It seems that organizing is on many people's minds these days. It's pretty common that I am asked questions about organizing in social situations.
Sometimes people know exactly what they want to do and how they want to do it, they just need a little validation. Validation can be really motivating. It can eliminate the fear that you are doing something wrong, or that there must be something unusual about you because you prefer to work in a way that's different from how your neighbor works.
Basically I've been asked just about every type of organizing question that I can think of. But I'm sure there's more out there. Let's hear them!
Every Thursday I will post the "Stump the Organizer" article. Post your organizing question on this blog. Based on the number of questions I get, I will either directly answer your question in the post or I'll summarize the questions to provide an efficient answer through a post.
So what's stumping you? What organizing question do you have that, when answered, will get you going on your project?
4 comments:
I know I should make a menu and write a shopping list before I go shopping but it takes me way too long. I end up buying a lot of stuff but not what we need and then I can't figure out what I need to cook. Sorry this is late, I hope you can answer this.
Cindy, if I understand you correctly you want a quick and efficient way to plan your weekly menu that respects your time and budget - and I suppose your taste buds too!
Option one is to borrow a menu. I blogged about this a few years ago: http://clear-spaces.blogspot.com/2006/06/help-what-will-i-fix-for-dinner.html.
Option 2 is to create the two-week rotating menu. Draw a 7 X 2 grid. Each row represents on week. Have six themes plus a eat-out or leftover night. Example themes are pasta night, soup and sandwich night, meatloaf night, fish night, casserole night, etc. Pasta night on week one could be baked rotini and the next week spaghetti. Soup and sandwich night on week one could be tomato soup with grilled cheese and for week two vegetable soup and chicken sandwiches. Pick family favorites that are relatively fast to make. You can you use the two-week menu over and over again until the seasons change or you are just tired of it. Want to try new recipes? Make one night a new recipe night. For the most part the two-week rotating menu will have a two-week rotating shopping list. Lots of my clients have used the two-week rotating menu plan and it has made dinner at home a reality for them.
I have to throw in one of my favorite tricks. When you have a bad day and would rather just curl up in a corner than cook - try breakfast for dinner. For me it's a little like rewinding the day and starting over on a better note.
I hope these ideas help Cindy.
Meal planning, shopping, and follow-through are definitely my biggest challenges in running our home.
Thank you for commenting. Almost every mom I have worked with has ranked meal-planning and shopping as one of the top three challenges.
One trick that worked with a client with very, very little free time was cooking some things in batches. She would brown four or five pounds of hamburger, bake a pan full of chicken breasts and cook a roast all at the same time. Then she would use the cooked meat during the week in various recipes. Meal preparations were really streamlined with the pre-cooked meat. When her young daughter wouldn't eat a mix of items in a casserole the items could be easily and quickly served individually.
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