Hi, I'm Gemma. I live in Headingley, Leeds, in a 1930s semi with a bay window, a long sloping garden and a bathroom that took nine years to get an extractor fan. I share it with my husband Rob, our two kids, Isla and Alfie, and Mabel, a tabby who sleeps on whatever came off the airer last.
I spent eleven years working in a building society branch in the city centre, and these days I do the accounts and run the office three days a week for a small plumbing and heating firm in Kirkstall. Rob's a postie, which means he's home in time for the school pick-up and asleep on the sofa by nine.
Lunchboxes & Laundry is where I write down how a normal family week actually works: the packed lunches I cost to the penny, the nine loads of washing that never quite dry in January, the school run, the bills sheet taped inside the kitchen cupboard, and the days out that don't cost a fortune. The good weeks and the ones where it all went wrong.
What you'll find here
- Lunchboxes: what goes in, what comes home, and what a packed lunch really costs.
- School Life: the school run, dress-up days, parents' evenings, trips and, this year, secondary school.
- What's for Tea: family teas, batch cooking and the odd meal kit experiment.
- Laundry & Housework: wash days, drying indoors in a damp Leeds winter, and what each wash costs.
- Money & Bills: direct debits, renewals, energy and the April rises, from our own paperwork.
- Kids' Clothes: uniform, school shoes, Vinted and hand-me-downs.
- Our House: mould, broadband, boilers and other glamorous topics.
- Family Life: half-terms, birthdays and days out around Leeds and Yorkshire.
A few honest notes
I'm a mum with a spreadsheet, not a financial adviser, nutritionist or engineer. What I share about money, bills, insurance and food is our family's experience, not advice for yours. Prices and tariffs change all the time, so please check them yourself before you decide anything.
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Say hello any time: gemma@lunchboxesandlaundry.co.uk.