Home Management Binder: The Kitchen

If you missed it, the first post in this series is here!

This idea came to me while in the shower. It may be my best idea yet.

Seriously.

About a year ago, I set to work planning a year's worth of meal plans and shopping lists after seeing this pin. I re-designed the cover to fit my style and printed out all the calendars and shopping lists I needed. I even filled out a few months and figured out the shopping lists. And I was overwhelmed. There was no freedom! I don't KNOW what my family wants to eat on a wednesday night in May. I don't KNOW if that day will be rainy or sunny or if we'll have a baseball game we want to go to. I don't KNOW if there will be a family we need to take dinner to. I don't know. I felt stifled. What if I want to try a new recipe? Do I have to schedule that MONTHS in advance? For real? Who plans like that?! And it wasn't reasonable.

So, I went to the other extreme. Which was back to my pick the meals, make the list, do the shopping, etc. And it made me crazy because I was putting SO much brain power into creative menus each and every time. I was re-doing things that didn't need to be re-done.

And then that beautiful day in a hot shower came. And I was at my mother's house. And I was stealing my little sister's awesome Bath and Body Works body wash because heaven knows we can't afford that fancy stuff. And I was thinking about how awesome Photoshop actions are. What a genius idea to RECORD THE PROCESSES WE DO OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO MAKE THEM HAPPEN SO FAST, WITH JUST THE CLICK OF A MOUSE. Did you catch that?

And I have no idea how, but it clicked. I am going to make my kitchen management into a set of Photoshop actions, so to speak. And so I did.

I started by making lists of ten dinners and side dishes. I ended up with 8 sets of ten. I decided on ten instead of fourteen, because without fail, we have leftovers once a week and then we either go on a date or meet up with friends or have breakfast for dinner, or whatever for the others. When I plan fourteen meals, we always end up wasting food. When making them, I kept to a loose guideline of 4 chicken meals, 3 ground beef, 3 other. It made for variety and it's what my family eats. It also ensures that each meal plan costs about the same in groceries. Also, mentally, when making the menus I would try to keep a good balance of time-intensive meals, quick meals and crock pot meals. I didn't stress out about this. Looking at the menu, you can pretty much tell [whoa, that's a lot. That can't go on the same menu. Or, well...those are all pretty easy, so I'm sure we'll want a fancy meal in there somewhere...etc.]

And then I made the menu pages cute. Because my next big problem AFTER going shopping was I had my dinner plans and my grocery list on the same piece of paper and I would take it to the store and then shove it in a grocery sack and it would get mixed up with all the other clutter in my car and then I would have no idea what dinners I even had stuff for. Now that it's cute, once I go shopping, I put it up on my fridge. The shopping list is still on the same page, but I swear, the cuteness keeps me from losing it in the clutter. I've done 4 menus so far and haven't lost a single one. Magic.



And then, the doozy. I made the shopping list. WITH the intention of using it again. That's a big deal. Before I was RECORDING MY ACTIONS, I would go through each recipe and only write down the ingredients I needed. Mentally I would check off "well, I have that, and that, and that, so all I need for this recipe is tilapia!" And it made for a shorter list, but that list was useless to me later on. I would never be able to use the information I spent so much time gathering again. So, I made each shopping list for ten meals as if I needed to buy every, single, little, thing in every, single recipe. This means my lists include cornstarch, measurements of milk, butter, eggs, spices, etc. [The side dishes are noted with an item x1 or x3 depending on how many times we'll be eating that side dish during the next 14 days.] And so, when I'm needing to go grocery shopping, I pick a list and shop from my cupboards first, crossing off anything we have already. And then I head to the store. So much faster. And less time pouring over recipes. More time for more fun things!

And then I made them cute.

I have eight menu plans. Four of them have shopping lists done. We have eaten our way through menu plans 1, 3, 6 & 7. Some menus lend themselves to summer months. Others have more hearty meals for winter months. All of them are delicious. And just flipping through the menus I can easily see what sounds good for that time of year without stressing about it. I can also ask Cam what sounds good and pick the meal plan that includes. It's the best thing. And it has helped me so SO much, so how could I not share?

Here is meal plan #1.

I realize these are for OUR family. These are meals that we love and I have made before. I could never use someone else's meal plan because our favorites would get lost. Which is why I went into so much detail about how I came up with each of our menus. Also, we are humans. We eat relatively healthy. And quite frankly, if you are eating home cooked food instead of fast food, you're already two steps up in my book. However, we are not vegan. We are not uber granola people. We are humans. So we like pizza. And burgers. And breaded chicken. And [heaven forbid] a cream of something soup sometimes. [Though my mom turned me on to a DIY cream of something soup. And it doesn't have any MSG in it, so I'm pretty pumped to try it. PLUS, it's cheaper. So yeah, I might be swapping that out.]

If you click on the image above, you can print out the menu and shopping list. And the recipes are linked below. But I would highly recommend sitting down and making lists of ten. Plan the sides too, so you don't end up with a bunch of extra salad that goes bad. It is effort in the beginning, but it is so worth it. Seriously. I print 3 pages front and back, and end up with six copies of each meal plan in my binder. I am halfway done making my shopping lists and once I finish that, I can have a huge variety of meals for 2 years before having to think about it again! And if I want to try a new recipe? Well, I only have 10 recipes each time, so I can go right ahead! And if I find a keeper? All I have to do is make a new meal plan, or swap it out for a recipe we don't like as much from one of the existing meal plans. There is so much flexibility, it just makes my heart sing.

I am happy to make your menus cute if you so desire. I will even lay them out with your shopping lists on the back. I charge $5 to customize any of my printables [text changes only].

Menus for Humans. I like that. I'll post the other menus if you're interested? Comment and let me know! [No, commenting on FB doesn't count. :)]

Anyhow, the other part of my kitchen section is the freezer tally.

(Click picture to download printable.)

With everything that I make and freeze, I [used] to forget about a lot of stuff in there and then when the time came to clean it out, I had wasted so much food that I was putting away for later. Now, I keep one of these sheets on the door of our freezer and jot down stuff as it goes in and cross stuff off when it comes out. So great! Like the night I didn't want to cook and had made a double batch of pizza rolls? yep, we ate so good that night! And the other night when we had inside-out springroll salad and I didn't know if Cam would like the dressing, but I knew he LOVED my mom's wonton sauce? It was in the freezer, and I had actually forgotten about it until I was halfway through making dinner. A quick defrost, and now I HAVE to share that recipe with you. Because it was a total cheap veggie meal that Cam actually requested a huge bowl of in his lunch the next day. ["Just give me a huge bowl of this. That's all I want tomorrow."<--those words actually came out of his mouth. Nuts.]

Anyhow, this seriously is the best thing in my little organizational world right now. I love the kitchen section! And it helps to have extra copies, because when I'm filling out my daily docket, I know exactly what's on the menu plan. It's all right there in my binder. I love it.

Here are Menu Plan #1's recipes:

OMG Chicken with green beans
Olive Garden Alfredo with tomatoes + salad
Honey Sesame Chicken with best broccoli
Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken with mashed potatoes + salad
Italian Meatloaf with butterhorns + salad
Taco Burros + salad [a favorite from Cam's childhood. Taco meat, refried beans, tortillas, cheese, salsa]
Sunday Meal + salad [another favorite from Cam's childhood. I'll have to post the recipe!]
Tortellini Spinach Bake with watermelon + corn
Pizza Rolls + salad
Garlicky Baked Shrimp with green beans

Home Management Binder: Budget

If you missed it, the overall post about the home management binder is here.

Ah, the budget. It is such a scary thing to tackle finances...or it used to be. I decided one day that in order to stay on top of my finances I couldn't rely on receipts. Receipts cause paper clutter. And it builds up until I can't deal with it anymore and just throw it all away, which results in us totally forgetting our budget and buying extra Blue Bell ice cream, which is not good for your figure OR your wallet. This resulted in me making a very small printable for my wallet. It was about the size of a dollar bill and I taped it to my check book. Any time I bought anything, I would record it on the piece of paper. [Cameron would let me know if he spent anything as well.] Once a week, I would update our budget totals and share them with Cameron so we were on the same page. It worked brilliantly, but it was a lot of work. I found myself re-totaling everything up all the time. I needed a ledger. And I needed a little more space to keep things clean.

Enter the binder. [Click image to download blank printable version.]

I'll spare you the actual details of our budget for September. It's not very impressive...we're on a student loans salary right now. But I will say that it saves me so much time! My binder goes with me wherever I go. I write down the total while the grocer is bagging my groceries or right after I get back in the car from pumping gas. I can make sure all of our utilities and insurance payments are on time and I know exactly what date they were paid. I know immediately how much we have left in each budget. There is no guess work.

Finances aren't such a daunting task when they're done as you go!

In my binder, I printed 3 of these, front and back, so I have enough for a year. [4 to a page, cut in half]. I am blown away by the peace of mind this little piece of paper gives me. It also allows me to have more fun, because I can purchase fun things guilt free when I know where the money is coming from!

Up Next: Kitchen [Meal Planning + Shopping Lists + Freezer Tally]

Home Management Binder: Daily Docket

If you missed it, the overall post about the home management binder is here.

Alright, so the first part of my binder is the Daily Docket. It's the meat of the whole thing. It ties the other parts together, and honestly, if I had to pick one part to do, this would be it. I get so much done with this little piece of paper. When I started out making my Daily Docket, I got a little carried away. And I made it too complicated. This is where I started:

It had too much on it and it stressed me out. There was wasted space on it because the sections didn't work for me. I removed the daily schedule portion, the drink more water portion, and the morning and evening checklists. It is SO much better! So, if you're looking to make your own, write down a list of everything you think your daily docket should include, and then delete 3-4 of them. You will thank me later.

After the clean-up, this is where I landed. And I love it. [Click the image to download the printable file]

Exhale. So much better. I have figured out a trick to making this work for me. I absolutely HAVE to fill it out the night before. Right before bedtime. Otherwise, I waste half the day trying to figure out what I really want to do vs. how tired I am. When I fill it out the night before, things like

"Hey! I cleaned the fridge before 9!"

or "Well, now that dinner's already in the crock pot, what should I do during the boys' afternoon nap?"

come out of my mouth.

And it rocks. I also get a whole lot of satisfaction from crossing things off. No more check boxes. The nicest part about it is that my day is thought out when I'm at the end of the day before and I know full well what I would do with a few extra hours in the day. Now, those tasks actually get done because they're mapped out for the next day. And I am actually excited to get up. No lie. This is a huge deal for me. The past couple weeks, I have been working on supporting Cam and waking up with him at 5:15 am to pack his lunch, have breakfast and scriptures with him, and get a jump on the day. It's addicting. I LOVE having the time to myself. I can workout, shower, and get my chores done before the boys even wake up. This morning, I did Zumba, showered, made the bed, started the laundry, hung the diapers to dry on the line, did my scripture study and made myself a yummy uninterrupted breakfast before the boys made a peep. And when they did wake up, I was so happy to see them! I am a better mom because of this little piece of paper. Another one of my friends posted on Facebook that she hates when naptime is over and it's been wasted. Me. Too. Oh it is the worst feeling. And I avoid that feeling when this is filled out. I know exactly what I am doing during that time. And the house is clean, and I know what we're having for dinner, and I feel human because I've done even the smallest workout and/or showered. I could sing its praises all day.

Here's an example of mine all filled out:



Next Up: The Budget. [Yikes!]

Custom Design: Home Management Binder

I am so excited for this post. I have been working on this project all summer long. Figuring out a system that really works for our family took a while, but I can't even begin to explain to you all the time this has saved me. Introducing, my home management binder!



In this post, I'll talk about the framework of the overall binder and its sections. Each section warrants its own post, though, so over the course of this week, the sections below will turn into links where you can get more information about each one.

Daily Docket
Budget
Kitchen
Cleaning
Projects
Scripture Study

First, I want to talk about the start of this project. My life is crazy. With Nash and Gray getting more and more active and Cameron starting Chiropractic School, I knew I needed to get myself organized. I started the summer with a motto of "set yourself up for success." That idea really influenced how I thought about this. I looked for things that I did over and over again and figured out ways I could streamline those processes [i.e. menu planning, chores, projects, etc.]. I also combined things that I knew worked for me [my six-list], and trimmed them down to fit my new lifestyle. I also used this as an opportunity to set new goals [better scripture study.]

I knew I wanted a binder because I love having a new docket for each day, I love things to look clean, which means I need to be able to throw away yesterdays docket, and start today's new. And I need it to be the first thing I see when I open the cover. I also don't want any of those annoying paper shreds stuck in the binding of a composition book/coil-bound notebook. Also, I have to be able to give myself a day off once in a while. This is why I didn't want a Franklin Covey planner. I used those when I worked full time. And it was great, because I went to work every single day. I was planned out. I was efficient. If I slip up, I don't need the guilt of a stressful/messy/gross house, a stressed/gross me, AND the paper reminder that I slipped up. It's highly discouraging. So, I nixed a calendar altogether in mine. I might add a monthly one/perpetual one in the future so I can keep track of birthdays and other special events, but for now, I'm doing just fine. [This is not an excuse to be lazy for me. Last week, Wednesday was HARD. I was so sad over something personal. And I could hardly function. So, I called the day off. I snuggled my boys. We watched movies. We ate leftovers. The chores didn't get done. I didn't fill out my docket for the day. The house was a nightmare. etc. But by Saturday, everything was back to normal. This is why I don't want a calendar. Because I needed that day to just be. But MOST of the time, I need my binder. :)]

I also knew that the cover needed to inspire me. Over the summer, I heard the perfect quote to use on the front. It explained my homemaking philosophy perfectly. It resonated with me completely. So I made it look pretty and outlined the page in Washi tape from Mindy Mae's Market. I couldn't be happier with it.

To download the printable, just click the image below.
For the rest of the binder, I used a half page binder. It measures about 6x9 and fits pages 5.5 x 8.5. I love how small it is. It fits in my diaper bag, fits on the checkout thing at the grocery store, fits in my scripture study stack. I also bought a package of 5 divider tabs for half page binders. They're sold right by the binders at any office supply store. [I did check if you could find a half-page binder + dividers at Walmart and Target and didn't have any luck, so if you're looking to make you own I would stick with Staples or Office Max.]



To make my dividers cute, I just added a strip of the same Washi Tape along the edge of each one. It polished it up so great that I didn't even mind the handwriting on the tabs!



Next Up, I'll go into the Daily Docket. It's the most important part of the binder. I've been asked before how I "do it all." And honestly, I don't "do it all." You can do anything you want to do, so long as you sacrifice something else. But you can do more if you are organized. And this little binder is my secret.

The Six List

From reading other blogs and talking to other women in similar situations as mine, it seems we have similar problems. How do we balance all the different facets of our lives and feel fulfilled and NOT burned out at the end of the day?

I found myself being so angry at myself while I was working full time because I had all these things I wanted to do, but never enough time to do them. I did, though, have time to watch TV shows at lunch, and spend time on Facebook/Pinterest/etc. I was also having a hard time keeping up with my design clients because I just flat out didn't want to do ANYTHING when I got home from work at 5, let alone make a good dinner and tackle even the tiniest of projects.

While trying to find a solution to my productivity dilemma, I stumbled upon this piece of advice:

There is a legendary story that in the 1920's, Charles Schwab (at the time one of the wealthiest individuals in the United States and founder of Bethlehem steel) wanted to get more done each day for himself and his executive staff. He was approached by Ivy Lee, a public relations expert, who told him a "secret" to increase their productivity.

Mr Lee told Mr Schwab to implement this secret methodology and then, after he had seen the results of the method, to come back and pay him what he thought it was worth. Mr. Schwab and his executives tried the idea for a month and received such amazing results that Mr. Schwab wrote a check to Mr. Lee for $25,000, which at that time was a huge sum of money.

Here's the trick: At the end of each day, write a list of the six most important things to do for the next day and order them from one to six. In the morning start with number one. Keep working on it until completed, then move to number two. Keep working on this one until completed, and then move to the next item on the list. Continue this way until completing all the priority items on the list.

I decided to take this a step further, because I need a little flexibility in my day. I need to be able to choose what to prioritize or what to work on. Enter, the six list:



I printed two to a sheet, cut them in half, and got them bound into a little pad at Office Max. Since I'm not working anymore, that top section has been modified to be "baby" focused. A lot of you might be thinking that 24 things in a day is too many. You're right. I shoot to get 3-4 done in each section, but by listing out all 6, in case I'm feeling great I don't just sit around saying "my list is done!" I know the next thing I want to work on immediately. Also, some of my 6 things are very small. I've had a hard time remembering to take my prenatal with food, so under baby, the first 4 normally look like this:

1. Good Breakfast


2. Take Prenatal


3. Good Lunch


4. Take Iron

These might not seem like a big deal, but I know myself well enough to list it because it won't happen otherwise. And when the days all blur together, it's nice to be able to look and say "yep. I did take my supplements today."

Also, when I'm filling out what I want to get done the following day, I already have 2-3 things in each section (because they weren't crossed off) so making the list each night only takes a minute or two. And because it's in a notepad, while I'm working on the list, if I notice something that needs to get done the following day, I can just write it in, instead of hoping I remember that night.

Other things that make the lists are: "plan FHE, shower & ready, catch up finances, pay bills, pack Cam's lunch, read hypnobirthing, take a nap, dishes, sew 1 diaper, deposit cash, grocery shopping, wipe down bathroom, make bed, make dinner, Julie's insert designs, fold laundry, make freezer breakfasts," etc. Some are bigger than others. Some take more time than others, but being reminded of the little things that need to be done is often just as important as making sure the big things get done. Before bed each night, I ask Cam if he has any requests. This makes sure that he doesn't come home from work and ask if something got done that we haven't clearly discussed earlier. He knows there's a time at the end of the day where he can put something on my list.

Clearly, all 4 categories probably won't fit with everyone's situation. I made a six list for my sister Lindsay at her request. She has said that it has helped her get so much done during the day. Which is when I figured I should probably share with the world, because if something works this great for two people as different as me and her, it will probably work great for a lot of you too! Hers looks a bit like this:



The bottom can be used for phone numbers, reminders, dinner ideas, etc.

This design is copyrighted, but I'm happy to make a custom, print-ready file for anyone who wants it. I was thinking $5 for the time it takes to modify would be fair.

Thoughts?

 

The Night We've Waited For...

One of our family new year's resolutions is to hold family home evening every single week. It's an opportunity to spend time together as a family and learn about church-related subjects in the home. We tried having family home evening when we first got married but it was so...awkward. Without children or siblings, we'd just end up watching a movie or having a normal night. When there's just 2 of you at home, it's really hard to distinguish just what makes a night "family night".

I set out to tackle this problem, because I really believe in the importance of establishing the habit of family night.

This is what I came up with:



Now our family home evenings go about like this:

• Sing a hymn that goes along with the lesson. Cam plays the piano, we both sing.


• We switch off who says the opening prayer.


• We go over finances. I have a little printout in my wallet that has our budget outline in it. Every time I pay a bill or make a purchase, I record the amount in the budget. That way, every Monday it takes me about 5 minutes to calculate how much we have left in each budget. We talk about upcoming expenses, things we'd like to use the miscellaneous budget for, and potential date ideas.


• We check in with each other on how we're doing spiritually. How are our family prayers? Personal prayers? What are we studying in the scriptures personally? As a family? Are we happy with how family scripture study is going? etc. We also set a goal together that we want to work on the next week.


• We talk about our relationship. We start off with 3 compliments and an itch. The nice thing is that after you've given 3 sincere compliments to the other person, it's pretty hard to come up with an "itch". BUT, if there is ever something we really need to talk about, this is an easy way to get it out in the open. And then we do 3-minute massages. (Honestly, these normally wait until right before bedtime, but sometimes we sit on opposite ends of the couch and do foot rubs.) I strongly believe that physical touch is an essential part of feeling like you're "on the same page." It's really hard to be annoyed with each other if you're touching, and good feelings between spouses invites the spirit into our home. We also go over current stressors. If I don't know what is stressing Cam out, I can't help relieve that stress and vice versa. Also, a sure-fire way to increase the love you feel for your spouse or your spouse feels for you is to get rid of whatever it is that is setting off red flags in his or her mind.


• The last part of the paper is a week-at-a-glance calendar. There's VERY little space here, for a reason. This is where we make sure we're both planning on the same things for the upcoming week. It has virtually eliminated any freak outs caused by "You didn't TELL me you were working overtime tonight." And, "No. My work party is tonight. We have to be there at 6. You'll have to cancel with so-and-so." We outline major events in the upcoming week.


• We have a lesson. (Cam and I switch off who gives it).


• We have an activity. (This is anything from organizing the nursery to going on a walk to going to concert to playing a card game etc.)


• We have a treat. (And a closing prayer)

For a while this paper was posted on our fridge for the week, but since we've tried it for almost 2 months now, we've decided to save some paper because it has worked beautifully. I plopped mine in a frame and we use a dry-erase marker to fill it out every week. It sits on our end table next to the couch where we will see it all the time. Here's what it looks like all filled out: (This was last week's)



Every time someone has asked about it, they inevitably ask how long it takes to get through. 15 minutes tops. 10 minute lesson, and then a treat means family night is still about a half hour long, but we are so on the same page and prepared for the week, the difference is incredible.

And we feel like we're on the same team.

I think that's worth every second.