I thought I would share something I do in my home, with the snacks for my children, that really works for us.
This is what my shelf, in the pantry, looks like when I don’t use my snack bucket. Years ago I got sick of this look and I also got tired of my kids saying, “what snack can I have?
So I made a snack bucket out of an empty animal cracker bucket from by cleaning it out good, taking off the label, and adding some vinyl-“snacks”, cut with my Cricut. This way I could eliminate all those boxes from granola bars, crackers and fruit snacks.
PLUS I buy these snack size ziplock bags at Walmart- a couple of bucks for 100- and I fill those with fishy crackers, pretzels, chex mix etc. eliminating bags as well. 
Some things I love about this system:
- My kids know what snacks are available, because I only put the snacks that are free reign in that bucket
- The portions are controlled, no more eating a whole bag of pretzels in one day
- Snacks are “on the go” ready. I don’t know how many times I have been trying to get out the door with kids, and as I am trying to herd them through the doorway one says, “I’m hungry!” Then they all think they’re hungry and I’m waiting for 5min for everyone to find a snack. This bucket makes it easier for my kids to grab something to go. And if we are all going somewhere and might get hungry, I just grab the whole bucket and throw it in the van. EASY, no thinking involved.
- And look how much better my snack shelf looks!
This bucket also makes it easy to lock up snacks if needed. There are days when I just have to shut down the snacking. I have a couple of kids who would snack all day if I let them. Putting the bucket up high or locking it somewhere stops the snacking. Also, I only refill the bucket every other week so if the kids choose to eat all the snacks before then, they are tough out of luck. This way THEY regulate what they eat, or suffer the consequences.
I recently put a basket together for the fridge as well. 
We love snacking on fruits, veggies, cheese etc. that are kept there, so why not. I have noticed that my children will eat more fruits (grapes, berries, apples) and veggies (celery, carrots, cucumbers) if they are ready to go, meaning no washing and cutting necessary. This basket helps keep all these little things together and organized- I just LOVE IT!
I hope these tips are helpful!! How do you organize or control snacks at your house?
SEE THE HAPPY!
You just motivated me to organize my cupboards. It’s something I need to do more often. Plus, I think having a specific space for snacks will help with my kids. Thanks!
Laurie, I love to hear that!! So glad that something I do motivates someone to do something good:) Have fun organizing.