Fifty Two Shades of Shay: The Pool Bag (with a giveaway!)

Let's be real here.  I am pretty darn organized.  So organized that I can't include "being organized" as one Shade of Shay...I have to break them down.  But pool bags?  Really?  Should that be a Shade of Shay?  Why yes it should.

You see...several years ago when I had a 21 month old and a 5 month old and was schlepping the three of us to the pool everyday during the summer, I realized something...I better get my act together quickly!  (And why was I taking two babies to the pool?  Because it's so hot in Texas that sometimes being inside in the A/C isn't cooling enough!  You have to head to water!).

So...I made a real effort to get my pool bag in check.  Make it organized, keep it organized and make it make my life easier.  And for the last 3 summers, I have done just that.  

I give you my tips and tricks for your pool bag (or park bag...or whatever bag you have that schleps you and your kids' stuff everywhere!).

1. Get a big, sturdy bag.  When I say big...I mean BIG!  Honestly, you would rather carry around one gigantic bag than four smaller bags.

This is my pool bag :)

And designate it "the pool bag".  If you try and make this bag multi-purpose then you're constantly taking things out and adding them back in...and losing things, blah, blah, blah.  It will never stay organized.

2. Pack a separate smaller bag for lunches.  And place that bag inside your big bag.  I've blogged about these little thermal totes for years and years...but I use them every.single.day.  They keep your food cold, they don't leak and they fit inside a large bag.

I use either one of these (depending on how much food I'm bringing).

3. Keep at least 2 kinds of sunscreen in your bag at all times (adult and kid).  I have other sunscreen in my bathroom, near my backdoor, etc., but I always keep two designated bottles in my pool bag...because you never want to forget that!

4. Keep several plastic grocery bags inside the pool bag.  Before we leave the pool, I always strip my kids down, put their wet clothes in the grocery bag and change them into dry clothes.  This way, when we get home, I don't have to wrangle wet kids...I can just let them in the house and they're already dry.  Plus, if they fall asleep in the car, I can move them inside to nap and not have to wake them by changing them.  It just seems to make my life smoother if they come home already dry.

5. Only bring pool toys that you're prepared to lose.  Do not, under any circumstance, bring pool toys for your kids that either of you are extremely attached to.  If you bring a pool toy, be prepared to never see it again.  I decided several years ago, that I had to stop worrying about and fretting over getting our toys back before we headed home (because you're bound to lose them, have another child take them, etc. at the pool).  My kids know that pool toys are basically community property, so if they take something to swim, it better be something they don't have to have.  McDonald's Happy Meal toys are the best pool toys!  They're free inside your kids' Happy Meals, they're small and almost always plastic...perfect for the pool.

6. Keep an extra pair of sunglasses, Chapstick, bag of wipes and anti-bacterial in the pocket.  These are just things that if you need, you're so glad you have.  Sitting around a pool for hours with chapped lips or no sunglasses is brutal...I always keep extras handy.

7. Store your beach towels in your pool bag.  I have about 6 random beach towels at my house...and I store them on top of my pool bag in my hall closet.  This way, when we leave for the day, I'm always assured that we have towels with us (because showing up to swim and forgetting your towels is a real bummer!).  We obviously don't use all six, but if they're sitting right there on top, then I can just remove how many we don't need and the rest stay in my bag.  This way, I'm not running around the house trying to find towels...they're sitting on top of the bag waiting on me.

8. At the end of swim season, clean out your bag and store it for next year.  I keep my bag in the hall closet during swim season but when it's over, I clean everything out, vacuum it with my dust buster and store it until the next summer somewhere else.  This way, when the following summer rolls around, it's cleaned out and ready to go.

For lunch...make things simple!  I always make lunch in advance the night before and store it inside my thermal tote in the fridge.  Then the next morning, I just grab our lunches, toss them in my giant bag and we're ready to go.  Click here to see my lunch ideas.

And since we're talking about pool bags...my friend Nancy thought it would be a great idea to do a pool bag giveaway!  I would be a hot mess without my thermal totes and swimming pool bags...so, Nancy is going to giveaway one of these large utility totes to a reader of mine this week...

...all you have to do is leave me a comment on this post saying hi and that enters you to win.  One comment per person please.  The contest ends at 4:00 AM CST this Friday, June 7 when a lucky random winner will be announced.

In the meantime, you should totally check out all of the other Thirty One stuff as well.  Like those little thermal totes...you'll love them for lunch!  My kids each use one for their school lunches.  I love them because they fold up nice in their backpacks and keep everything cool or warm until they're ready to eat.  Click here to see the entire catalog.

And June has arrived!  What does that mean?  It's time for Grillin' Season!
This week on my foodie blog is Grillin' Week!  Stop by and check it out!  I'm grillin' up something different each day (including a dessert) to make your summer simple and easy (and delicious too!).  Today, I'm grilling a BBQ Pizza...easy and delicious!

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Contest closed!  Click here to see the result!