During the spring and summer, we picnic quite a bit. Between evenings at the baseball field and days and dinners at the beach, we’ve refined our ability to be ready for a picnic quickly.

Tips to being picnic ready

Being ready really is the key. The difference between a successful picnic and a challenging meal outside can be as small as having a dry place to sit and a napkin. To that end, we get a bag ready at the beginning of baseball season, and keep it ready every day through the summer.

• Dedicate a bag or two.
  We have one large canvas bag for most of our picnic supplies and one for transporting the bulk of the food. The supplies bag should be ready and conveniently located – and I often fold the food bag and put it in the supplies bag so I know where it is at all times. Then I carry it up from the basement all together, open the food bag and start filling it.
• Don’t forget the cooler.
  Although I try to keep items requiring chilling to a minimum, you always need a cooler. Ours is medium-sized and perfect for waters, yogurt, boxed milks and the occasional bottle of white wine.
• Reclosable, stackable plastic containers are your friend.
  Putting your food in plastic containers makes organizing your food bag easy, and helps keep the food bag clean. Stack, stack, stack.
• Acquire a waterproof picnic blanket/spread.
  These are available many places but you can even make your own by sewing together some sheet plastic and a sturdy material such as canvas. The waterproof element makes a huge difference.
• Invest in reusable items just for picnicing.
  I have a set of melamine plates and bowls and plastic cups that stay with the picnic bag (aside from cleaning). I have enough for two meals for our family – and often use them all if we picnic on the beach with guests. I also have inexpensive cutlery in a handled caddy, and I have a rotating stash of fabric napkins.
• Don’t forget the details.
  Even though we have fabric napkins, we always seem to need paper towels, so I keep a roll in the bag. If the meal is messy, I moisten several and keep them in a reclosable plastic bag for instant “wipes.” I also keep three plastic grocery bags in the canvas bag – one for recyclables, one for garbage, and one for the dirty dishes and cutlery so I can transport them home without mucking up the canvas bag. If you have bottles of any kind with your picnic, be sure you have a way to open them. Keep a bottle opener and/or a corkscrew with the cutlery caddy. And don’t forget the utensils you might need to serve food — trying to portion out chicken salad with a teaspoon doesn’t quite cut it.
• Do it all over again.
  As soon as you get home from your picnic, wash the bits that need to be washed immediately and replace them in the supplies bag, rotate out dirty fabric napkins and reorganize the bag to be ready for your next picnic. A couple of times a season, I wash the picnic bags, but get them ready again quickly.

With this simple planning, I can get all the elements into the car and ready to go very quickly.

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