Organization & Thrifty Tip #2

Yep, that's right, my next organization and thrifty tip are all wrapped up in one neat little blog post!

Ready? This one is super easy!

Plan your meals ahead of time.

Yep, that's it! It's that easy. Plan them ahead of time and you will save time and money.

It's up to you how you decide to plan your meals. I know some people that plan a month at a time, 2 weeks at a time, one week at a time, or just a few days at a time. Only you can decide what will work best for your family. I tend to plan only a few days at a time since my hubby's schedule is so sporadic and our family is a little spontaneous with our activities (because we never know when we can do fun things with him!) I need to make sure our dinners coincide with his schedule, which changes rapidly.

After deciding on a few meals, I write them down on my daily dockets for the week. This keeps me on track each day. (You can find the download for the daily docket I use as well as several other great organizational tools -all FREE- here: http://simplemom.net/tools/downloads/ ) If I have a busy day planned, I make sure my meal is one I can throw in the slow cooker. That way, after a super long busy day, when it is time to fix dinner it is already done - for the most part anyway.

When I was a full time working mom, my sister called me the "Crock Pot Queen." I used my crock pot EVERY DAY, even days when I didn't work. I found that after a long day of work, I was in no mood to "figure out dinner" and instead would drive through the nearest burger joint. However, if the main part of my dinner was already cooked, it was easy to boil noodles, cook rice, steam some veggies, etc. Most of the thinking was already done and all I had to do was to pull it all together. Plus it is wonderful to walk in the house with the scrumptious smells of dinner making everyone hungry and ready to eat.

Another way planning your meals will help you save time and money is less trips to the grocery store! Obvious time saver! Plus, less chance to spend money on impulse items. Stores are known to place items right in front of you to help fill that basket. If you are there less, then there is less chance to make those impulse purchases... money saver!

Hope you can use my thrifty organizational tip!

Blessings to you!