly.
The tips above would surely help you plan a famjam sometime soon.
End of the season:
Bidding the heat bye could be a happy thought and a sad one too.
A good one because the heat shall end and a not so welcoming one for kids as their school routine shall ring a bell soon.
With the summer season coming to end and schools re-opening, we must buckle up and start instructing kids to re-setting their body clocks.
Arranging their uniforms, school bags, new books, etc. in their respective cupboards is an important task.
Keeping this stuff ready will save the panic day before school begins.
One must start planning for the school tiffin as well.
After enjoying the month-long vacation with diet charts swaying rock and roll, we must get the meal plans on schedule soon.
Stocking up the kitchen with all necessary groceries, veggies, and fruits will make you ready to start planning the tiffin options for your kids.
Conclusion:
The kitchen could have been associated with women most of the time in India.
But as the era is changing itself men and kids also need to be trained and made aware of the pantry and its importance.
The summers are the best to train and make the family aware of this special space.
A place that has been allocated to brew, bake, whip, churn, and cook happiness that can also be termed ‘food’.
This article writing experience has been somewhat food for thought and food for the soul for us and hopefully to you all too.
We hope you loved the tips we shared.
Do let us know in the comments, how are you gearing up for summer vacations.
Happy Summers to you and your family!