Menu Planning

I like to be organized and have a plan. I feel much more productive and effective that way. I also like to make lists--actually I need to make lists. I have a hard time remembering things if they aren't written down. I have found that I do quite well having a meal plan for the week. I hate that 4oclock "what are we gonna eat for dinner" problem, so I solve it by setting aside some time on Sunday to plan the meals for the whole week. It keeps me from making lots of trips to the store and also helps me use up what is in the freezer/pantry. Having a plan also cuts down on those last minute decisions to eat out--so my family eats healthier and saves money, too.  I thought I'd share my process for menu planning since I've finally found a method that works for me.

First, I gather my menu planning supplies:
Grocery list (I do keep an ongoing one for when I run out of things, I just add them to the list as I go through the week, or Erik adds things he thinks we need)
Recipe Binder (I keep all my favorite recipes and found recipes here)
Menu spreadsheet
Menu planner sheet
New-Recipes-To-Try Binder

Sorry the picture is sideways.

This is my menu planner sheet. I found them at Target in the $1 bins. I love this. I use to just use a post-it note to jot down our menu to stick to the frig, but this is so much better. I have space to write down what we're eating for dinner as well as any prep work.

This is my New-Recipes-To-Try binder. I just took one of those 12 pocket expandable binders and labeled different types of foods, i.e. chicken, beef, pork, veggies, desserts, salads based on the recipes I clip that I want to try. I always have a lot and this way I can find what I'm looking for easily based on what I have in the freezer that I'd like to use up. I tend to make at least one new recipe each week and I love having them organized like this.

I don't have a picture of my menu spreadsheet, but what I did was basically list all the favorite meals that my family likes based on where they are in my recipe binder. I also listed cooking method, in case I am looking for a crock pot recipe as well as top 3 ingredients so I know if I have the main ingredients or if I have to get them. If we try a new recipe and like it, I add it to the spreadsheet. These are my go-to recipes that I know we all like.

After I've gathered all my supplies, I take a peek in my freezer, frig and pantry to get a feel for what I have on hand. Then I look at our plans for the week to figure out which days I'll have less time for meal prep, which days would be good to have a crock pot meal, which we might have company, etc. That way I know what types of meals to look for. For example, on Tuesdays the girls have gymnastics right after school and by the time we get home I don't have a ton of time for meal prep, so I usually either pick an easy prep meal or plan for leftovers.

Ah, yes, planning for leftovers. I always plan at least one night each week for leftovers. Most recipes I cook are for about 4-6 servings, and even though we are a family of 4, sometimes we don't eat that much. My youngest doesn't usually eat a whole serving. I have found if I don't plan a leftover night, I end up wasting food. It just never gets eaten. I hate to throw food away so we do leftover nights. Makes it easy for me, too.

As I jot down on the menu planner sheet each meal, I also look through the recipe and put any ingredient I don't already have, on my grocery list. I also jot down any prep work, like thawing chicken breasts, the day before that meal is planned. I look at the menu thing each night, so that way I am pulling thing out with enough time to thaw. I really hate trying to cook frozen meat!

A view of a typical menu plan for the week

My grocery list when I'm done with the menu plan. Notice it isn't entirely full. I try to keep my pantry stocked so usually I only have to get things that expire, like fresh fruit/veggies.

When I'm done jotting down all I need on the grocery list, I actually re-write it, organizing things based on where they are in the store. I always go the same route in the store, so this way I don't have to loop back over to the meat department after I'm all the way over in the bakery. It saves me time at the store.

When I'm done with the menu plan, it goes on the frig. Next to the now empty grocery list and my Costco list. This way its easy to see as I go through the week. I have also found it very helpful to have the whole week at a glance, sometimes I forget when I cooked something, and when it comes time to clean up leftovers I hate to eat anything older than like3-4 days. This way I can look and see that I made something on Monday and we can still safely eat it on Thursday. If it isn't on the list I know its from last week and it goes into the trash! Ew!

Next, I take the recipes for the meals I have planned that week (except the ones in my binder) and put them all in one central location, this makes it easy to remember which recipes I was using for each meal.

This is my Menu Plan/Recipe station. The menu list is up on the frig, with the grocery list and the recipes down below.

So, there you have it. My menu planning routine. I am lost without it! Hee hee. Today is grocery shopping day, so I am going to grab my organized list and go get 'er done!

How about you? Do you plan your menu for the week? And if so, what method have you found that works best for you?

I just love it when everything has it's place!

Today I had some time to do some cleaning and to finally finish the purging/organizing of the hall closet and under the bathroom sinks that I had started last week. Let me tell you, I love it when things are clean and put away in an organized manner. And I also love getting rid of stuff! So, if you'll remember the before pictures, here's what it looks like now:

Remember that lovely empty space in my hall closet? Now it is where I get to store all the extra/overflow bathroom supplies, for both my girls' bathroom and our master bathroom. I hope to get a cool little 2-drawer type storage thingy for the items on the left (its mostly our travel sized stuff and other little things), but for now these lovely plastic bins work just fine.

Here's a view of the closet:

I love that everything has its place.

Next is under my girls' sink. They actually have 2 sinks, but under the other one is just everyday towels. This is the one that always got the extra stuff thrown into it, so I went through everything, threw out a bunch, put a bunch in the hall closet and then voila. I love seeing the empty spaces! lol

Next was under my sink, which was amazingly empty after I moved all the extra stuff into the hall closet. I honestly don't know why I didn't do that earlier! It's going to be so much easier to see what I actually have for backups with it all in the closet instead of trying to look at everything crammed under the sink. It's not super neat, but some things just don't organize neatly I've decided. At least everything has its place and its not jam packed and overflowing anymore. I'll be able to get to thinks as I need them now, so I'm happy.

Besides the normal everyday/weekly cleaning, I also have an ongoing list of house "to do's" that include bigger projects. One of which is to redo the master bedroom. I'm ashamed to say its one of the only rooms left in the house without color on the walls. I've even managed to pain the girls' rooms twice each in the almost 9 years we've been in this house and yet my room (and bathroom) stand sadly white. So, I'm determined to change that. I've got a color picked out that Erik likes and I even already bought new bedding, so its definitely a work in progress, though I am antsy to get that paint on the walls. Would you like hint to the colors I'm leaning towards? Well, okay....

What do ya think? :-) I hope to post before & after pictures soon!

Sick Day

I was going to get my hair cut and colored today, I'd even looked around online last night to get some hairstyle ideas. Then I was going to swing by the insurance office and sign our new life insurance policies on my way to hang out with my friend Yvonne. Then it would've been time to head home in time to get the girls from the bus stop.

I would've done all those things had Kera, my youngest, not woken up at 2:30 a.m. and blew chunks all over her bed, floor and into the bathroom and around the toilet. So, instead of having a good night's sleep, I found myself doing laundry and getting Kera settled on the bathroom floor to sleep the rest of the night while Erik shop vacuumed the floor. Don't worry, she had enough blankets and her pillow to be comfortable, we just didn't want to have to repeat the whole carpet cleaning task.. Thankfully, she didn't throw up again, but there was no way I was sending her to school today.

So, what to do with a day at home that I hadn't planned on having? Organize and clean, of course! I haven't had much time to do that the past month, so I figured I could get some of it done today. It helped that Kera was content to watch movies all day. Luckily, she hasn't thrown up again (although she's had the runs, so I'm afraid my plans for tomorrow may just be thwarted, as well.) so she hasn't needed a ton of attention, and I have had a few little chunks of time for this project.

My first task was the paperwork stuff that I keep in the kitchen. It's a random collection of stationary, envelopes, bill paying stuff, electronics (i.e. digital camera, chargers, mp3 player) and school info for the girls stored in three seperate spots within the same area. It can get looking pretty unorganized and cluttered, so I really wanted to streamline it. Here's what it looked like with everything pulled out... this picture does not do the mess it was beforhand, justice. At least here its organized into piles.

You can see the little wooden stand there, my mom painted the front and I love it, I just haven't figured out exactly what to store in it and how. The top flips down and our phone books fit in there perfectly, it was just the bottom part that I was having trouble with.

You know how you always have a million different parts to the various electronics? There's the cell phone charger, the mp3 charger, the usb cords to connect those items to the computer, there's the flash drives, extra headphones and then the actual devices, digital camera, mp3, etc. It always seems like the cords get all tangled and I can't remember what goes to what. So, I went through and organized it, putting each like thing in a little ziploc baggie and labeled each bag. For example, my mp3 charger is with the connecting cord and the owners manual. Then, I found this basket downstairs, not being used, and found all this stuff fit perfectly in it.

Then, the basket, the video camera and my hubby's digital camera stuff all goes in the biggest cupboard, under the counter, kind of hidden but still accessible. The basket with the most used things just gets pulled out when I need something.

You'll notice the tins on the bottom shelf, that's my Christmas dish storage area. :-) You'll also see the floor between the cute wooden stand and the cupboard, that's where my purse lives when I'm home and the blue bag behind it is our public library bag.

Okay, so inside the wooden stand, I did this:

The top shelf holds my stationary, envelopes, stamps and extra blank paper. The bottom has my cards (bought them at Costco, love the holder so I use it for the cards I make too, just refilling it every so often), my coupon filer, and my "me" binder as well as the kids' school info.

This is what my counter looked like after I finished putting everything away. I got rid of a wicker organizer thing that I did have on the counter right next to the stereo, it was just too big and bulky and I ended up sticking things in there and not dealing with them. This silver organizer I also wasn't using and since it is smaller, I will have to handle the mail once (if you know what I mean) instead of shoving it aside. The little basket next to the intercom is for our Netflix movies, although I'm sure other things will eventually find their home in there as well.
The goldfish crackers don't live there, they are suppose to go to school with Kera tomorrow for her snack day. They are there so I remember to send them, if she goes to school, that is.

It looks so much more open and clean and organized. I'm so happy with it.

Next I tackled the hall closet...

dun, dun, dunnnnnnnnn

In this closet there are games, puzzles, sheets, cleaning supplies, extra toliet paper, kleenix, trash bags, candles, blankets, light bulbs.

I cleaned out some of the games and puzzles, put away the toliet paper (it really does help having it in the actual bathrooms) and refolded blankets and sheets.

And ta da!!

It doesn't look half bad. I can't fold sheets to save my life, so they look messy no matter what I do. Now, there is some extra space there, do you see it? On the middle shelf, between the games and little red sewing tin...that is where the back-up toiletries will live once I clean out these:

Hmmm, I might be able to do that tomorrow!