OK... So, for those of you who know me well, you know that my home is much more "lived in" than it is organized; but that doesn't stop me from trying:) A few years ago, at the height of chaos, I needed to try to get some semilence of a schedule and routine (again, a big short fall in my personality) and I ran across this wonderful site that is full of helpful templates. I actually did make a household binder to try to keep things running a bit more smoothly, but what I found that was the most useful to me was all the menu planning, shopping lists, and pantry/freezer inventory templates. I will never be Martha Stewart... and let's face it, even she can't live up to the standards she's set without her staff of 300:), but, I have always been pretty good about menu planning and freezer cooking. Since I'm in the middle of spring cleaning right now ~ yes, it does seem that all I ever do is clean this house; and frankly, it never looks very picked up unless we have company coming because I swear to you that I'm always 5 minutes behind 5 hurricaines ~ I thought I'd take a moment and share a couple of my very favorite helps when it comes to planning our meals around here.
First off, here's the site that I love for their templates to attempt to keep myself organized: http://organizedhome.com/printable/household-notebook/weekly-menu-planner
And, here's a couple of my favorite freezer cooking cookbooks. With the warmer weather coming soon, we all like to be outside and don't always want to be bothered by kitchen duty. These books help me to get really good meals on the table with very little planning ahead (of course, I hate to tell you how many times I forget to thaw dinner and we end up at McDonalds anyway;) They are "Make a Mix" and "The Everything Freezer Cookbook". I also LOVE The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbooks, especially her Breeakfast and Lunch Cookbook. They are geared for a family of 3-4, but I easily adjust the recipes to fit my larger family and her recipes are so kid friendly.
Happy Friday everyone:)
Thanks Dawn, this is awesome and may help a single dad like me to be more prepared now and better prepared for some lucky woman if the Lord sees fit to bless me and the boys with one! ;)
ReplyDeleteYou are an AWESOME dad:) Glad I could help. I'm sure your schedule is just as chaotic as mine, running the boys around. Single or not, a little prep always makes a huge differenc:)
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