I am a terrible planner and organizer, and by extension, a kind of lazy and frantic mother. Implementing long term strategies isn't something I think about in between nappy changes, feeding frenzies, and the snooze alarm. So menu planning kind of scares me. Literally. The words menu and planning could not be less intrinsically karen.

But here I find myself a month into menu planning (project five from One Bite at a Time, which is also available for free download). I'm not talking a freezer stocked with a month's worth of meals, casseroles, and soups. I'm talking a week. One week. That's it. My menu planning is for one week at a time. And then I start again.

Here's how it works:

Start with the sales.

On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning when the sale papers come out, I scour for the cheapest produce. For us, it's usually chicken and/or ground beef (sometimes roast or pork).

Search recipes based on produce.

Once the produce is decided, I peruse my recipe book or my Delicious account for dinner recipes. When I find a few recipes or some meal stand-bys I know we all love, I go back to the sale paper and look for additions: side dishes, snacks, veg, dairy... anything that will complement the meals or feed us in between times.

Only plan for dinner.

The key here is I only plan for dinner (as Tsh suggests). Breakfast is very low key at our house: coffee for everyone and cereal for most (I kid). Lunchtime finds us all scattered, so we usually get by on sandwiches or leftovers or more coffee.

Coupons if you have 'em.

So once I have my menu, and then my shopping list off my menu, I check coupons. Usually those are few and far between. I could shop only off coupons and then have a fridge full of junk we'd never eat, so I'm careful to only clip and use what I know we'll eat. But occasionally they line up and I know I can stock up and save more!



Write it down.

I write my original menu plan for the week in a notebook, but I also put it in our google calendar with pop-up reminders and links to the recipes online. This way, I can see and display the menu for the week, but also receive a daily reminder on my phone or email.

Only planning for one meal a day, one week at a time, takes so much pressure off! And I'm not a terrific cook (we all know the man is the culinary gifted one in our family), but I do get a tremendous sense of accomplishment through the planning, the saving, and sometimes the cooking. And we're not running to the shop every other day for something. And the kids are being well-fed from all food groups. And the man, from time to time, gets the night off. No, really, I am consciously trying to up my game in this area, to free him up to do more of what he loves and needs to do.

This may not be rocket science to you, but it most definitely has rocked our world. Knowing that I can do it, empowers me to want to do it. And if I can and want to do it, there's hope for anyone.

If you're a master meal-planner, got any tips for beginners?


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Early mornings are for suckers {part 2 of 52... maybe}

I hate getting up early.

Since my drama days in high school, I've preferred to drink coffee into the wee hours, talking with friends or pulling a yearbook all-nighter. And these days, as mum to three loud and crazy kiddos, I crave my late night "me time" where I tune out (or tune in to Parks and Recreatin reruns), put my feet up, and just. be. me. These are my Not Mom hours and I love them and I don't want to give them up.

But I have to.

Because we have two kids in school most days. Because I need coffee in my veins to know which slipper goes on which foot. Because our apartment is small and loud and if I'm not up and consciously available by the time they are up and needing food and milk and signed homework, it all goes to pot. And indeed, it all went to pot one day too many and I knew it. I had to get up early. I have to do my job. I have to have the best work ethic possible for the most important job I'll ever have: Mom and Wife. Soft place to fall. Kisser of boo-boos. Planner of meals. Singer of songs.

So last fall I tried it for the first time. The Hello Mornings challenge: getting up for my kids instead of to my kids, praying and communing with Jesus, and preparing for our day. And it went great for a week or so (I never did get to that exercise part). And then some tough stuff went down, and I slept in a few days too many because that's how my soul recuperates after late nights of tears. Before I knew it that session was over and it was time to start anew.

Which brings me to part 2 of that 52 bites series (maybe). Develop a morning routine. Little did I know, when I started leafing through One Bite at a Time, that I'd already laid the baby step foundations for one of these "bites" towards simplicity: discovering just a few things to start my day before the kids (and man) start theirs.

Sadly, it means the old Not Mom hours after dark have to go in lieue of the new Not Mom hours before dawn. But it's not just a Not Mom hour... there is no wasting time away online or staring at the telly. It's precious moments of intentional prayer, growth, calmness, study, wisdom, self-control, readiness (and maybe eventual exercise).

It's communion with Jesus and loving my children before I even see their faces.

And then it's eating my frog. But that comes a little later, and by then, I'm ready for it. Because I know who I truly am (and it's not just as The Dishwasher).



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On the day I ate my frog {part 1 of 52... maybe}

So today I ate my frog.

This is the first project from the lovely ebook "One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler" by SimpleMom herself (her friends call her Tsh, but I call her "Amazing Lady who Has it all Together"). And I nailed it on the first day! Oh wait, what? You don't eat frogs? Keep reading...

{this post includes an affiliate link. If you click and purchase Tsh's ebook, I am compensated a small percentage}