52 Week Organization - Week 8

Week 8 of the 52 Week Organization is:

Week #8 Organized Home Challenge Healthy Meal Planning & Creating Grocery Shopping List

Meal Planning...  I used to never do it.  Then I tried it for a while and really liked it.  However, I never was good at sticking to it.  Ok back in the day I hardly ever stuck at my plan.  Last year I took it up again, only for about a month.  Once again I stopped.  I never really found my groove and it was too "hard".  Since discovering pinterest I have been bit by the organizing bug and the motivation to accomplish these things...  This is how I actually discovered this 52 week challange.  A friend started it and hooked me to it by her "pin". 

Now I plan weekly.  I have sheets that I found on pinterest that keep me organized.  This is what it looks like:

I found the form (through pinterest) at:
http://www.theprojectgirl.com/2009/01/19/menu-planning-form-free-download/

What I like about this form is that it has the meals on one side and a spot to write down the coresponding grocery list on the other. 

I used to put all my meals into a monthly calander.  I had no place to write grocery lists for the cooresponding meals/weeks.  This way combines them so nicely.  I have the list and the menu right there!  I have these made out for about 4 weeks.  Since I go grocery shopping on tuesdays (usually) I always try to make sure I buy what is on next weeks monday menu or have all the ingredients for it! 

 

Every week's menu has all the ingredients for every meal on it even if I have the items at the time I made the list.  My reasoning can be explained by an example...  This week I have Cheesy Chicken and Rice on my menu.  Back when I made this I added chicken, cream of chicken, cheddar cheese and rice to the list.  Upon reviewing my list for this weeks shopping trip I am able to cross of rice and cream of chicken soup for this recipe because I have these items in my pantry.  I didn't know 3 weeks ago when I made this if I'd have any of those items left, so, instead of forgetting an ingredient because I didn't write it down I am covered. 

 

This also helps me with my "budget".  I put budget in " " because I try to stay between $50 and $80 every week.  How do I do this you ask?  I usually put an approximate store price of the item next to it on the list.  This gives me an idea of how much I will be spending.  I usually am pretty good at guessing the price.  I always guess high.  I'd rather be happier that it was cheaper.  I also adjust this price while I'm shopping.  I try to not change it if it is on sale, I try to keep the orginal price next to it though.  Below is an example of a past week.  I shop directly off the list on the sheet.  No making another list, its not necessary.  This is why items are crossed off and there is scribble on it. 

 

I'm not sure if you can tell in the above picture but certain items are highlighted.  Those are items I have a coupon for.  That way I am aware that I have a potential for more savings.  I then can use my coupon ring at the store to its max!  After I am done shopping I attach the reciept for this week to the paper. 

You might think this is redunant because I have my guessed prices on the front, but it actually came in handy this week.  I looked up the exact price of an item that I wasn't sure what it is usually because I only buy it on sale! 

So there you have it.  Menu Planning.  Ease into it.  You might not want to start out with a whole 4 weeks in advance like I do.  (Or maybe you would!)  I would suggest, however, doing 2 weeks at a time.  You don't want to do great for 1 week and then not do it the following week because you don't feel like doing it.  It really is fun to know whats for dinner.  When your husband or kid(s) ask you what is for dinner you know!!  It is also fun for me to pull out my recipe binder while I'm making my menu and list.  It reminds me of things I haven't made in a while and it allows me to add a variety of items to our meals. 

This planning also ties into my menu board that I have on my refrigerator.  (If you didn't see it before you can find it here.)  I love being able to change this Sunday night to the next weeks menu.  Jake likes it too.  He knows what to expect.  No more of him saying I had a buffalo sandwich at lunch because I didn't know you were making buffalo wraps for dinner...  (this used to happen a lot!) 

So there you have it, Week 8!  Do you meal/menu plan and how do you do it? 

Can you believe this was the last of the kitchen organizing in the challange?  Weeks 1-8!  Can you believe we are 8 weeks into 2012?  I can't!  Where has the time gone?!?  If you have been doing this challenge how does it feel to have a clean organized kitchen.  I love it!  I get annoyed now when it gets messy!!

Anyways, they gave us a preview of where we will be heading to next:  

 The next big section of our homes and lives we'll be working on is all the paper that comes into our homes, and that we need to deal with, save, file, respond to, etc. Since this area of our homes also has lots of things to work on we'll break it down into manageable chunks and work on it for several weeks to get it all under control. Next week we'll work on organizing our addresses and contact information.

That will be a fun one, I think.  I know I have my phone, Jake's phone, and my written address book out when I write christmas cards or send invites.  I'm afraid I will forget somebody!  So hopefully the next challenge will kick my rear end into shape and get all these addresses together!

Until Tomorrow!

52 Week Organization - Week 7

Week 7 on the 52 Week Organization is:

Organized Home Challenge Organize Coupons

Now...  I used to be really, really good with coupons...  Not sure what happened and why I fell "out of love" with them.  This is how I used to organize my coupons:

Yes, I was that person you'd see in the store toting around their binder...  However, I hated cleaning it out and coupons got very old in there or even though it was organized well I still couldn't find what I needed.  AND my all time pet peeve....  The ONE time I'd forget to take it in with me...  There would an awesome sale that I HAD coupons for!  UGH!  Anyways, like I said before I "used" to organize my coupons this way...

So what do I do now...  Well...  (shifting her weight and looking at the ground)...  I haven't used them in a long while...  I know, I know... WHAT!!!

Ok so since I've started this 52 week organization I've gotten organized and started meal planning and what not and it has given me the opportunity to get back into couponing...  (speaking of meal planning, that is week 8 so stay tuned!) 

Now what I had been doing was collecting the inserts and searching a few days before I go shopping for coupons that I will need for that week or the following week's shopping lists....  (What, you have 2 weeks of shopping planned out in advance you say?  Well stay tuned again for next week!)

So this method I've had is this...

OBVIOUSLY not organized at all.  I'd take the coupons and paper clip them to the correct week's list...  Well, with this method this is what would happen to me.  I'd go for, lets say, crescent rolls...  I'd have my coupon paper clipped to my list.  75 cents off 3 Pillsbury crescent rolls.  Ok, I get to the store and there is an non-advertised sale for the store brand...  Let's just say its 3 for $3.50 or something...  So I'll get those instead.  Well, my clipped coupon that I want to save because I might need it again before the expiration date will get lost or crushed in the bottom of my purse because after that week's shopping I didn't have a way to "store" the coupons! 

So I had to think of another way to organize my coupons...  How was I going to do this?  I really didn't want to go back to my binder.  I am only vowing to save coupons I use now.  I don't want the mess!  So after much searching (soul and pinterest) I found this idea:

This person has their coupons on a binder ring and a small envelope attached.  So what you do is when you use the corresponding coupon for the item at the store you pull it off and put it in the envelope.  When you get to the checkout all the coupons you will use will be in the envelope to hand to the cashier.  This way you have all your coupons with you and none of them will get lost.  So using my example above I wouldn't pre-pull off my Pillsbury coupon till the item is in my cart so that coupon wouldn't get lost since I bought the store brand sale instead.

Here is what I did:

I condensed the  coupons from the previous picture to only the ones I will use.  (Don't worry I give my "leftovers" to a friend who takes any she wants and then they get recycled!)

I didn't add the envelope yet.  I will.  Right now the ring is just in my purse.  I think when I go to the store I will attach it to the handle of my purse.  This way it won't get lost and I can have it handy since my purse is usually in the kid seat in the cart. 

I think this way will get me to use coupons better.  Even though I just now am organizing them I am happy to report since I've started using them again I have saved up to $25+ every week on my grocery bills! 

Oh, also, don't forget to check your stores websites for coupons!  I know our local store uses Spartan brand and they have their own website for coupons.  Also, Meijers has mPerks.  I use that a lot too!  The best part of that program is you can stack those coupons with manufacturer coupons! 

So I hope I at least inspired you to think about using coupons if you haven't or don't.  If you do use coupons and you just weren't sure of a way to organize them hopefully this helped a you too!

Until tomorrow!



52 Week Organization - Week 6

Week 6 on the 52 week organization is:

Week #6 Organized Home Challenge: Trash And Home Recycling Center

Now I'm going to admit when Jake and I lived at our old house we were pretty good at recycling.  Since we've moved...  it has gone out the door.  We do save our pop cans though!  Our neighbor, my godfather, collects them and turns them in and then donates the money to Pet Refuge.  (It is one of our animal fostering agencies in our area!)

This week will be the step (shove) I need to get back to recycling like we should!  This is our current set up:

Since our recycling is a single stream recycle system I do not have to have a ton of bins...  Good thing!  HA!  I do not have room for crazy stacks of recycling bins!  (Single stream recycling is the emerging trend in curbside recycling.  Customers are allowed to collect all recyclables in a wheeled cart instead of separating items in a bin.)

I think I am just going to add 1 more bin and make signs for Chrissy (and others) to know what bin is for what.  I am moving the dog food to make room for this. 

This is what I came up with:

 

Here are the signs I am going to make to differentiate between the containers.

Not sure how I am going to make these just yet.  I want to "hand make" them somehow... 

What are you doing to streamline your trash and recycling center?

Another part of the exercise said to have trash bins in every room/area in your house so things get thrown away immediately.  I feel that we are already well set up for this.  The only rooms at do not have an actual trash can are the dining room, the spare bedroom, and the upstairs family room.  The only reason the upstairs family room doesn't have a trash bin in it is because it is right next to the kitchen.  Granted this is the place that I collect alot of spare trash laying around.  I just don't feel like having a trash can in this room would make a difference. 

 

So this week for me was pretty easy.  Next week preview:  coupons.  I am interested to see what they say for this one.  I've been trying to get back into couponing.  I used to be so good at it! 

 

Until Tomorrow!

52 Week Organization Week 4 & 5 - Part 2

So if you didn't read my blog yesterday I talked about week 5 of the 52 week organization and gave you a preview of my plan of action for week 4.  I had to do 2 weeks in one weekend because I missed a week because we were all sick... 

So just a quick reminder...  Week 4 is refrigerator & freezer organization.  This is something that I really needed to do.  I have been disgusted by the smedge in my fridge.  I just haven't had the stomach or the patience to clean it out... 

Here are the before pictures again:

I started with the freezer.  Not sure why but I guess it seemed less intimidating to me.  Armed with a bucket of soapy water and a bunch of towels I dug right in...  I took everything out.  Anything that was past its use by date...  TRASH!  Reorganized.  It looks so nice now!  I felt instantly better...(PS if you need a ice pack...  I've got you covered!  That whole bottom drawer is all ice packs...  LOL)

 

 Then I started on the refrigerator side...  I wanted to stop and not go any further but I had to keep going... 

I started with the door.  Cleared it out and washed it down.  Then I moved to the main part.  ICK!!  I'd rather not relive it...  But here is a picture of all the crap out of the fridge and it without the shelves after I cleaned it all!!!

After I went through everything again I reassembled the refrigerator.  Its so pretty and clean now I just love that!  Here it is reassembled:

Now I still need to do the basement freezer.  That is mostly an organizing thing.  Everything in there is fresh!  I couldn't do it today though because ...  My washer is broken...  Why does that make a difference you ask?  Well my washer is in the same area as my freezer and this is what was happening down there:

This was before it was completely torn apart.  BLAH!  Guess what...  It's dead...  not to be resurrected.  So Jake will have to go get the old washer from our other house...  Boo!  Not my favorite...  I'll have to do smaller loads...  Also, I need to start looking for new washers.  This completely makes me feel overwhelmed and sick to my stomach.  Not only do I not know what I want/need the prices are sick!  Reviews are not helping...  I've been reading them all afternoon.  Any suggestions?

Until tomorrow!

52 Week Organization, Week 4 & 5 - Part 1

So I was sick and I missed week 4 of the 52 week organization! 

Week 4 is:

Organized Home Challenge Organizing Refrigerator & Freezer

I desperately needed to do this!  I have a big freezer in the basement, a refrigerator behind the bar, and my refrigerator/freezer in the kitchen!  So this really needed to be done!  (I will not mention some of the items on the door are probably still from when my parents lived there... and that was over a year ago!  yikes!  Hey, we don't use door items that often...  LOL)  I will do this sometime this weekend!

Here are some before pictures of the 3 culprits!

Since it is technically week 5 and I don't want to get too far behind.  I decided to bite the bullet and do week 5 too! 

Week 5 is:

Organized Home Challenge Organize Recipes And Cookbooks

This is something I am excited to do.  Why you ask?  See below...  these "cookbook" drawers are my junk drawers!  UGH!!  I am excited and nervous to see what I come across and to see how I can make these more efficient!  

I've been dreading doing these drawers...  I usually just throw junk that I'm not sure where it should go in them...  No more!  These are going to be cleaned and I'm going to keep them clean! 

So how did I start?

 I pulled everything out of these 2 drawers!  Yikes!  How did all of this fit in there?

Next I separated the "junk" into 2 piles.  1 pile for cookbooks and recipes and the other pile was other stuff...

 

So I started organizing the cookbooks first.  I organized the books.  I then separated all my printed recipes to put in my cookbook binder.  I do need to get a small basket to go in the drawer for my little recipe cards...

 

The other drawer I don't really have a name for it...  It has the my address book in it, some thank you cards,  Chrissy's twist crayons, stickers, and some blank pads of paper.  I do need to get some drawer dividers.  I just don't know what yet.  I need to find the right things... 

 

What got rejected?

I am going to move these crafting things to the end of the hall closet.  I think I'm going to make a craft supply shelf since I have been doing so many pinterest projects!

 

Tomorrow I will be working on week 4!

 

Until tomorrow!

 

Remember These?

So remember way back in December I started some tile frames to put in my bathroom for decorations?  Well if not you can see the original post here!  Anyways...  I finally got the letters for them so I could finish.  However, right after I started these I got sick so once again they got put on the side for a week or so...  Oh well!  So finally finished them all Jake has to do it hang them!  Here is what it looks like finished:

So I went to Hobby Lobby and found these letters:

(sorry they are sideways, blogger keeps flipping them)  Let me tell you the amazing deal I got on these!!!  Christmas section at Hobby Lobby...  90% off!!!  I got these for 40 cents each!  I was in disbelief and they were the right size!! 

First I untied the ribbons and took a wire cutter and carefully sniped the little wire loop.  Then I painted them.  I didn't want a shiny finish so I just used regular acrylic paint.

I gave them about 3 coats not because they weren't covering because I wanted to get rid of the polka dot impressions on the original letters.  I think it turned out amazing!  I can't wait to see it up in the bathroom!  Maybe Jake will surprise me when I'm at dance tonight and hang them!  LOL... 

Also, maybe you will remember my Art Wall?  Here is the original link for it!  I finally got the letters for     A-R-T when I was at Hobby Lobby getting the bath letters... 

I also wanted to paint these black so I used the same paint I used above.  Jake sanded the letters a little bit because there were some rough spots.  I did about 3 coats on them.  I wanted to make sure they were fully covered. 

Then of course I couldn't leave them plain...  I wanted sparkle!  So I added some red glitter spray... 

I only did 1 coat of the glitter spray.  I'm going to wait until Jake hangs them to see if I need another coat. 

So the moral of this is Jake needs to hang some things!  LOL!  He better get on it right!!!  (He has had the sniffles since Chrissy and I have been sick so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt...  LOL)

UPDATE:  Jake hung them!

My menu planning this week has been going really well!  I am looking forward to next week already planning out what I will make! 

I didn't forget about the 52 Week Organization!  Since I was sick all last week I didn't get a chance to complete week 4.  Week 4 was freezer and refrigerator organization.  Since this week (week 5) is cook book organization I will do these 2 weeks together!  So that is my plan for this weekend.  Saturday I think I will do week 4 and Sunday I'll do week 5!  I'm really looking forward to these 2 weeks...  The freezers are in bad shape and the cookbook drawers are a hot mess! 

Until Tomorrow!