Designing Sane Habits - Meal Planning

You may recall my unfortunate post here.

As I mentioned, planning out our meals was the first place I wanted change because it would bring the greatest relief. This past week was my first week designing the change I wanted in our home.

We sat down at dinner one night and made a list of all the meals the kids and my husband like. Then on Sunday, I grabbed a cup of coffee, that list, the weekly ad, pen and paper and I planned out what meals I would make for the next seven days using mostly what I could find on sale.

From there, I made a grocery list of all the things I needed to buy to have everything I need to prepare the meals.

Then I looked at the calendar and wrote in the meals on the days I would make them - I made sure the easiest meals (crock pot pork ribs & left-over-chicken burritos) were on Tuesday and Thursday since we have Bible Study and Nature Study those days.



On Monday, I had planned on getting the shopping done early in the day, but we dawdled and ended up having to squeeze it in after swimming. I hardly felt like shopping and the kids were extra squirrely but I. was. doing. this. no. matter. what.

It felt like a BIG shopping, but I bet we probably saved some $$ not heading to the grocery store so many times the rest of the week - because you always buy more stuff when you're there.

And guess what? My family had home-cooked meals, on time, all week! Except one night when I forgot to take the chicken out and had to defrost it and my daughter cut the potatoes a little big so we had to cook it longer. But we learned from both of those things the right way to do things next time!

The planning really took a huge load off my back all week and I've already planned and shopped for this week. I even have left-overs for extra nights in the freezer.

Another change I made was actually a suggestion by Pam in the comments of my previous post. She recommended having one child help me cook one night while the other cleans and then alternate. I really love that! I used to have three cluttered in the kitchen saying "Can I do it? Can I do it?" and chairs to stand on and everything else. Now, I only have one at a time so I can teach them to cook much better and we also get individual time together. Thanks Pam!

Next area of relief: MY CLOSET. I'll keep you posted :)

Comments

  1. How awesome to have home cooked meals on time everyday! It felt good, didn't it? lol!
    Funny how just a few small changes can do wonders. We all have to do that every once in awhile. God doesn't want us to struggle in our callings. He is so creative. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. That's so great Naomi! I love hearing about changes people make to help their family run more smoothly.

    What is the plan with your closet? I love having organized closets!! My weakness is laundry.

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