I left a teaser last week about giving you a tip for displaying kids' artwork. I didn't hear from anyone in regards to the media mess (organizing Cd's), so I am leaving you hanging one more week. Well, actually I am leaving you hanging for a better reason. I need a good picture of my display and right now there isn't any of my kids' art on my display. So, I need to put some new things up and I will post it next week!
This week's tip is about tidying up. I have these fabulous collapsible square totes from Thirty-One that work perfectly for my kids. I have one for each of the kids and I tell them to get their baskets and pick up anything that goes in their room. Once we get their belongings in their rooms, I help them put things away. After they are in bed if I find other toys, shoes, headbands, etc that go in their rooms, I just toss them in these baskets that are tucked under a sofa table. I love this system and it works well for us!
(I have to take a moment to make sure that you realize that although this tip is great for us, our house is not always tidy! HA - very far from it! )
So, this week I need a tip from you about meal planning. There are days when I dread coming home because I have no idea what to fix for dinner. What do you do so that you have a plan for dinner when you get home in the evenings? Many nights I feel so rushed to get home, fix dinner, bathe the kids, and get them to bed. I don't have much time to look in the pantry, freezer, and fridge and wait for an idea to pop into my head. What are your solutions to this predicament?
4 comments:
Melissa, I have found that if you grocery shop by meal then it makes it alot easier during the week to make meals. I have also found it to be more cost effective when I am going to the grocery store, because I am buying the ingredients for my meals so I don't buy alot of extra each week. I know you do the couponing, but you can look at the items that are on sale for the week and decided your menu from what is on sale. Some of my families favorite meals right now are meatloaf, lasagna, chicken and dumplings, chicken bundles, taco night (fav for the kids-we put all the ingredients on the table and they get to make their own tacos), beef strogonauff, and easy chicken pot pie. Some take more time then others, but are well worth it when everyone is happy to chow down. Hope this helps. Enjoying reading your tips. Always good to change things up every once in a while.
We store all of our DVD's in one big case and threw away the individual cases. It takes up SO much less space. Actually, AK has her own little case since we take it back and forth to the car since we travel ALL THE TIME. Just a thought!
I meal plan each week, and I think about our schedule to try to plan for specific nights. I plan quick meals for nights when I'll be in a rush. I also try to make a lot of meals that will last 2 days (or double a recipe). Then, I'm only cooking every other night. If you have stuff stocked in your pantry, go to www.allrecipes.com and search for recipes by ingredient(s).
I know I'm going to sound a bit dramatic here, but if you can get into the habit of planning meals one week, even two weeks in advance, it will change your life! I plan our meals two weeks in advance. Because of the couponing and stockpiling I do, I think about what I have in the pantry or freezer that I can make a meal out of and put that on the schedule. Like someone said above, you can also plan your meals based on the weekly ads at stores. Also, like Kristin, I base our meals on what's going on each night of the week. Wednesdays are always soup and sandwich nights b/c those are quick to throw together on church nights. On Thursdays, I make a meal I know will produce leftovers. Then we have those on Monday b/c that's Jason's night to work late, and I can't focus all my attn. in the kitchen when I'm wrestling the two kids on my own.
I also know of someone who found 30 recipes she knew her family enjoyed. She rotates those recipes and makes each one once a month. Makes it easy to keep up with what you know you'll need in the month if you're making the same recipes over and over.
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