Build an outdoor eating kit

This year we perfected our outdoor dining kit. We keep the kit in our front closet and pull it out after we place a pick-up order and find a nearby table.

• Utensils and plates. You can pick up individual forks and spoons from most stores or find extras in your utensil drawer. We picked up divided plates with higher walls which supports a range of food types.
• Kitchen shears. Skip knives and go for kitchen shears. You can much more quickly snip food into bite-size pieces and you will save the surface of your plates.
• Linens. A cloth tablecloth and napkins makes even the most weathered table more comfortable. Once we get home, everything goes in the wash and comes out new again. We also keep a package of baby wipes for those extra sticky situations.
• Reusable takeaway containers. We keep a few takeaway containers in our kit to prevent leaks from leftovers.
• Wet dry bags. Our kit has two wet dry bags. One holds all the clean utensils and plates and the other is for the dirtied counterparts.
• Mosquito repellent. A bug-free meal is about 5 minutes away with the Radius Zone Mosquito Repellent.
• A tote. Our local grocery store sells a collapsible grocery tote and it ended up being the perfect vessel for our kit. To add some structure, we added IKEA drawer organizers.