Meal Plan Schedule

Better late than never... is that how it goes?

I promised you I'd upload my meal schedule, so here goes... Keep in mind I use this VERY loosely. I created it mostly for those times when I get stuck staring at a blank monthly calendar. I can pull this out and hopefully get some dinner ideas going again.

Each night is assigned a certain "theme" - Under that I have listed 4-5 of our family's favorite recipes that I can pull from... or I can take a look through my recipe box or magaines for additional inspiration.

It's very easy to create your own, and it helps tremendously to get those creative juices flowing again.

Bon appetite!

Meal Planning System, Part One

I recently gave a talk on meal planning at a local ladies' church function. I have to laugh at the irony of it because quite simply, I hate meal planning! But yet, it's one of those things that has to be done - my family needs dinner each night - so over the years I've managed to put into place a system that makes the chore a little bit easier to tackle.

I have three sons, two of whom are teenagers, and a husband. Food is KEY in my home. My boys are passionate about food.. it's their life (ok, so they take after me). My teens arrive home every day around 5:30… dinner is at 6:00. Austin, my oldest, makes a beeline to the kitchen as soon as he’s through that door – doesn’t take off coat... doesn’t even drop his bags… until he’s asked me that most important, all-consuming question - "What's for dinner?" Only THEN can he relax, knowing food is on the way… Seriously, this happens every single day… it’s become a joke (well to everybody but me, I don’t find it particularly funny)

And for whatever reason, even though my boys drive home in the same car each day, Jordan is always about a minute behind entering the house…… so…… he misses the question, and more importantly, he misses the answer….. so you’ve got it… another “What’s for dinner?” Grrr! There's something very annoying about that simple question, but how more annoying would that question be if I didn't have a plan in place?

Because I don’t like to meal plan at all, I have put into place some “helps” to make it flow a little easier for me.

I used to plan by the week. I would sit down each Sunday evening after church with the store’s sales flyer and plan out my meals for that coming week. But I found I really dreaded that chore, so a couple of years ago, I made the decision to plan out my meals by the month. Now I sit down towards the end of each month with a blank calendar form that I print from the internet and I plan out all the meals for the entire month. And then…. I can relax for a whole month without worrying about what's for dinner!

Some things that have helped me along the way….

1. Use pencil – there will always be changes! I don’t think I have EVER followed a month’s plan exactly as I had planned.
2. Leave a few blank days each month for new recipe ideas or special requests.
3. Utilize a meal “schedule” as a foundation to get ideas flowing… (I'll get this hosted online next blog)
4. Flexibility is key! Someone might have a special craving; busy schedule might interfere with what you originally had planned; etc. Don't feel tied to your calendar.

Any recipe cards that I might need for the month get tucked inside my zippered pouch so they're right at my fingertips when the day comes to make that particular meal. Any recipes that are out of a Taste of Home magazine, I just note the page number right on the calendar day and then tuck the entire magazine into my binder.

That's my system in a nutshell. I encourage you to give it a try and see how it works in your home. April is almost upon us! Time to get planning! Arg, that means me too....

My Binder - Food Planning

Well, I'm lying here sick in bed, ugh. Food is the last thing on my mind, LOL. But it's the next section that I keep in my binder, so here goes...

My food planner section is a key section to my binder. Included in this section is a monthy calendar that I write my meal plans on, a weekly meal schedule, a zippered pouch to hold coupons and recipe cards that I will need for the upcoming week, a master grocery list that I use each week for food shopping, a list of new recipes that I want to try, and various hospitality planning sheets that help me pull together any sort of get-together in my home. I even have a list included in this section where I've made a note of how certain friends & family members drink their coffee/tea so I don't have to ask everytime they visit if they want cream/milk/sugar/sweetener... It's just a little thing, but I'm sure it makes them feel important that I "remembered".. haha...

I'm sure there are many more ideas out there that could be included in this section. These are the "basics" that help me out greatly in the kitchen. Be creative. What do you need the most help with?

Most of us HAVE to provide dinner for our families each night, so that's probably one of the first things you would want to include in your food planning section. Planning meals is probably one of my least favorite chores...I dread it. To make it easier on myself, I've devised a little system which I will share with you in my next blog. Stay tuned.

And now, it's time for a nap. :)

My Binder - Phone Section

Oh, I feel SO good this morning! I sat down at the kitchen table to fill out a medical form that needed to be sent to the college my son is applying for, and it called for his immunization dates. Oh my gosh, where did I put his immunization record??? I know I had requested a copy of it from the doctor's office a few years ago when he wanted to go away for summer camp.... My mind whirled for a few moments... where, where, where did I put it?


I eyed my binder lying open on my desk.... contemplating... could I have actually been THAT organized and stored it inside? I walked over and began flipping through the Family section..... oh wow! it's here!! I am good! Pat, pat on the back... ;)


My binder, although I prefer to call it My Household Notebook, is made up of four main sections. I even have a Table of Contents for it located in the front. Hmmm... now that I'm sitting here typing that, I find myself wondering..... why in the world DO I have a Table of Contents???? Other than to be totally anal, I suppose....sigh


Anyways... Here are the four major sections included in my binder - Phone, Household, Food, and Family. However, there are a myraid of possibilities! This is just a basic plan that works for me. Hmm, in thinking about it, I could really use a fifth section, Hospitality. I might have to rearrange some things this weekend...


Let me walk you through my binder section by section. The first section is my Phone section.


This is a small section at the very front of my binder (after the Table of Contents... which really serves no purpose, LOL). It includes a page for emergency numbers and also a page listing fast food take-out numbers, both forms I will share with you here. I used to tuck all my handy dandy take-out menus right there in a plastic sleeve along with the phone numbers until my sister gave me a really cute book last Christmas to hold them all....


I work with 3rd and 4th grade boys in an AWANA program at my church. Included also in this section is a page listing all of my boys and their phone numbers, making it a snap to call an absentee to check in on him or to speak with a parent if there was a problem in class....


Here are the forms I created for this section. Feel free to use them in your own household planner. :)

Lazy Lady 101

Before I go into other areas of my binder, I wanted to just say a quick word about housecleaning... although I prefer the term "house maintenance." Do whatever it takes to make it EASY and SIMPLE for you.

For me, that means splurging a little!

Remember, you're aiming to simplify things in your household. It's much easier to clean the kitchen counters while you're waiting for the water to boil if all you have to do is grab a wipe stored under the sink. If you have to head to your "supply closet" to get cleanser or rags in order to clean, you're working too hard. ;)

Under my kitchen sink is a big container of those all-purpose wipes. Yes, they're expensive, but my time is very much worth it to me. If I have to, I'll cut something else out of the budget. I also keep a large container of the same wipes under the downstairs bathroom sink. Makes it SO easy to give the bathroom a quick swipe every morning (and sometimes again in the evening...... I have 3 boys, remember). Upstairs, I have two more bathrooms. I don't buy wipes for these, but I do keep a roll of paper towels, bathroom cleanser, and glass cleaner (for shiny faucets and mirrors) under each sink. Same principle... I can spritz the sink and toilet daily and give it a quick wipe before tossing the towel in the trash.

Also, in each of the three bathrooms is a toilet bowl scrubber. Now I tried to follow flylady's advice about keeping the cleanser right inside the container that the brush sits in so all you have to do is grab the brush and do a quick scrub of the toilet in less than 15 seconds.... but I must have very cheap plastic holders because all of the cleanser leaked out over the course of a day and spread all over my bathroom floors. :) Someday I'm going to splurge on pretty ceramic crocks to put my toilet brushes in... but I'm not there yet.

Cleaning showers? Just clean it while you're in there every morning. Makes perfect sense to me. I keep a scrubbie hanging on my shower wall (not sure what the real word is for those! but you know what I mean!) and just use a dab of shampoo to clean the walls and floor before I get out.

A note about those handy dandy wipes. I absolutely love them!! I know they're not for everyone because of the cost. Honestly, I've tried the homemade wipes before. You know, you make your own with paper towels and cleaner.... storing them inside a baby wipes container... I made them ONCE. :) If you have the time for that and enjoy making them, have fun. Just wasn't for me. I'm enrolled in Lazy Lady 101 and doing quite well at it. :)

Think about how you clean now. Is there anything you can do to make it easier on yourself? If it means buying 4 containers of the same cleanser to store in different rooms, then do it! In principle, if it simplifies your life and frees up your time so you can enjoy the better things in life, go for it, girl! :) Life is not about housework.

Weekly Schedule, Pt. 2

I'm late, but I'm here. Had to make sure I finished my dusting and vac'ing today before blogging, LOL! You'll see why... Today is Tuesday after all. Nothing like your own writing to hold you accountable! :)



Anyways, I promised you a peek into my weekly schedule, so here they are on a two-page spread. Again, they are encased in plastic sleeves so I can check things off and write things in with a transparency marker. I have used this weekly schedule now for at least 2 years, possibly 3, with minor tweaking every now and then as things change.



The typed items are things that I do every week, always on the same day of the week. I also include blank lines to write in those spontaneous things that always come up... appointments, phone calls to make, special cleaning that needs to get done, errands to run, visits to make, etc. etc. etc. The list is endless.

You will probably be familiar with the terms "Zone Clean" and "Room Rescue." Most women who have any interest in home organization whatsoever most likely have come across Fly Lady. I will explain how I handle these two items at another time when I talk specifically about house cleaning (or I prefer maintaining). Meanwhile, you can find her explanation of these terms on her website at www.flylady.net

As you can see, it doesn't take a lot of time to maintain your home once you have it free of clutter and relatively clean. A little time and effort every day will keep that house in pretty good shape if you're faithful about it.

Weekly Schedule, Pt. 1

How are you at remembering things that need to get done? Quite frankly, I stink at it. If I don't write it down, that phone call won't get made, that library book won't get returned, that floor won't get washed, etc. If you can survive your days without a planner, all the power to you! I, for one, need all the help I can get. :)

As I mentioned previously, my binder is the heartbeat of my home. Without it, I would not get much done.... seriously. It keeps me on track every day, and it holds me accountable so I don't waste too much time... :)

My weekly schedule is the core function of my binder. I like to keep my binder open on my desk so that I can see the entire week at a glance. Monday through Wednesday is listed on one page with Thursday through Saturday listed on the opposing page. The same chores that I do each week are assigned to a specific day of the week. I keep both pages of my weekly schedule inside a transparency. That way I can use a wipeboard marker to check off items as I complete them and also write in anything that is specific to that week - appointments, phone calls to be made, special cleaning jobs, etc. At the end of the week, I use a damp napkin to wipe it all down and start over again fresh. Sandwiched between the two pages is a transparent zipper pouch that I can tuck in anything that I might need during that upcoming week.... coupons, phone numbers, bills to pay, etc. Everything is handy and right at my fingertips, and it's not cluttering up my very small desk. :)

This is a system I've had in place for a few years now, and I've found it works perfectly for me. Feel free to copy it, tweak it, improve it, totally disregard it... :)

I'll try to get my weekly schedule uploaded onto my computer this weekend so that I can show you the actual pages that I use.

Happy Planning!