summer go-bag

There is a certain ease that settles in during the warm months. Mostly, the ease of getting three boys out the door quickly. Shorts, t-shirt, and shoes that slip right on to our feet. “Please put on your flip flops, Love.” Instead of the winter battle, “Come over here so that I can put your boots on. Find your jacket. Where is your hat? But, you HAVE to wear gloves and COME OVER HERE SO THAT I CAN PUT YOUR BOOTS ON!”

However, summer activities require “stuff” too [even heading out to the back yard to play, because GNATS and MOSQUITOES]. Enter our “summer go-bag”, which in my case features a LOT of “31” [+ a giveaway for you!].

A glimpse at my reality:

Our summer go-bag is pre-packed ready to grab and head out the door. While yours may look different than mine, here is how I make ours work // stay as organized as possible [which is sometimes simply organized chaos]:

I begin with either the large utility tote [left] or zip-top organizing utility tote [right]. The large utility tote is perfect for events where we are going to arrive and stay in one place [picnic, pool, or if the boys stay overnight with family]. The zip-top organizing utility tote is our constantly packed, hanging in the entry way, multi-purpose bag // mainly because I can easily make it fit into the basket below the stroller, but also with the zippered top it can function as a shoulder bag. I am a huge fan of all of the outside pockets for keeping organized and finding items easily.

In the side mesh pockets I keep camelbak kids water bottles with ice water in one and baseball caps in the other. The smaller outside pockets are perfect for sunscreen [our favorite], bug spray [our favorite], sunglasses, stashing a cell phone and car keys, and a few band-aids. I also carry a few essential oils [deep relief roll-on for bumps + bruises, lavender for bug bites, cuts and scrapes, and stress away]. [if you have questions about essential oils, you can e-mail me and/or check out youngliving.com and use 1600697 if you sign up as a customer and don’t have a rep]

To keep the inside of our totes organized, I use:

1) pocket-a-tote: this is a small pouch with snapped-straps on the back of it allowing to easily attach to either of the utility bags above and keep smaller items at-hand. I keep a small amount of cash, my drivers license, and membership cards [zoo, museum, etc] in ours.

2) littles carry-all caddy: this is a perfect place to stash small toys [in our case, for the little brothers while we’re at t-ball games] or, if you are using the large utility tote [above] this is a great place for the smaller items like sunglasses, bug spray and sunscreen.

3) thermal zipper pouch: love love love this pouch. It is the perfect size for a small ice pack, juice boxes, string cheese, yogurt, produce and hard boiled eggs if you are going to be out-and-about at lunch time or just need to tote along perishable snacks.

4) zipper pouch: I utilize two of these zipper pouches [the size is perfect + functional] in our summer-go bag. One is the diaper pouch [diapers, wipes, a change of bottoms for the boys, extra outfit for the babe] and the other is our snack bag. Regardless of where we are going, with three young boys, leaving house with snacks is a must. Typical items found in our snack bag include: gogo squeeze, craisins, fruit snacks, cheerios, and granola bars.

I am teaming up with Jamie to give away the gift of 31 to TWO readers! The first drawing will be for the “littles carry-all caddy” and “zipper pouch” from us at three boys closet, and the second drawing for a $10 gift card from Jamie. To enter, see details below. This giveaway will end at NOON CST on Friday, June 13th, 2014. [link to my party] Click the Rafflecopter link to enter the giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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