![]() ![]() Document what you’re going to donate, as you go It will save you a lot of time (and your sanity) in the long run. Can you donate any of these things? Is the reason it is “homeless” because it should really be in the trash? Do you need to pick up storage bins or organizers to deal with these leftovers? Figure it out once you’re done with everything else. Once all your rooms are complete, see what’s left in the homeless basket. You don’t want those items pulling you off of your path to cleanliness and as you start organizing all the other rooms, you might find the right place for some of the items. Here’s a solution, place all your “homeless” items in a laundry basket to deal with later. One of the biggest sidetracks in decluttering and cleaning is having random stuff where you don’t know where to put it. In reality, everything in your home should have a place. Whenever Gavin loses something, Karen always says, “where’s its home?” which probably drives him bananas. Find a home for everything and keep a homeless bin for the stragglers Yes, we counted closets as separate rooms. We could whip those out in 20 minutes, where our bedroom and closets took a lot longer. Busy day ahead? Schedule a room that is small and relatively uncluttered. Think about which rooms are the toughest to tackle and schedule those on days where you have more time. Start by documenting all of your rooms on a piece of paper, One complete, jot the date down next to it. When you break the entire house cleaning task into segments, it seems WAY easier to tackle. That is why we came up with this Simple Spring Cleaning Challenge. We knew we needed a major spring cleaning, but we both have super busy schedules. This weekend, Karen hit the breaking point with our messy house. We don’t have the privilege of living in a mansion, so it’s challenging to keep everything tidy, especially when it feels like we are constantly packing and unpacking from all of our foodie travels. Our home is both of our offices, our kitchen is our photography studio, oh yeah and we also live here. We really try to be, but somehow it feels like clutter always wins and our closets start to explode. You can get the menu planning printable here.Permission to be frank? We are not naturally organized people. In fact it’s gotten SO loud that we’re finally making it available for a single purchase. But the drumbeat for an interactive menu planner has been getting louder and louder lately. ![]() Until now we’ve kept this printable behind a gated wall exclusively for Boot Camp participants. If the week has been full of “meh” recipes, I skip this step. If the week has been particularly successful – with multiple recipes that people like, I will three hole punch the sheet, jot the date at the top, and add it to a basic, white 3-ring binder I keep in the kitchen for future reference. Anyone can cook with the full confidence that we have all of the ingredients needed. If I’m not home, it is very easy for my husband to do the same - or a babysitter. Step 5: Open Recipe & CookĮach evening, I glance at the menu attached to our fridge and open up the recipe link in my browser or on our iPad and get to cooking. Once everything has been saved, I print it off, rip off the shopping list, pin the menu to our family whiteboard on the fridge and head with the shopping list to the grocery store. In addition, any recipe that has made a weekly menu cut is pinned to our “Dinner Ideas” Pinterest Pinboard for future reference. I have gone back and re-used “old” menus or the best recipes from old menus many, many times. Once my menu and shopping list are complete, I save the PDF in a file folder titled “Weekly Menus” and add the date to the name. Step 3: Save the Menu for Future Reference While I have the recipe open, I copy and paste the ingredients right into the appropriate section of the grocery list, too. When I find a recipe that will work, I simply copy and paste the link to the recipe right into the day section of the form. Step 2: Copy Links & Ingredients to My Menu Printable Step 1: Explore RecipesĮvery Saturday morning after the boys have finished hockey and their music practice, I sit down with my computer, open up Pinterest and Food Gawker and troll for dishes that sound good, fit our budget, and are do-able in under 30 minutes. Here’s the step-by-step approach that has worked wonders for me. I made for my own sanity back in September of 2012 and at this point I can’t imagine using any other method. You can see the first in the menu planning series here.Īs I have reflected on my shift from frozen dinner queen to healthy weeknight chef, one of the tools that has been pivotal in my success is a simple, interactive menu planning printable. For the next four weeks, I’ll be writing about meal planning 101 over at Bab圜enter. ![]()
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