Homemade ice pack that can go into a school lunch box. These are inexpensive because they are made from sponges so if they get lost, no big deal. This DIY ice pack hack is reusable so it is good for the environment as well so scroll down to learn how to make ice pack….
The first week of school was 89% disaster-free. I consider that a complete success. My kindergardener doesn’t start until tomorrow and I am anxious for that beautiful day to arrive. He was completely insulted that all his older siblings got to start last week and he was stuck at home with his mom and 2-year old sister.
A certain child of mine, and I won’t name any names (Luke), tends to go through at least 3 lunch boxes a year and countless reusable containers and icepacks. Last year, I made him pay for his own replacements in an attempt to make him more responsible.
I was thrilled when I found this method for making your own homemade ice pack. I’ve tried freezing water bottle or juice boxes but they are never thawed by the time my kids eat lunch so then they don’t have a drink. This DIY ice pack method is so simple and when they get lost, it won’t cost a fortune to buy new ones.
How to Make Ice Pack for Lunch Box
- Purchase an inexpensive pack of sponges – These sponges will not be cleaning a thing so just find a big sponge that is cheap. One of the best aspects of using this method is that when your child accidentally throws it away, it is no big deal.
- Soak the sponges in water – Just grab a big bowl and let the sponges completely soak up as much water as they possibly can. It is the frozen water in the sponges that provide the cold.
- Put each sponge in a small zip style bag – These bags serve two purposes. First and most obvious is that as the ice melts, it contains the water so it doesn’t make a mess. Secondly, keeping that water contained allows the melted sponge to reabsorb the water so it is ready to refreeze.
- Freeze the wet and bagged sponges overnight – In the morning, all you need to do is toss that lunch box ice pack into their lunch. Once your munchkin gets home from school, they just toss the bag back into the freezer so it is ready again in the morning. After a few weeks, you might need to add a bit more water to the sponge before freezing as a bit of evaporation does take place over time.
Looking for more back to school and lunch box hacks? Check out my magic method for keeping sliced apples from turning brown for days!
101 comments
What a good idea – thanks for sharing 🙂
I found out several health tips in which you could use up a lot of kitchen stuff in your home as an alternative. Recently, I also got a souvenir item made out of sponge and different kitchen wares, they all look amazing and interesting I must say.
I am a daycare provider and we make them for kiddo booboos. They wrk great!
Now there’s a great go-to accessory for anybody in a bit of a bind. No need to go anywhere else when you accidentally touch over the hot surface of a pot while cooking or something.
Wow! That sure is a one very good idea to make the life span of an ice longer. Guess, I’ll be buying quite a number of sponges to serve as a coolant to any food I have. Thanks for this idea, it do help a lot!
All that I can say is wow! I am amazed with creative people. To be able to come up with something from nothing. Keep it up and I’m sure that creativity will bring you fortune someday.
I love these. We currently are only using a small bar fridge & these are small enough we could use them. Most freezer packs are too big for our tiny freezer.
I wouldn’t put them straight in back in the freezer, I would give them a rinse first and replace the bag every day and the sponge every week. Water gets stagnant, these would be really unhygienic.
I wonder would “chux” style wipes be more hygienic? they could be washed and dried daily on a cycle (fast drying), some in freezer, some in wash cycle. they could also act as face and hand wipes after lunch:)
[…] In searching for more family friendly, frugal ways I came across this DIY Lunch box Ice packs from My Kitchen Escapades. It’s truly genius and I cannot believe I never thought of this before. The first week of […]