Preparing for the Monthly Shop

(What the freezer inventory looked like before I went all high tech and made it into a table!)

I'm sorry, this post sat in the "edit" queue a bit too long. Obviously, the first Tuesday of April has come and gone. However--over at simplify 101, there's another brave soul who wants to attempt planning her menus for the month--and so--here's my process--typed up and ready to go-- just for you Megan. ;)

********
Well, the first Tuesday in April is coming up quickly. And so it is that time again to do the Monthly Menus. Some have expressed interest in how I have done this: so, since I'm still fairly immobile, now seems like a good time to hobble through the process with you.

I feed a family of four. My kids are home during the day: so lunch is always a hassle. Nonetheless, these menus I make up are for dinners only--oh--and I make a pot of soup once a week (as well as a batch of muffins) for my husband to take to work for his lunch.

My system has evolved over many years. I started with just the "Master Grocery List." For that, I simply kept and collected of all the grocery lists I'd made in a month and then entered them into the computer. Some advise making the list in the same order as the aisles of the store where you shop--but I did not do that: instead I grouped things in categories which made sense to me.

I used to use it weekly: I don't anymore. Here it is as it stands now.

It is one of the last sheets of paper we will use in this process.

First, I take inventory of the freezer and pantry. This is a fairly recent evolution of the process: and it was born out of the need to save every penny I could a while ago. I just go to my pantry in the basement and note what kinds of items I have. I have a one out, one in kind of rule. In other words, if there's ketchup in the fridge, but none in the pantry, we need ketchup. (Really, it's just a way of saving me worrying about what's in the fridge!)

That form looks like this:

You realize, of course, that neither of these forms are essential to meal planning. They are essential to shopping. I say that because you can just figure out what to eat when without them--that's a meal plan.

So, to the Nitty Gritty.

Sundays we have either Roast Ham or Roast Chicken.
Mondays are for leftovers. (Chicken corn Chowder soup and Chicken pot pie for the Roast Chicken, Hoppin' John soup for the Ham)

This month the rest of week breaks down like this:
Tuesdays: Pork or Poultry.
Wednesdays: Vegetarian
Thursday: Pork or Poultry
Friday: Beef (usually of the lean ground variety)
Saturday: Soup. (These are for the husband to take to work during the week. I actually make them up on Mondays along with the weekly muffins).

Going through the cookbooks, I write them all down on a calendar with side dishes. I record the cookbook and page number where I can find the recipe.

THEN--and this is where it saves us money--I go through the handwritten copy and type it out onto the computer. How does this save money? Well, as I do this, I look up each recipe again and write down what I need on my pantry inventory list. For example, tomorrow night we're going to have Turkey Pot Pie. I'm going to use the Campbell soup version of this: so I write down "can of cream of celery soup" on my inventory list. I put "1" under the category "plan to use."

For the next item, Italian Pasta and Bean bake, I record on my pantry list that I need
1 can 14 1/2 oz tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 jar of pasta sauce
8 oz (226g) mozzarella cheese.

The first three ingredients are merely tick marks on the pantry inventory form, the last is recorded on the shopping list.

And so on and so forth. After I've tallied everything up, I do some simple 'rithmetic. So, for example, let's say I'd noticed (and recorded) that we have 2 cans of 14 1/2 oz tomatoes in the pantry already--and my menu plan indicates I need five. So, on the pantry list, next to the listing for tomatoes, small can, I record 3 in the "NEED" column.

My system has some redundancy in it: the grocery list also includes "tomatoes, small can" where I may or may not write "3" beside it. I usually do, the goal being to take one piece of paper to the market and not 3 or 4, but I tend to bring everything--especially as I like having the meat detailed. Here's the shopping list ready for shopping:


And so, here it is, the star of our show. You've seen it before: the colour coded monthly menu plan.


But she certainly wouldn't work well at all with out her supporting players:

• the grocery list with everything we buy regularly
• and it's supporting actor: the pantry and freezer inventory.

Hope this helps, Megan.
Happy Shopping!

The Weekend Project: My bedroom

All week, I had been wondering: what was that cryptic note on my calendar for Thursday, April 8, 2010?

It read, simply, "9am."

Of course, I wrote it down while I was still hobbling on crutches and probably hadn't yet figured out how to write something at eye level while trying to stand on one foot and hold up two crutches with my hands.

I'd thought maybe it was the orthodontist, so I'd called to ask (and in case it was, to cancel, as though my hobbling has improved, I'm not risking driving a standard just yet).

I'm listening to messages Wednesday night, at midnight, and the orthodontists' office is cheerily telling me, no, it's not them, "I hope you figure it out, bye." and with a sickness in my stomach that cannot be described, I realised: it's the home inspection guy.

It's the guy who is going to come and enter my bedroom and open a hatch to look at the insulation under the eaves. It's the guy who is going to go down into the basement and look at the furnace (Thank heavens I had Emma clear a path just that day!).

And my bedroom looked like a clothing cyclone had hit it. I hadn't put anything away for four weeks. I set the alarm. I got up at 8:45am. I tackled it.

This is what was in front of the hatch:



The other side of the bed was OK: but the bed itself wasn't.



The foot of the bed was the real disaster:




And it went all the way across the room:



After about 45 minutes: 45 minutes, that's all, it was no longer humiliating and embarrassing: just embarrassing.

In front of the hatch:



The bed:



The foot of the bed:



And across the room:



I spent less than 15 minutes today dealing with the clothes in the basket and switching out some winter clothes for summer ones. But, the room needs a thorough dusting--the surfaces and, especially, the floor. As I wrote in the forum at Simplify 101, Quick and Simple Clutter Control, I just want to rip the room apart, vacuum, dust, wash and throw everything out except our beds and dressers and what fits IN them!

I'd like to wash the walls, too, but I don't think I have the stamina for that.

So, expect some awesome AFTER pictures, Monday or Tuesday, kay?

PS: As a reward for reading this far, I offer some awesome eye candy: here

Have a great weekend.

Landing Strip: Show and Tell

I love the idea of a landing strip. Love it.

I used to have one, too. In the front hallway, I put a small cabinet (12" deep)in the hallway, a bowl on the top for loose change, a plate for mail, a couple of baskets on its shelves and called it good.

Then we got a dog. He took the hats, mitts and scarves (or hats, sidewalk chalk and sunglasses) out of the basket and chewed them. Shoes (and boots) had to be lifted out of the way and put on the cabinet.

And so we have this:



(and no, that's not a bullet hole in the wall. Last fall I took down a big, heavy framed poster and told the hubby we needed to take a box cutter and cut off the lips of the wall anchors before we puttied and repainted. He disagreed: and by way of proof, he just yanked the anchor out of the plasterboard. Leaving proof, of course, that I was right. It may be like this for a little while longer yet!)

I need something entirely different and have for a few years, unfortunately. It may take me a while to figure it out--probably by the time the puppy grows out of the dog!

Creating a Vision for my Home

Yes, here we are again.
Why?

Because I still live here! We still bring things in, we need to take more stuff out. Priorities change. Interests change. Our lives change. And the house should keep up!

In the past, I've focused on aesthetics. Having the right look was very important to me. Function, while important, was secondary. I'm hoping that this Spring, I will find a happy, liveable balance between the two.

I want to give the house a thorough clean and declutter--as always. And I am way, way behind without the ability to move quickly to catch up.

And so, we must begin at the beginning: with a goal and a vision.

The Goal: to live joyfully with my family in a functional, calming and cheerfully decorated home with only those things in it which we love or use (and preferably both).

The Vision:

Clearing the clutter, weekend report

Can I face another binder?


another stack of paper?



another bag?



another piece?



Will I remember to do my projects if I put them in here?




No, no, here.
Will this "tab" idea work?



Will I survive another day?

Tune in tomorrow....if you can find me.

In the Thick of It

It's a cure of a different sort, I guess.
I'm in the thick of papers. I joined my paper clutter class a bit late--and so had to begin the BIG SORT right away. I had my Mom take me to Staples on Wednesday for the boxes and since then I have been sorting....and sorting...and sorting.

There are six categories for this initial sort:

1) to do, time specific;
2) to do, time flexible;
3) reference
4) archive
5) recycle/shred

oh and
6) "collect".

See these binders? I sorted all of them. And more.



Here was category 5) at noon today.



I'd set the timer for 15 minutes, mutter "that wasn't enough time" when it went off and plow through more. When I took a break, I made new binder spine inserts. I had fun today.

My mind is sort of swimming with it all. I'm anxious to get through the sort, though, because then I get to set up my paper handling "systems" and that will really be fun!

Thanks for all your warm welcomes yesterday.

Helloooooo

Wow. Have I been busy. two and a half on-line courses, one of which involved creating three layouts (or more) a week, another which involved goal setting, and the 1/2 is another scrapbooking class I'm still taking: how to use my computer. It's a whole "thing" now, apparently, with it's own name: it's called "hybrid" scrapping. It seems I've been doing this all along as I use the computer for journaling and titles. But now I'm learning I can print paper and tags and accents, and journaling blocks and add frames to me pictures and do all sorts of wonderful things--all for the cost of ink. The above is an example.

In all, I've created fifty layouts (maybe a few more) in the last three months--and I've discovered that blogging and scrapping don't go together for me.

Oh well, that's not why I'm here, now. I'm not exactly sure why I am here now, except for the fact that I was cleaning out my inbox and saw that a few of you missed me. Thanks. I've missed you, too.

I broke a bone in my foot three weeks ago. (The fifth metatarsal, for those who like such details.) The forced inactivity is driving me mad. Well, not exactly inactivity: my chair does roll, so I've been going back and forth from the computer to the scrap table. But that's it. I can feel my hips expanding as I type. And the snow is melting, the birds are returning and I hate being cooped up involuntarily!

My mom has been generously coming over three times a week to help me stay on top of dishes and laundry. But still, things pile up and it's driving me crazy. I'd show you a picture--but guess what? My camera is kaput once again. So, yes, this time I'm researching digital SLR's.

I'm involved in a course from Simplify 101 again, called "Organizing your Paper Clutter." Wow--will it be helpful! But it does mean that things are REALLY disorganized as I shuffle paper about. And I've discovered that you really need to be able to stand for longer than two minutes to deal with paper. But it's OK. It's not a race.

I have signed up to receive e-mails for the Spring Cure. I haven't decided how much I'll participate, if at all.

That's it for now.
Many thanks to those of you who encouraged me to "come back" to the blogosphere!