Thank you Brawny® Tear-A-Square® for sponsoring this post about Lunchbox love: origami paper towels. Think of all the ways you can Put a Square There!
I realized the other day that I’ve been making lunches for my family every weekday {and most weekends} for over 12 years now. Besides the random hot lunch here or there for special occasions, that’s around 300 lunches a year, per person. Correct my math if I’m wrong, but if I make 5 lunches a day, and roughly 300 per person/year… that equals an *absolutely insane* amount of lunches I create each year.
As someone who isn’t overly creative with food, I struggle with ways to add a little more fun to the meals I pack. Sure, we do lunch box letters and little jokes, I try and consistently write notes on disposable packages, and I even do a fair amount of special bento box lunches to break up the monotony. But, I think I finally came up with my best idea yet to make everyday lunches fun: origami with Brawny® Tear-A-Square® paper towels.
The idea couldn’t be easier – I’m already adding Brawny® to each lunch anyway, so why not to simply fold the paper towel I’m already using into fun origami style shapes and designs? It doesn’t take long at all to do and the added fun of having your Brawny® paper towel folded in a fancy or whimsical way makes the kids super happy.
With the new Brawny® Tear-A-Square® paper towels with perforated quarter-size sheets, it makes it so easy to add to lunches and fold into all sorts of shapes – no matter if you use the full sheet, a half sheet, or a quarter sheet. I may never be able to pull off the themed lunches that circulate the internet every time there’s a new movie or popular release, but I can make any lunch *seem* themed by the simple addition of Brawny® origami.
At lunchtime, they simply unfold their design and their Brawny® squares are all ready for lunch. The full sheet size is perfect for my child who prefers laying out lunch and taking bites of all the different types of foods throughout lunch, as well as handling any lunchtime mishap. The half sheet size is perfect for assembling crackers and cheese, or veggies and dip. And, the quarter sheet size is perfect for food left on face and fingers, sharing with friends, and keeping lunchboxes tidy.
That’s because Brawny® Tear-A-Square® paper towels are super absorbent and able to catch any wayward spills or messes… theirs, or their schoolmates. The fact that they are perforated means that the kids can easily share a square if their friends are in need, or make multiple small paper towels available for really messy meals. I love knowing that my kids can easily handle mishaps for the whole table thanks to Brawny® Tear-A-Square® paper towels that are shareable, versatile, and can handle anything a kid can throw at it.
Lunchbox love: origami paper towels
The origami itself is surprisingly easy to do, and you can basically use any favorite folding techniques and designs. The strength of Brawny® can handle hard creases required for meticulous folds, while the flexibility of the sheets makes it so they never, ever tear while you are working with it. In short, all the reasons why you already love Brawny® are the very reasons why it’s the perfect origami medium. Brawny® Tear-A-Square® paper towels make it even easier to get creative because the square perforations make for the perfect folds every time, as well as allowing you to make smaller or bigger creations, depending on how many squares you use.
We played around with a simple bunny fold, just in time for Easter, and it turned out so cute that I think we’ll end up using it long after the holiday is over. For love notes, a simple heart or pinwheel fold is the way to go, and then you can add a small note to the front to make it extra special, if you like. For special occasions, you really can’t go wrong with a flower folded with Brawny®. My dad joined the fun and made his famous super-secret-best-paper-airplane-ever out of a full sheet of Brawny® Tear-A-Square® paper towels for my little guy, which he thought was especially cool come lunchtime.
With all the special stuff we’ve tried to add to lunches throughout the years, Brawny® origami is my absolute favorite for a variety of reasons:
- It’s not an extra thing to buy and store since it utilizes the Brawny® products have already used for years, just now in a new version with the different sheet sizes. Everything you need is right out on the paper towel holder.
- It doesn’t *require* a love note or special message {although you are welcome to add those if you wish for extra fun}, so you don’t have to agonize over the perfect message. The love instead comes in the form of Brawny®, which is my kind of love.
- You can make up a whole bunch of Brawny® origami at one time with the whole family, and then just slip them into lunches as you would like. You can add one every day, spread out the origami fun throughout the month, or you can reserve it for special occasions.
- This new way of adding lunchbox fun took all those letter-folding tricks I used all through elementary and middle school and finally put them to good use. Just when I thought my origami talents would go to waste forever, I now have a new outlet for my paper folding and a great way to share it with the next generation of paper folders, or as the case may be, *paper towel* folders.
- The bonus of adding Brawny® origami to the lunchboxes is that the kids are much more likely to use the paper towel if it’s fun to do so. This means less greasy hand marks on clothing, less unchecked lunch spills, and less food left on faces long after lunchtime.
Just since we started adding our Brawny® origami to lunch, I’ve seen them come to the rescue numerous times. So many times on the way to and from school one of the kids we walk with has needed a quick wipe, and one of my kids will happily open up their lunch and whip out their Brawny® Tear-A-Square® paper towel creation to save the day. They share their square and the kid that was rescued always comments on how soft and amazing their shared Brawny® is.
Throughout the years of packing lunches and carting them to and from school, up and down the stairs, and tossing them into bins, we’ve had our share of mishaps, even before the kids opened them up in the lunchroom. We’re talking punctured yogurts, juices that we’re quite closed, and all sorts of lids that popped off reusable containers. All those times, Brawny® has saved my sanity – and our beloved lunchboxes – by handling spills we didn’t even know were happening. Add a square {or four} to your child’s lunch and see how it can make lunchtime stress-free for you and your child.
Ready to master Brawny® origami for yourself and make lunchtime amazing and mishap-free? Check out the new Brawny® Tear-A-Square® paper towels and see how it makes lunchtime origami even easier and more fun with three different sheet size options that all have the same strength and flexibility you expect from Brawny®.
So cool, what a fun idea!
I would have never thought of this – what an awesome idea!