Reusable Lunch Box Notes – Free Download

School started in our district this week. Say what? For a gal who is used to an after Labor Day start, this is an adjustment. And by adjustment, I mean mama doesn’t want to get up at the crack o’ dawn to get my daughter to the bus stop by 6:56 a.m. Lest I make this all about me, my daughter doesn’t really want to be up that early either. So, we are adjusting!

The good news is that 2nd grade is off to a TERRIFIC start. With school comes school lunches. At this point, I prefer to pack my daughter’s lunch. I like to know exactly what she’s eating and what goes into her food. (Control freak tendencies? Who me?)

I also like one more opportunity to connect with her during the day via a note in her lunch box. I’d like to say that all of my notes are cute, thoughtful and purposeful, but let’s be real. I fully admit to grabbing any spare paper at the last minute to write a note. Who doesn’t love a Target receipt for their lunch box note? Or that last sticky note in the drawer that oddly has a hair stuck to it? Yeah. Some days are better than others.

So, somewhere in the blogosphere I saw someone’s idea for a reusable lunch box note. (Side note: apparently you can spell reusable as reuseable too. Confusing.) I really wish I could remember who exactly it was, but I know it’s not a completely original idea either. Anyway, the lightbulb went off! Ding, ding, ding! I could make these! I even have a laminator machine that I hadn’t used yet.

I decided to keep it really simple with a day-of-the-week theme and plenty of space to either write big or write a lot. Now that my daughter can read, I tend to get pretty wordy with my notes. Using InDesign I designed a 5×7-sized note, but quickly realized that was overkill, even for me. So, I downsized it to a 4×6-inch size. After that, it was a simple matter of printing them out and laminating them! I cut mine with a paper cutter, but scissors would work well too.

I still haven’t settled on the best pen to use. I’ve been using dry erase markers (like these ones), but sometimes they can leave a hint of color that doesn’t rub off. I’d like to try the Vis-A-Vis wet erase pen to see if that type is a little more reliable. Regardless, my 2nd grader and I are loving this new system! As she tells me, “Mama, we are making the earth happier by reusing our notes.” Why, yes. That is a much nobler reason to do this craft than not wanting to use a hairy sticky note. And the student becomes the teacher.

Update: Through a stroke of sheer brilliance (aka dumb luck), I used a Magic Eraser on the laminated cards and it cleaned the dry erase pen markings off perfectly. Hurray!

BONUS: Here’s a free download of the lunch box notes if you want to make your own! I’ve also included cards for Saturday, Sunday and a bonus card. Woohoo!

Click on this and a printable PDF should launch: lunchboxcards

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