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As most of you know, I’ve been spending the majority of my time preparing my daughter for Kindergarten. However, all of that back-to-school preparations were starting to wear me down. It’s summer and I just want to relax and enjoy the blue skies and sun. So today, I took the day off and packed up a picnic basket and drove to one of my favorite parks. I’m smiling as I type this because outdoor picnics are on the very top of things that makes me happy. As I stretched out my legs in the grass and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon, I thought that it would only be right to share some my summer picnic basket hacks with you. So here are 5 picnic basket hacks for your most fabulous picnic ever:

1. Swap fresh flowers for faux flowers

It’s no secret I am a fresh flower kind of gal! If you read this blog, you know that fresh flowers are a big part of my life. However, if you’re going to have a fabulous picnic you’ll have a hard time keeping fresh flowers from getting wilted but more importantly, no bugs will be circling your pretty faux flowers.  I added my faux flowers to my basket. If you like it, let me know and I will do a tutorial.

2. Swap juice and soda for sparkling water

Who doesn’t love sparkling water? I particularly love sparkling water in my picnic basket. This summer, my sparkling water of choice is the new IZZE Sparkling Water. I can sip guilt-free since IZZE Sparkling Water has just 10 calories per 12-oz serving and a hint of organic pure cane sugar.

This water truly sparkles with flavor: IZZE starts by triple-filtering mountain spring water, eliminating any impurities for the cleanest, freshest sparkling taste. Then they add organic fruit flavors, which you can definitely taste. YUM! IZZE Sparkling Water is also USDA Organic Certified – made with organic natural flavors and organic cane sugar. You can pack the Blackberry Pear, Mandarin Lime and Raspberry Watermelon flavor in your picnic basket. I love the twist-on cap for picnics because you don’t have to worry about having to use a bottle opener. 

3. Line your basket with plastic.

It goes without saying that some of your sparkling water may spill in your pretty basket especially if you’re having too much for or enjoying the picnic with your little ones. To avoid ruining your basket, line the bottom with a supermarket plastic bag and then layer your towels on top of it until it’s completely covered.

4. Wrap sandwiches in individual towels

I love sandwiches for picnics especially if it’s a lunchtime picnic. Instead of worrying about sandwiches getting squashed or having to bring plates to serve them in, wrap them in individual napkins. I like using bandanas because they’re very stylish and inexpensive.

5. Use liner as garbage bag

No one wants to put their garbage in their beautiful picnic basket but you’ll need something for garbage. I like to use the plastic bag that I lined my basket with to toss all my garbage into. Makes life simple and keeps my basket pretty.

Do you have any picnic hacks to add to this list for a fabulous picnic?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

This post was sponsored by GOJO Industries, the makers of PURELL® Hand Sanitizer. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

I’ve always loved back-to-school shopping! I remember my mom getting me dressed up in cute little outfits and taking me shopping for new shiny things at the end of every summer. I always looked forward to that day, I would come home and put all my new supplies in my new backpack and wear it all around the house. That’s one of the reasons, I’ve been looking forward to going shopping for school supplies since the day of The Princess Fairy’s Pre-K graduation. We finally started our shopping last week and by the time we got to Target my hands were trembling with anticipation (don’t judge me). Anyway, now that I am a mommy it’s not all about getting shiny things and new crayons. That’s the fun part and we got lots of those but I made sure to stock up on hand santizing products to keep the kiddo healthy.

PURELL® Advanced Hand Sanitizer was very important for me to get for back-to-school. Although, my daughter is very mature and understands the importance of washing her hands properly before meals and after using the bathroom, I worry about when she is at school and at activities. As an adult, I have noticed that kids are sometimes less aware of the “germy” knobs they touch or even sharing toys that a friend who is sick may have touched. To give her additional protection, I purchased a big bottle of PURELL® Advanced Hand Sanitizer for her teacher’s desk.

Protecting the class including the teachers and kids is important. It’s not all about my child being healthy, I want everyone to be healthy.

This school year, I am looking forward to chaperoning The Princess Fairy’s field trips again. Last school year, I only missed one and her daddy was able to go. Field trips are so much fun and a great way to bond with your kids, teachers and other parents but they always present challenges to get little hands clean.

I stocked up on PURELL® Hand Sanitizing Wipes just for this reason. I love the wipes especially for petting zoos and other trips that require little hands to be touchy.