avid cook, speedy lunch packer, mom in San Francisco, & former expat fluent in Japanese.

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• Book Review: Kawaii Bento Boxes

Organization madness: Lunch accessories - 2008 10 21 2007 02 16

February 16th, 2007 | Categories: organize, parenthacks, tips | Print

My bento lunch accessories were threatening to take over my kitchen, so I took some drastic organization measures. This is my obsessive way of keeping them neat and within reach when I’m packing lunch in the kitchen. The first is a US$0.99 metal strip from Ikea, and oversized magnetic spice canisters from Ikea (3 for US$4.99) with food picks and sauce bottles (both empty and pre-filled for speed). Click on a photo for notes on what’s stored where.

The plastic boxes on the microwave (from a Japanese dollar store) hold less-used things, while the wooden under-cabinet shelf with drawers holds the most frequently used accessories. The wall shelf with drawers is from Ikea’s FÖRHÖJA line — the wood drawers hold more than the glass drawer option (which were pointed in the back and didn’t fully utilize available space). Great idea from Flickr user Yurippe.

READ MORE:

• Need for speed: A mommy’s lunch manifesto
• Tip: Use magnets to track freezer inventory
• Tutorial: How to pack a bento lunch and fill gaps
• Biggie’s list of top speed tips, tutorials and equipment reviews