menu planning (I finally figured it out)

When I first began my quest to simplify things around here a little (5 years ago, or so?) one of the things I learned about (along with chicken keeping and gardening and "making your own" and preserving food) was menu planning. It saves time, it saves money and it prevents food waste.

Do you know how much food I've wasted over the years? It makes me sad (and embarrassed) to think about it. I would throw entire packs of meat away...thaw it for dinner, change my mind or get lazy, pop it in the fridge, let it sit for too many days, now it's gone bad, have to throw it away.

I would make too much food at dinner time, store it as leftovers, then they'd never get eaten. Or I'd buy something that was inexpensive to save money, but then never cook it, throw it away, and now that money that I "saved" is now wasted.

I mean, I may as well have just tossed cash into the trash, right?

Enter the idea of meal planning...planning ahead a week's worth of meals (or two weeks, or some even do a month's worth! And some even cook them all in one day!) and shopping accordingly. Buy what you need, cook what you'll eat. Not to mention, meal planning really takes away the stress of "what's for dinner?". I know the kids liked seeing the menu tacked up on the fridge...they either looked forward to what was coming up...or made plans to be at a friend's house if dinner didn't sound too appealing that night! *wink*

When you think about it, you can't go wrong with a planned menu. Right? Well, leave it to me to complicate things...

For whatever reason, I can't plan a menu to save my life lately. I did it for a while. And it was good. Planned it. Posted it to the fridge. And then actually cooked what each day told me to. But lately it's been such a challenge! I don't know what it is! Too many choices? Too many Pins on the ol' cooking board? Can't decide between Crock Pot or 15 Minute prep? Not sure what time practice is over or starting or whose gonna be where? Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. Those all play a part in my inability to just make up my mind and make up a dang menu plan.

Not to mention, I'm cooking for three now that Seth is off at college (and doing great and LOVING it, by the way) which doesn't make a difference in what I cook, of course. (Well, it does a little. He wasn't a fan of breakfast dinners.) But more a difference in how much and how often. When Seth was home I could pretty much guarantee that at least one kid would be home for dinner that night. And really, none of that should matter because once these awesome boys of mine are grown and gone for good, Chris and I are still going to need to eat yummy, healthy, home-cooked meals.

ALL THAT to say...I finally figured out how menu planning works for me. And that's the most important part, right? It's gotta work, or it isn't worth the time and effort.

So here you go...menu planning a la Michelle...

First I think about what we have going on during the coming week...bible study, sports practices, band practice, homework at a friends, any appointments or errands that might cut into my time to prep dinner, etc. Tuesday night, for instance, Chris and I both leave around 6:30 for band practice and bible study respectively so I plan to cook something early, something that can be eaten at different times or something that can be prepared quickly. Last week we had BLT's and sliced cucumbers. Quick, easy and we all love a good BLT. Who doesn't? Even vegetarians find a way to eat some sort of fake bacon. (fakon? facon?)

Then I consider what I have on hand. For instance, this next week we will have meals that contain chicken, ground beef, potatoes, broccoli and eggs because these are things I have an abundance of right now. I also have plenty of cheese (to go with those potatoes?), and plenty of rice and pasta (as a side with that chicken?). To shake things up a bit I may try to find recipes that call for fresh bleu cheese and Feta as I have a container of each of those, as well.

I also consider weather...is it hot, cold, rainy? This week it's finally going to rain again so I have Clam Chowder planned for one of  the rainy nights. You can't go wrong with a nice, warm soup on a cold, rainy night. (And we love Dave Lieberman's chowder recipe. I replace the cream with Nonfat milk just because I always have that on hand. But it's still yummy!)

Once I have all of my considerations lined up then I plan the actual dishes. With the items I have on hand for this next week I'm thinking our menu will contain something along the lines of grilled chicken, au gratin potatoes, clam chowder, quiche and homemade mac and cheese. Sides will be salad, steamed or stir-fried broccoli and french bread or rolls. If I do need anything from the store I look at the ads and buy whatever I need on sale.

What I have stopped doing is planning the exact night that I will cook each meal. Instead, I make a list of meals based on what I have then choose as I go throughout the week.  I say "this is what we will eat this week at some point", write it on a sticky note and attach it to my calendar. For whatever reason, I've found that this type of "planning" works best for me. I guess I need a little freedom to choose as I go. Too much "this is how it has to be" and I begin to rebel...even against myself! (See? I make it complicated!)

How about you? Do you plan your menus? What's your technique? I don't think there's a right or a wrong way. As long as it works for you, then it works.

home improvements.

This past weekend was productive. We finally painted Seth's bedroom! Oh my goodness...it's been an awful "Big Bird" yellow (or so I called it) for THIRTEEN years...and I finally had enough!! So when I was at our local hardware store a few weeks ago and happened to check the Oops paint and found three gallons of Tobacco Leaf  I snatched them up! At $5 a can how could I not?

Knowing that we didn't have anything going last Saturday...and knowing that it was going to rain...and being on a home improvement roll that started with some projects for Ian's room...I asked Chris if he'd be willing to help me paint Seth's room over the weekend. He quickly agreed!! (Yes!) So Saturday morning we put on our grubbies, emptied the room and commenced painting. Less than 4 hours later Seth had a newly painted room...and it looks so good. I love how it turned out. What a relief to walk past his room and not have to see that hideous yellow anymore. You have no idea how sick of it I was!

So...today we'll finish up Ian's room as soon as Chris gets home with his refinished nightstand. We'll move some pictures around...rearrange book shelves. And then I think tomorrow I'm going to work on his duvet cover. I happened to have two flat sheets left from two separate sheet sets that will go perfectly as a duvet. I had originally set them aside for quilt backs...but a duvet is more likely to actually get done (ahem) so that's what I'll use them for. He needs one. His comforter, while still warm and cozy, has seen better days. So a duvet will be a nice change. Plus it'll add some needed color in his room. After that all we need to do is replace his blinds with woven blinds (that I'll watch to come on sale...or check Craigslist) and we'll be done with their rooms for a good while.

We've been in this house for 13 years...and have done a few things here and there to make improvements like updating the bathroom and the kitchen. But that's about it. So this has been a long time coming. Next on the list? Our room and a bid on new carpet and flooring. Talk about overdue...yikes!

(I haven't taken any photos yet...but I will! And I will share soon. I finally got a photo editing program on this computer...so pictures are soon to come. Finally!)

mark this day on your calendar...

...because...I have NO-THING-TO-DO-TODAY. Can you believe it!? NOTHING! Not one single thing. We were supposed to be at a baseball game but it was postponed. Which is OK because we sat through a double-header last night. And it was fun...and the weather was perfect for some baseball. Definitely a nice way to spend a Friday night. But today? Nothing.

With that being said...let me tell you what I'm going to DO today! Everything I haven't had time to do in the past however many weeks!

• Tidy up laundry area...it's embarrassingly gross.
• Wash bedding
• Clean out car and vacuum...possibly pay a kid to do the vacuum part.
• Scrub bathroom
• Dust...including blinds and fan blades.
• Vacuum
• Tidy my room...so out of control.
• Clean Rosie's "dining room"...she's a messy old kitty.
• Harvest strawberries...on Farmville...yes, I fell into the trap.
• Deal with the piles in the dining area...I just can't seem to stop piling...may as well accept it.
• Figure out something healthy and good for dinner...we've been eating poorly for too long.

**edit...I have a lot yet to do tomorrow!**

I think that's it. It's a start anyway. I'm sure my Adult ADD will lead me into several other distracting projects along the way. But for the most part, that's the "plan"...it's ambitious...but it can be done.

What really needs to be done, but will have to happen over the course of summer, is the boys' rooms. Seth's room is a hideous yellow that I picked out when I was pregnant with Ian and haven't liked from the start. He's got a huge shelf with stuffed animals, baby books, and tons of junk I"m sure he no longer needs. He's a teen for crying out loud! So we need to deal with that this summer...especially because as we speak he and Chris are at a yard sale buying him a weight bench as a reward for pulling straight A's this year. STRAIGHT A's. I'm so proud of him!!

Speaking of straight A's...Ian got STRAIGHT A's TOO!! Man...these boys are on a ROLL!! He's getting a reward, too...not sure what yet. We'll let him choose between a few things he's been wanting. We've never rewarded our boys monetarily for their grades...we've always patted them on the back, told them "good job" and maybe took them out to a nice dinner to celebrate their successes. But they're getting older...school is getting harder...and we feel it's time to reward their efforts a little more in hopes of encouraging them to continue with the hard work.

And speaking of Ian (well, we were a minute ago)...we need to work on his room this summer, too. It's small. And cluttered. It doesn't help that he's a pack-rat to the nth degree. He and I just had a conversation about his Lego's. He's decided that he's too old for Lego's...and Bionicles. (Here comes the crying jag again...) So over the summer we'll have to pack them all up and clear them out of his room to make room for more mature items. Not sure what will take the place of his beloved Lego's. Seriously. He's played with Lego's for eight years straight. He LOVES Legos. We have a small fortune in Lego pieces...not counting the ones that got eaten by the vacuum. Ian not playing with Lego's is the end of an era. But you know me...I'm saving them. Forever. For my grandkids. And just in case Ian decides he wants to bust them out sometime down the road and create something amazing. It could happen...

Well, it's already 10am and I've done nothing on my list. I have big plans for this unplanned day so I better get a move on! Have a beautiful Saturday...xo

Staying organized.

I wanted to share my new planner and daily notepad that I'm going to use this year to stay organized and on track.

It fits quite nicely atop my newly organized mail-center.

Here's the planner.

I purchased it on sale, PLUS with my employee discount, for around $5 at my job at the bookstore.

It's got a whole page per day with time slots every half hour from 7am until 8pm. I'm thinking those times are reasonable! It's got bible verses as well as a bit of a devotional for each day. That was one of the reasons I chose this particular planner.

The second main reason I chose this planner was because it has a "Budget" page at the beginning of each month.

I have to be honest...this is not something I was planning to do...a budget, that is. But I took this as a big hint that I needed to work on our budget. And this would be a great way to get started. Notice it's empty. Ahem. Not to worry...it's only the 3rd of the month! I figure this whole budget thing is going to take a while to figure out. I hope to have a better report in a month or two!

I also found this daily notepad at the dollar store right before Christmas. And I'm loving it!

It's got "to-do" slots...and little boxes to check off once it's been DONE.

It's got a daily quote...

A daily word and definition...

And a bit of trivia. Not pictured are the names of well-known people born on that particular day. Kinda fun!

So far I'm excited about getting organized. This planner and notepad set-up is not the exact idea I had in my mind when searching for the best way to stay organized. My creative side needed the planner to be aesthetically pleasing. My collector side needed it to have pockets and pouches. And my perfectionist side said, "none of these will do!". But I had to quiet her down because she tends to ruin everything. She gets in the way of getting something started...because if I can't do something perfectly, then she talks me out of doing anything at all.

So...in the end I was able to shut her up and get a start with something that is "better than nothing". She's not happy with me at the moment...but that's OK. She'll get over it...

In the meantime, I need to go fill in some time slots and write down due dates for my bills! This is going to be a good thing...

making progress...

Yesterday I made a list of things that I wanted to get done around my house. And would you believe, aside from getting dinner into a Crock Pot and serving frozen corn dogs for dinner instead, I got it all DONE?! I did. And it felt really, really good.

Now, I can't believe I'm going to DO this. But I am. I've got pictures to share...befores, durings and afters. The afters I'm OK with, of course. But the befores? Um...not so much. But...for the sake of progress and accountability...here goes!

Trouble spot #1: my bedside. The before. I wasn't kidding when I told you I was a piler, now was I?

OK, the details. Wicker basket as nightstand. On it? Lotions, books, notepads, remotes, coffee mug...and more. On the floor? Pile of library books. Camera bag. Sewing machine. Sewing basket. Tub of yarn. Tote of yarn and crochet projects. Oh...and for drama, a pair of my cozy socks flung onto the top of it all. Wow. Talk about keepin' it real. This is almost harder than the self-portraits!!

Fortunately...things got better. I found a little table that will work better as my nightstand. Can you see it there behind all of the stuff I pulled from my closet?

I pulled so much out of our tiny little closet...I can't even believe how much I had in there! The area rug was one of the things I had stored in my closet. I decided to actually use it...and I'm glad. I think it looks pretty cute there. You'll be able to see it better in this next picture.

After...

New nightstand with a drawer that contains everything that was previously on TOP. Two shelves for books. The camera bag to the right. It will always be there...handy, at the ready. Still a pile of library books...and that's probably a staple, too. And I'm OK with that. Once a piler, always a piler. We're just trying to minimize the amount of piles, here! And Uggs. Always there. In the summer, they'll be replaced with flip-flops. The point here is that it's a lot better than what it was. And that was my goal. Replacing the round wicker nightstand with this smaller, square piece opened up the space a lot. It feels spacious and roomy. And in this small house, I need that.

Trouble spot #2: counter top.

Bills....paid and unpaid. Notepads. Pens. Pencils. Junk mail. Recipes. School papers. You name it. If it's paper it ends up here. And I am tired of it. I need this bit of space to COOK. Bye bye piles!

Hello counter top! I still need to find a space for the gravy boat in the hutch. And I'm still perusing my new cookbook that I got for Christmas. So I'm OK with these two items sitting here for a bit. It's a neat and small pile. Not a messy one!

Now this next space was one of the biggest thorns in my side. It made me mad...daily.

Trouble spot #3: eating area.What a mess! Piles on the table. Piles on the floor. Piles on BOTH sides!! Ick. And if you can imagine...I walk down the hall every morning from my room and turn right into my kitchen for coffee. So this is what I've been looking at every morning when I get up. No wonder I've been cranky!

And honestly, the piles on the table are smaller than they've been in the past because I've been making small changes over the last few days in preparation for this project. Like the little black chest in the corner...that is new. And I placed it there to see if I liked it. So it's not been there. Before it was a dusty dust-buster and a bag of...piled papers!

This is the other side of dining table. These are our "important papers". Can't you tell? Because they're treated with such importance?

This banker's box has been sitting here for...gosh...too long. I don't even know how long. Then there's my file folder of scrapbook papers I was using while crafting for the boutique...still not put away. And...a humidifier that Chris brought home and set there...and there it has stayed.

Well, after just a little bit of work and moving a few things around...

...The After.

Banker's box? Gone. Neatly store in my closet that now has more room. Humidifier? Behind the table...ready to be used when we need it. The piles? Sorted. Trashed. Recycled. Filed. And the rest? Neatly store in the chest of drawers. The lamp in the corner is a new addition. The lamp itself is old...I got it at a yard sale years ago. And it's the perfect size for this space...tall and skinny. I'm liking it. It casts a really cozy glow in what was previously a dreary corner.

You can see there is still a pile back in the corner of the table. Those are papers that I will take with me to the office on Monday and file there, where they belong. The bowl in the middle of the table is holding cards and notes that I need to respond to...and I will. That's next on the to-do list.

So. There you have it. My dirty laundry...aired for all to see. The good part is that I got it all done. I set a goal. And I accomplished it. I purchased a few items to make it easier. And I got rid of a ton of stuff. Out of my closet alone I got rid of one big trash bag. One big recycle bag. One large shopping bag for a friend...I think she'll like a skirt and several pair of shoes I'm getting rid of....a few still with tags! And four medium sized donation bags that I've already taken to Goodwill.

I also found several items that we can use...a cute area rug, two pretty pictures that I'm going to hang above our bed, a lava lamp for Seth's room (don't ask), a Nerf dart bow and arrow set (Ian's having fun with that) and in the process made room for more and better storage. I even have extra room in my closet on the shelves!

I have to say...waking up this morning to a neat and tidy bedside...and walking down the hall toward a pretty and neat eating area made me a lot less cranky! I feel accomplished...and determined to keep it this way. Not to mention, ready for the next project.

Hmmm....what's next?