A certain person in my household has a rather hard time remembering his lunch in the morning. He will leave it on the entryway table while picking up his keys, and then I'll get a rather sad call an hour later, asking me to return it to the refrigerator. I rib him about this, but I'd love to just solve the problem, for his sake! So I turned to The Kitchn's Twitter friends (do you follow us?) and asked them: What is the very best way to remember one's lovingly home-packed lunch in the morning? Here's what they had to say!
The Best Ways to Remember Your Lunch in the Morning
Put your keys in the fridge!
MarriedWDinner says, "I put my keys in the fridge with my lunch. can't get far without them!" This is was by far the most popular reply, coming from many of our Twitter friends, including indymavs, p_duddy, and ShandonCourt. bmorecatlover said, "Put your keys on top of your lunch, whether it's in the fridge or not."
TwoTartsBlog and OnTheMenu took it one step beyond, however, and said, "Remember your lunch by putting your keys in your lunch box," and "Put your car keys in the lunch bag!" (That might help my husband the most!)
There were other ideas, too, like:
Stick a Post-It note on the front door.
This idea also came from a few people, like MarieAlixSaint, , and local_kitchen, who said, "Leave sticky w/ LUNCH! on back of front door; leave room-temp portion of lunch in obvious spot on kitchen counter."
BoulderLocavore says, "Large neon post it notes everywhere: fridge, door to car, on steering wheel. Put car keys with it!" stacyblue concurs and says, "Post-It note on the door/car keys. Or I pack my lunch first, leave it on top of my bag, then get ready to go."
MangoTomato is a little more high-tech; she says, "I put a post it note on my phone the night before to remind myself of things to bring to work in the morning including lunch."
LostNCheeseland uses this idea but makes it even cuter: "Write notes on a cute chalkboard that can be hung in your kitchen reminding you to prepare it the night before!"
Kay819 says, "Sometimes I put my empty lunch bag next to my purse so I'll see it and remember to bring my lunch!"
Get help!
My favorite tip, though, had to be this sweet one from cucinagirl, who said, "A husband who puts it on the counter by your purse. :)" staceyviera also said, "A wife who guilt-trips you if u forget it is effective."
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What is your favorite way to remember your lunch on the way out the door? Do you resort to one of these methods, or do you have another trick?
Related: Plastic-Free Lunch Containers (and More!) from OM Goods
(Images: Julie Prichard)
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i hang my lunch box on the door knob so that i can't get the car without touching it.
I put my lunch bag on the floor in front of the door along with my laptop bag so I can't leave without running into them. I managed to forget both at least once until I started this habit (seriously, who forgets their computer for a computer job) - haven't forgotten since.
Long ago, I made a little drawing of a pizza that says LUNCH to tape to the door so my bf would remember to bring the leftover pizza with him to work. We've been reusing that sign ever since.
Am I the only person who is reeeeaaalllly NOT a fan of putting your keys inside of your fridge? I mean, my fridge is clean and sanitary and I keep all my containers covered ... but I know where my keys have been and where I've dropped them, and the last place they're going is in the fridge.
However, I love the idea of a note on or by the door, especially one a cute little chalkboard =)
doorknob too!
Put the lunch bag (or room temp portion of lunch, in a bag) on top of your shoes or on the floor by the door. Works great if you don't have dogs, and no way you'll leave without them.
I think that it is because I am such a creature of habit that I have never had this problem. But, I like the keys in the fridge idea the best!
I don't forget lunch, but I do tend to leave my full travel mug in the car for the entire day, forget that my iPod is in a different purse, etc.
I can usually arrive at any forgotten item by pausing and considering what's in my hands, bag, and pockets. Unless you're about to miss the bus by mere seconds (been there, sigh), you almost always have 30 seconds to pause and think about what you're carrying before you rush out the door.
Usually I put the lunchbox on the table so it's staring at me while I'm eating breakfast, but like akay I also have a leaving the house muttered inventory ("bus pass? keys? wallet? phone? lunch? coffee cup? ok, we can go!") I'm not so bothered about forgetting my lunch once in a while, but after two separate incidents of being locked out and having to spring for a locksmith, I'm pretty fanatical about never stepping outside without my keys. The rest just follows!
I like the keys idea, but my husband (the lunch forgetter) rides his bike in the spring and summer. I could put his bike helmet in the fridge, or maybe his lunch in his helmet. We definitely need to figure something out so that he can remember his lunch every day.
I have a small doorknob chalkboard (from Etsy) that I write things on and then it get's stuck wherever I need the reminder.
I forget my lunch... I forget my breakfast too :(
I make my lunch each morning, along with my GF's coffee and the dog's breakfast. If I ever forgot to make my lunch, I would be 15 mins early leaving and that would probably clue me in!
I'm so used to leaving the house with my lunch bag that I immediately feel something is amiss if I don't have it. On days I purposefully don't bring a lunch I always walk down the stairs with a vague feeling that I'm forgetting something.