The Lazy Genius Podcast - #369 - The Snack Episode

Episode Date: June 10, 2024

The decision tree that comes from "Can I have a snack?!" is exhausting, whether the question is coming from your kids or yourself. Snacks, especially in summer, are the bane of many an existence, so today we’re going to try to make handling them easier. Helpful Companion Links Pre-order my new book The PLAN or ask your library to consider carrying a copy once it releases in October. The kindest Facebook group on the internet Sign up for the Latest Lazy Listens email. Grab a copy of my book The Lazy Genius Kitchen or The Lazy Genius Way! (Affiliate links) Download a transcript of this episode. This podcast is hosted by Kendra Adachi and executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi there, you are listening to the Lazy Genius Podcast. I'm Kendra Adachi and I'm here to help you be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. Today is episode 369, the snack episode. Let's start with who this episode is for. It is for those of you who saw the title, The Snack episode and immediately set out loud to no one. Yes, I need this episode. This is for you. That one's kind of obvious.

Now, some of you don't have as much of a challenge with snacks. That might be because you don't have kids or because you've chosen to not worry about your kids snacks at all. Lots of other reasons. No big deal. This episode might not hit as hard for you. However, as I always say in specific episodes like this one, the examples of how to lazy genius something, even if that something is less relatable to you, it still offers you

practice and doing it yourself in your own circumstances. The more you lazy genius something, the better you become at lazy geniusing something. And then the better your life feels too. Not the better it is, but the better it feels, the better you feel because you feel like yourself as you navigate your circumstances in a kind, content way. Okay, so to the snacks. If you have children, one of the most common phrases you will ever hear outside of, mom, look, and what's for dinner is, can I have a snack?

The decision tree that comes from that question is exhausting. Can they? Okay, well, what can they have? Will they get it themselves? Will they clean it up? It's just endless. Snacks, especially in summer, are the bane of many in existence. And so today we're going to try to make handling them easier. This episode is in three parts. Part one is tips, just all the snacking tips from all of you smarties. Part two, we're going to talk through the lazy genius method as it applies to snacks. Anytime we can get a reminder of the lazy genius method, it's a win. And then part three, I'm going to apply the lazy genius method to my own situation. That way you can see the process as it specifically relates to snacks, but also, again, you can see the process.

As I said, that matters too. Okay, let's jump into part one. Tips. I asked the lazy genius private Facebook group, which has almost 40,000. of the kindest, smartest people on the internet, their favorite way to make snacks, especially with kids, easier. There were four Hall of Fame answers that came up again and again, which of course I'll share. And then I filled five pages of other great tips that were super creative. So this is like a whole roomful of lazy geniuses of the week in this episode.

Now the four Hall of Fame snacking tips are first, have a snack platter. A lot of of you either fill a big plate or one of those sectioned off party platters with a lid with snacks for the day. And that's what you or your kids eat from. Lots of versions of those in the comments. What stressor does that eliminate? That eliminates choice. These are your snacks for today. Anything on this tray is a yes, right? Now, what is this have that you might not want to deal with? The prep, the snack prep. As with every single tip I share, all of them come with a price to pay based on what matters to the person, right? So you can choose what matters to you. Just because it's a Hall of Fame tip or any kind of tip at all, it doesn't mean it's going to work for you because

it still comes at some sort of cost to you, right? So you get to choose. All right. Second Hall of Fame tip is having a basket or a bin or a list of always yes snacks. Basically, kids don't even have to ask for these. They can eat anything at any time from this particular group of snacks. Now, what's stress or does this eliminate? The choice and the asking, right? If the answer is always yes, the kids don't even have to ask. Now, what does it have that you might not want to do with? It has the burden of coming up with yes snacks when your kids don't eat a lot of yes foods. And then also like keeping it stocked and all the things. Okay, third Hall of Fame tip is a snack basket that is within reach. If you have tiny humans, this helps a lot and is likely necessary

to your sanity. Why is that? Because this. tip eliminates the stressor of having to get the snack for the kid. If they can reach it, awesome. Now, what challenge might this have? Storage space potentially? Not all of you have, you know, space in your kitchen or pantry or a pantry at all for this kind of thing. And then also having to stock the snack basket. That rhythm might not be preferred for you. Okay, fourth Hall of Fame tip is making the snacks finite in some way. So you can have three. three snacks a day and have whatever you want. You can have anything from this plate, but once the plate is empty, you're done, that kind of thing. So this eliminates the stressor of you managing how

much your kid or you are eating. But it might not work for you because of the challenge of watching a kid mismanage that freedom and then the complaining afterward drives you crazy. That one would be mine. I'm not a good you snooze, you lose parent, because I'm like, why are you snoozing? Don't snooze. This is not going to work. out for you. Like you're making a stupid decision. So I'm not, that's not really my style because I am not good at letting that roll off. Okay. So those were the most common tips shared and you might already do some version of any of these. But now I want to get into some of my favorite tips from the post in the Facebook group. Seriously, these are all so good. And they are worth filling up most of

the episode with. Y'all are like really smart people. I started to group these into categories, but it was just too nuanced and not actually that helpful and then too much took too much time. So we're just going to go straight down the line. Okay. First is Sheila McAoffen. I'm sorry if I say anybody's names wrong. My deepest apologies. This one made me laugh so hard because it's so real. It's also the best idea. Okay, Sheila writes, there are already 103 comments on this post, but I can't let this go without talking about big fruit. I told my kids years ago that they had to have fruit before chips or pretzels or goldfish. So of course they started decimating expensive berries. So I changed it to, you have to have a big fruit first. Big fruit like apple, orange, or banana,

not little fruit like raspberries. To this day, every day after school and all summer long, they announce, I'm having my big fruit, which means they're going to eat one of those things and then get another snack. Oh my gosh. I love this so much. First, it's a great idea if the cost of fruit, something that you're trying to avoid when everyone is home all day. But I also love how different people and families have their random names for things. Like, it's so tender and dear. Like, we have our middle thing. My kids lunchboxes are those bento style ones with a tiny middle compartment where a marshmallow or chocolate chips or sour patch kids or something goes inside. So almost all, like, in the middle of the day snacks are called a middle thing. Like, even if they're not eating

from the lunchbox, it's the best. I want big fruit to be part of our vernacular too. Plus, it definitely helps with a cost. Such a great idea. Okay, next up is Ella Brown. Our number one rule is there are home snacks and there are out of the house snacks. Anything in an individual package is for away from home only. If kids want a snack at home, they get something that is less portable, hence less expensive.

We homeschool, so this rule is especially important for us, but it works for anyone's summer as well. this one came up a few times and in a few like different versions but this might be helpful to you if you like having convenient snacks around but only when they're eaten at the appropriate inconvenient aka out of the house time great idea next is sarah hembray ramos with a great tip that uses technology we've had alexa reminders all year round for snack time that goes off mid-morning and mid-afternoon at our house this has saved us from hangary episodes where when we are all busy with things at home. We also have a lunchtime reminder at noon. The kids think it's really funny when we're actually eating a snack or having lunch and Alexa starts saying,

this is a reminder. Snack time. This is such a great idea, especially if you're home with tiny humans and hangariness comes from people being distracted. So good. Now this next one is a great reminder for the variety of snack situations we all might be in. This is from Kirstie Carter. It's so different between my big kids and my little kids. For my big kids, a package of ramen, a bowl of cereal, or a P.B. and J or a snack. And for my little ones, that would be a meal. If I can sense everyone is getting snacky as I'm trying to make dinner, I'll slice a couple apples and leave them on the counter or pop a bowl of popcorn to keep them out of my way.

First, the apples or the popcorn, like, that's a great idea pre-dinner. But I also want to acknowledge the first part of this. Your snacking challenges might be very different based on the ages of your kids. I bought tiny freezer pizzas and frozen sliders from Trader Joe's last week to see if my boys liked them so they could have them as a snack. Otherwise, Sam's going to make himself four packs of yaku soba every day, which is fine, I guess, but like it's a lot of sodium. And we haven't quite figured out how to get him to wash the pan. He cooked it in without nagging him, and I hate nagging. So feeding teenagers is a whole thing.

It's a whole different ballgame. So if that's you, solidarity. More tips are coming. Okay, next is Meredith Evans Padgett. I have a shelf in the pantry with four of those OXO. Is it OXO or OXO? I don't know, but you know I'm talking about. Pop containers for easy opening and closing. And my kids can fill a snack bowl with anything in those four containers. I found a pack of bowls with a portion size I was comfortable with so I don't have to be in charge of portions for everyone every time. If it fits in the bowl, you can have it. We rotate what fills them as they run out. I love the simplicity of that. It's like a house rule. If it fits in the bowl, you can have it. Tari Kastning is next with this really fantastic idea. Our favorite snack,

mixed up popcorn. I tossed the last half cup of a cereal box into the popcorn, maybe a few chocolate chips, maybe some dried fruit, whatever is at the end of the bag or box and taking up precious pantry space before a Costco run. It gets tossed in with the popcorn. Mixed up popcorn. What a super fun idea this is. And also, obviously, a great way to use up the last bits and pieces of things. I also think snacks that are surprising like this, they just feel extra special. And I also think they make summer feel a little bit more like summer. This episode is brought to you by FedEx. These days, the power move isn't having a big metallic credit card to drop on the check at a corporate launch. The real power move is leveling up your business with FedEx intelligence.

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Or that and enjoy. Via rail, love the way. Aw, isn't something we need to travel for. It's something waiting for us in everyday life, whether in a city street or a moment with a work of art. I'm Dr. Keltner, host of the Science of Happiness podcast. Join me for Cities of Aw, a special series on how our public spaces can spark awe, wonder, and enhance the quality of public life. You can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts. Okay, before we keep going, I know that y'all say that whenever I say something loud is happening outside my window, you can't hear it.

But just the comedy, the comedy that every day that I was going to record this week, I had to pivot because someone was doing yard work. And today is rainy. And I was like, oh, no one's going to be doing yard work. There's not going to be any leaf lowers. You guys, the leaf floor just started. What is happening? I have too many neighbors.

So I don't think you can hear it, but I can hear it. And it's just, it just makes me laugh. Okay. Next tip. Katie Jumper has an idea that's very similar to the yes snacks idea from earlier that this is a great description of what that can look like for one person. so I'm sharing it. Katie writes this.

A snack drawer in the fridge has been my best option. I designate one drawer in the fridge as unlimited snack options. And then I fill it with things I'm happy for my kids to eat as much as they want. Examples, string cheese, baby carrots, apples, mandarin oranges, apples sauce and veggie pouches, Greek yogurt, hummus, dippers, nuts, hummus, that kind of thing. I trust that they know what their bodies need. And if they ruin, quote unquote, ruin their supper. I love people who say supper.

ruin their supper because there are too many carrots. I'm okay with that. Again, I really love people who call dinner supper. I wish I said supper. I wish I was a supper person. It's one of my favorite regional words. Not the point, though. I really like this idea because it takes the pressure off so many parts of snacking.

If you always keep the yes door stocked, kids don't have to ask or even count what they're eating. If you'd rather not regulate the whole like two snacks from this drawer sort of thing, just let them eat foods when they're hungry that nourish and fill. them and then they can grow to trust with their bodies need. This makes me think of Annie, my daughter, my eight-year-old. The other night, we had dinner plans with some friends to meet at Freddy's for dinner. Freddy's is a burger custard place and it's Annie's favorite. Annie loves Freddy's. Their fries are so good. She devours their chicken fingers. Anyway, she came home from

school and she said, I think I'm going to skip a snack today because I want to save room for Freddy's. And then she made like this fake salivating noise, like a cartoon character. I thought that was incredibly of her. In general, kids can learn to manage how much and when they eat and how those choices affect the next meal. It's a great lesson to teach, and I think a yes drawer could be a really good part of that. Okay, the next tip is from Stacey McGee, and it's another take on the fridge drawer that I really love. Each summer, each kid gets a small basket in the fridge with their lunch and a few snacks in it. They can eat it whenever they want. They're also welcome to an unlimited supply of whole fruit, big fruit, on the counter. My husband already makes lunches in the evenings

during the school year. So he continues that task in summer and just throws it in their basket instead of in a lunchbox. It also makes it easy for an impromptu trip to the pool or park with friends because I just dump those baskets in lunch bags and off we go. This is a pretty great idea, especially for little kids. This is their food today. And they can eat what they'd like when they'd like to. I particularly like the portability of the food for those quick trips too. For some of you, this might be worth a try. Okay, next, some permission from Krista Smith. My biggest snacking thing that matters in the summer is having foods that my kids will eat that I don't have to do anything to prepare. That means getting a lot of protein bars and string cheese and individually wrapped things

that make me sad a little inside because of all the wrappers and trash. But at the end of the day, I also know that my time is limited and I want them to be able to grab snacks without my help. Amen to that. This next one from Anne-Marie Amoto literally made me gasp. $20 a week per kid. They go on the Walmart grocery app, order what they want, and if they run out, they run out. Dude, that one is epic. Oh my gosh, I love it.

Okay, this is a fun decide once from Kelsey Jacobs. At our house, Mom chooses morning snack and kids choose afternoon snack. Morning snack usually has some sort of protein in fruit or include some easyish food that helps our body in a lot of ways. Afternoon snack is a kid's choice. So it's often ice cream or cookies, et cetera. I love the simplicity of this so much. I think this is really great. This idea from Katie Teague is a lovely idea for those of you with neighbors or friends who live slightly nearby that you either know and trust or you would like to learn to a no interest. For the last couple summers, we've done popsicles on the porch. I've coordinated with the

other moms on my street and we sign up to host and provide popsicles for all our kids one day each week during the summer. After Memorial Day until school starts up, oh, after Memorial Day until school starts up again. Oh my gosh, you guys. Sorry. We usually meet around 4 o'clock after most littles are up from naps, but not so late that we ruin appetites or interfere with dinner prep. We moms use a group text to confirm time, cancel, or swap days if someone's on vacation or whatever. Popsicles on the porch has been a lovely, low-key way to stay connected as moms during the summer months, and it eliminates decision fatigue and the constant request for popsicles. The kids know the schedule.

And I don't have to figure out every day if I have enough popsicles for my kids and their friends, because I'm only responsible for covering my days. This is a really fun idea. It reminds me of Markella's idea about the park. spreadsheet. Do y'all remember that? Markella is in the Lacey Genius community. She's so great. And there's like one day a week, same time, same day during the summer where a group visits a different park. She has like a spreadsheet with all the parks and the addresses. I think she even has notes about like bathrooms and stuff. And if you come, you come. If you can't, don't sweat it. You know,

it's like this is just park day. If you can make park day cool. I love ideas like that. Love it. Aligning our schedules. Remember this? Aligning our schedules with other people. is how we stay connected to each other. Okay, I really like this realization from Elizabeth Nichols. One thing I'm going to try this summer is better boundaries around meal time. It's not only the constant snacking that gets exhausting to moderate, but also the never-ending breakfast, which pushes lunch late and ultimately turns into confusion about when to allow snacks. What a great thought. Sometimes we think that the problem is snacking, but it could be that breakfast doesn't have an end, especially if you have like multiple kids and a revolving.

door of food. This is an interesting place to maybe make a house rule to stop those chaotic dominoes from falling. Speaking of house rules, Emily Lohr shared hers and has them posted for her kids. She writes this. Last year, I posted some house rules about summer snacks. Veggies are okay all the time, as much as you want, no need to ask. And I try to have these readily available in the fridge. Also, they can always get one snack without asking me. The constant permission of snacks is the most exhausting part for me. And finally, limit of one fruit snacks per day. It's a thing in our house. I posted the list on the pantry door and it helped enough that I'm going to try it again this summer. Kids were three, six, and eight. I love this. It's like the decision is made. All the decisions are

made and the kids know what's up. So great. Okay, here's another one from Carly White. A decide once for snacking in our house to encourage hydration amidst all the playing is if you'd like a snack, you need to drink a cup of water first. Boom. I love this. Keeps him hydrated, fills them up. And it honestly deters bored snacking. At least it would for one of my kids. One of my kids hates drinking water with a passion. And if I made this rule, he might never snack again. Here is yet another example of a house rule around snacks with a different take because we all have different priorities, right? It is from Danielle Squires. My kids can have whatever they want as long as they get it themselves and eat it only in the kitchen.

That alone has taken some of the fun out of it, and they are more likely to eat when they're actually hungry. Lastly, I ask them to tell me what they're eating, not to change it, but I try then to suggest a fruit or a protein to go with it that I will gladly help with to make it more satiating. This is a great idea. Get whatever you want,

but you have to get it and you have to eat it in the kitchen, and you have to let me know. This one is actually one of the best house rules that I've read that I think would work for my kids. They can pretty much get their own thing already, but it's the nagging and then the carrying their snacks every which way that gets on my nerves. Plus, sometimes they snack because they're bored. So do I. It's normal. But if I can curb that somehow, that would be so great. Okay, this series of House Rules and Decide Onces from Fiona Preston, it made me laugh out loud. I make a yes, no flow chart that starts with the heading,

mom, can I have a snack? Mom has many M's. And asks all the pertinent questions like, is it the middle of the night? No, go back to sleep. Is a meal due in the next half hour? Wait until after. Is someone actually cooking a meal for you right now? Are you kidding me? It contains all my decide-ones decisions about what's an acceptable snack, portion size, and how many. I did this last year, only had to redirect to the page a few times. And weirdly, they were far more accepting of the authority of the written word than when I say no. Now, that last part is a sneaky truth. I haven't talked about our bell in a while, but we have a bell, like a big old bell that I ring when screen time is over or when it's time for dinner. And the kids respond to the bell so much differently than if I

tell them with my voice that it's time to be done with screen time or it's time to come to dinner or whatever. Like bells and paper, man. This one from Chris Edmonds, I do in a different way. And not just for summer, but for always. Chris writes this. We have a request column on our menu whiteboard. Each week, I add those into our snack queue if it's not already there, which is broken down into categories. We snack plan the same way we meal plan. Now, I don't snack plan the way I meal plan, but I do ask my kids every week something they want for dinner and I try to accommodate it. We also have a whiteboard on the wall in the kitchen where we mark groceries we need. And often if a kid asks, can we get fruity pebble sometimes? like someone did this morning, I can easily say, yeah, go write it on the board. So having a place for kids and adults to put their needs and preferences is quite lovely. And one more, one more tip to

beautifully close out all of these ideas is from Jessica Fallinger. My lazy genius method is that I don't police snacks. I tried it and it failed miserably. I hated feeling like the snack police so I stopped. No more stress. Just have a snack if you want a snack. My only rule is snacks before dinner have to be a fruit or veggie. I put out fresh fruit and veggies on the table while I cook if the natives are getting restless. Then who cares if they're too full for the meal? They filled up on that. I hope that some of you feel permission to do what Jessica did and what we all sometimes accidentally do, but then feel guilty about. Just don't worry about it. Some of you, that doesn't work, nor do you want it to work. But everyone can decide what matters most and

move forward. If not worrying about snacks is important to you, then just don't worry about snacks. Now, this has already been like a pretty robust episode. We could stop here with a lot of great tips. And sometimes all we need is one idea to make things easier. But just in case you would like to look at snacks on a slightly larger scale and view your summer and your kids if you have them, because that's very likely where the snack stress exists, maybe even your own relationship to snacks. If you want to look at that through a thoughtful lazy genius lens, let's remind our of the lazy genius method. Sometimes when you want a lazy genius something, you just apply one principle to it and you call it good. You know, essentialize this cabinet. Check. Let people into this

HR problem I'm having at work. Check. Be kind to myself on literally everything. Check. But sometimes you might want more of a process to think through a challenge on a larger scale. And that's when you use the lazy genius method. The lazy genius method is highlighted in the most detailed way in my second book, The Lazy Genius Kitchen. The first part of that book explains the method, the five steps of the method. The second part of the book applies those five steps to six areas in your kitchen, things like your space, your planning, your food. And then the third part of that book is this really rad appendix with all kinds of tables and charts and lists and ideas on how to deal with specific challenges in your kitchen. It's illustrated in full color. Honestly, it's such a cool book that does not really

have a sibling on most bookstore shelves. In fact, a lot of bookstore owners ask me where other bookstores shelved the lazy genius kitchen because they don't know whether to put it with other cookbooks since it's not a cookbook with the self-help section, but that's weird because it's about the kitchen or in the home section, but also it's not really about decorating or anything. Like, where does it go? It goes on your shelf is where it goes. It is super helpful and a great resource to pull from for a long time. So anyway, that is where the lazy genius method was first. introduced. So the five steps are prioritize, or name what matters, essentialize or get rid of what's in the way, organize or put everything in its place, personalize or feel like yourself, and systemize or stay in the

flow. Prioritize, essentialize, organize, organize, personalized, and systemize. This process will help you lazy genius pretty much anything ever. Okay, so that's the method. Let's apply it to my own summer snack situation. I'll show you how it works in this context. And since I haven't actually thought about how I want to handle snacks for the summer yet, this is a helpful exercise for me. So thank you very much. Okay, first step is to prioritize. Now here's a quick hack on the whole priority thing. Sometimes it's hard to know it really matters, right? There's like a lot that could matter and it's hard to see it. One way to narrow it down is just to narrow it down. What could matter? List it out. What does matter? Really name it from that list. And then what matters most. But another approach,

is a little hacky, but also pretty great. You can find your priority by just inverting your problem. If you can name the problem or the annoyance, you've pretty much already named your priority. So for me with snacking, the problem that I see and I've experienced in summer's past is that I grow tremendously weary of always answering snack questions. I get asked a lot, mom, can I have a snack? or mom, what can I have for a snack? When you're asked this by three different people multiple times a day, even if they ask nicely, it can wear you down. And it does me.

So the problem is the asking, the constant asking, and therefore the constant decision-making and answering. And now I can really see my priority. What matters to me with summer snacking is that I'm not policing snacks. I'm like, Jessica, at the end there, I just don't want to do it. I would like to be done with policing. But there are a couple of approaches. to this priority. If it matters that I don't have to choose, that can look like not choosing and just

letting them go or making it clear what the answer is without them having to ask me. It's the difference between Jessica's Have a Snack If You Want a Snack approach, where the kids just do it, and Fiona's flow chart where there's still an answer, but Fiona laid out the answers for all the scenarios already. She did it one time. Both result in the the same thing, right? And that neither Jessica nor Fiona is being asked by a kid if they can have a snack. Now, you might see the particular differences and options just in naming what matters, but if not, you can just keep going in this process and land on something. Okay. So my priority is that the kids know their snacking options without having to ask me. All right, how can I do that?

Let's look at step number two. Step two is essentialize. Essentializing is having what you need and getting rid of what you don't. Just have the essentials. So first, what is in the way of my kids knowing their snack options? Well, the first one is I don't really have any house rules around snacks. The only thing we have is if a day is a chip day. My kids, especially Sam and Annie, they love chips. Sam would eat an entire bag of chips without thinking.

And I mean like a party size bag. I'd rather he not do that and definitely not on a daily basis. He does not listen to his cues very well. So if we have chip days so that he doesn't nag me for chips on other days, maybe we could have house rules around other things, right? It would probably be a good idea to make some house rules. Now another thing, though, that is in the way of this is my guilt. And I didn't realize this until I went through the process, like literally right now.

But every time a kid asked me for a snack, I feel like it's a amazing. I feel like it's a memorandum on what kind of mall I am. My kids don't snack on vegetables. People say to leave out cut up vegetables and if the kids are hungry enough or if they just see them, they'll eat them. I don't even do that. Do you know how many cut up pepper sticks I've thrown out over the years? I am not a raw vegetable person and for the most part, neither are my kids.

Now, in light of that, one thing that might be in the way is my assumptions about how my kids feel about vegetables. Maybe they would feel differently if I put some out more often. maybe I'm going off old information, how they used to respond to cut up vegetables. You know, that could also be true. But I do know that I feel low-grade guilt about that every time a kid asks for a snack. Like, am I being a bad mom because they don't always have protein? Am I being a bad mom because I am letting them eat so close to dinner?

Am I being a bad mom because I would rather just give them what they want and not hear them complain than parent in that moment, you know? Now, if I was talking to you and you were sharing this with me, I would absolutely unequivocally say, under no circumstances are you a bad mom? Of course not. We all have to make the choices that work for us in our seasons. I know this to be true, but I still have to remind myself of that. And the honest truth is I feel guilty about how my kids snack.

But they snack like most kids snack, probably. But honestly, even as I say that, I'm trying to justify the wrong things. You know, what's in the way is not a lack of reality about how normal my kids are. What's in the way is the guilt? That is really what's in the way. I don't need to move past the guilt by making it about something else. I know it's about the guilt. So I want, I really want to release that.

I want to essentialize the guilt I feel because my kids don't eat bell peppers. You know, I'd like to move into the summer without guilt around whatever I choose to do with my kids and snacks. And I also need some house rules. I know I can't just let them go because of how my kids are wired, especially my oldest, but some house rules would let them know what is allowed without having to ask me. Okay. So now step three is to organize or put everything in its place. So I need my house rules. I honestly don't know what they are yet. But I'm going to think through these tips from this episode. I'm going to talk to my kids about what we all think is reasonable because they're old enough to have a say and how we do things. And then I'm going to

to put those house rules probably on the fridge. Now step four, because that's their place, right? Because that's what organizing is, is it's putting something in their place. Step four is to personalize or feel like yourself. I think that organizing house rules on the fridge or somewhere visible and preserving my sanity is actually how I will feel like myself. Like that one kind of takes care of itself. I don't need to add anything here. And then step five is to systemize or stay in a flow. the nice thing about how I will organize my snack situation is that it will keep things flowing. The only things that flow in this scenario are questions and groceries. And we already have processes for the groceries and we're going to have a process for the questions.

The snack questions will now flow through the posted house rules and the food flow or making sure we have snacks. It already works with our whiteboard on the wall and getting groceries twice a week. This often happens when you use the lazy genius method. One or two steps will really stand out, rendering the others less important to think through because they already work well for some reason, you know? That's a normal part of the process. So enjoy it when it happens rather than think you're missing something. And you're like, oh, this step was not very hard.

Should I make it harder? No. No. So what are my decisions and my tasks leaving this process? What do I need to do to start small and create a summer snack? solution for my family. I need to sit down with my kids and discuss our house rules. That's what's next. After that conversation, we'll decide what's next after that. Make sense? This is a long episode to be about snacks, but I hope that at least one of the tips you heard works for you or that you

feel seen in how challenging it can be depending on your season of life to deal with snacks. It's no joke to feel overwhelmed by this, especially in the summer. So take heart, pals. We can handle the snacks. And that's the snack episode. Okay, before we go, let's celebrate the lazy genius of the week, even though this whole episode was filled with them. This week, it's Hillary Son and Tag. Hillary writes, hey, Kendra, I wanted to share with you a way of lazy genius coming home from a weekend away with a family. I have three young boys, and when I pack us up to come home, instead of putting everyone's things back in their own duffel bags, I batch it. Dirty laundry goes in one bag, clean into another, and all the things,

will need for bedtime when we get home in the third. Lovies, white noise machines, medication, etc. It makes it so easy to unpack the car quickly and grab what's essential for bedtime if we get home late and unpacking the rest of the car can wait until the boys are tucked in. What a great idea this is, Hillary. I've heard of people doing a dirty laundry bag for sure, but the bedtime bag, that is really, really smart. Many people listening know the feeling of getting home from a long drive or a flight or just an emotionally exhausting trip of any length and not being able to find the important things.

In fact, I think this feels like it could work for anyone, not just kids, pack an important things bag when you're leaving wherever you've traveled to. This is such a great idea, Hillary. So thank you for sharing and congratulations on being the lazy genius of the week. This episode is hosted by me, Kendra Adachi, and executive produced by Kendra Adachi,

Jenna Fisher, and Angela Kinsey. The Lazy Genius podcast is enthusiastically part of the Office Ladies Network. Special thanks to Leah Jarvis for weekly production. Thanks y'all for listening. And until next time, be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. I'm Kendra and I'll see you next week. You ever felt like you were living just a B or B plus life? It's so dangerous to live that more dangerous than a B minus or a C plus life because

when you're living a B or B plus life, you don't change it. You think it's good enough. Is it? I'm Susie Welch. I host a podcast called Becoming You. People think, okay, an A-plus life is not available to me, but there is a way. We are all in the process of becoming ourselves. Listen to Becoming You wherever you get your podcasts.