Kit builder

How many containers is a week?

Almost everybody underbuys the first time. Five dishes sounds like a working week until the Monday one is still in the dishwasher on Thursday evening.

The builder counts portions rather than meals, adds a second week for anything going into a freezer, and leaves a small spare margin so a wash day does not stop the routine. It is arithmetic, not a recommendation engine: the reasoning is written out under every answer so you can disagree with it.

What the numbers mean

• Portions are meals multiplied by people. Two people eating five packed lunches is ten portions, not five.
• Rotation doubles the count if you freeze, because one week is in the freezer while the other is being eaten.
• Spare is about fifteen percent, rounded up, and is the difference between a system and a scramble.