Do you hate the thought of preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner every day? For big families, this can be a daily dilemma that causes stress and unrest in the family environment.

If you’re not into planning your menu, then you probably spend most of your time scrambling through the pantry or making quick trips to the grocery store.

There are loads of websites that cater for menu planning. A quick Google search will bring up hundreds of sites to choose from in seconds.

What we are talking about today is WHY menu planning is helpful and HOW it’s going to make your home life more organized and enjoyable.

Unless your on board with the process, you can look at a multitude of sites but not implement the time-saving strategies.

Let’s talk about how meal planning can simplify your life.

Will Meal Planning Really Keep Me Organized?

Here are some realities.

There is a certain amount of preparation required if you are the chef/cook/meal provider in the house.
You can plan ahead to help eliminate poor nutrition food choices.
You can organize your pantry to help you make decisions fast.

Here are some examples of how we can make these realities work in our own homes.

Preparation Time

Here are my top three tips for preparation time organization.

1. Set Aside 10-15 minutes Each Week For Meal Planning

Setting side 10-15 minutes each week to plan ahead can save you a lot of stress.

Consider things like:

the family calendar detailing sporting activities and work commitments
the complexity of meals you want to cook over the next 7 days
what needs to be stocked up in the pantry
what can be used up from current stock in the pantry
writing a grocery list of items you need for the next 7 days.

2. Pre-Cook Some Meals In Advance

Cooking up meals that can be frozen for those nights when you are time-poor can alleviate a lot of stress.

Consider meals like:

Lasagne or meatballs
Casseroles
Soups
Mac n cheese
Fried rice
Stir frys

3. Prepare Some Elements Of The Dish Earlier In The Day

If you plan on having a roast dinner, peel and chop the vegetables in the morning so they are ready to be cooked later.
Marinate or debone or trim meats prior to when you need them.
Portion out the herbs or spices that need later in the cooking process.

Eliminate Poor Food Choices

Having ready-made meals or food prepared & ready to work with will help you eliminate poor food choices.

You will be less motivated to order a pizza when you have spent time lovingly planning and shopping for your family!

Streamline Your Pantry

A decluttered and organized pantry will help keep meal planning easy and simple.

Organize your pantry into like items:

a spice rack for all your herbs and spices
all tinned good grouped together
a whole separate section/ shelf / cupboard for foods that should be avoided on a daily basis and are more treats
the basics like flour and sugar for example in the one place so you can see at a glance what is low on stock and needs replacing.

Declutter and remove any items that are not used & are taking up valuable space.

Why Meal Planning Makes Your Home More Organized

Quite simply, meal planning will:

Save you money because you can buy in bulk (not random one-off trips to the shops) and reduce the cost of eating out
Save valuable time during busy periods of day
Improve nutrition because you won’t be reaching for processed junk food when you have planned the week’s meals
Lessen stress because you’ll feel more organized and in control
Reduce clutter because you can sort out pantry and kitchen appliance items and only keep those which add value to your meal planning activities.

Organizing your kitchen and pantry is only the start of organizing your home! We can help you organize your whole house. And right before the crazy festive season. What brilliant timing!

Our next and last online program for 2015 is 7 Days To A Dramatically Decluttered Home.

Is The 7 Days To A Dramatically Decluttered Home Program For You?

If you:

Feel overwhelmed by clutter
Don’t know where to start
Worry that you might need things – so you end up keeping everything
Suspect you just have too much stuff
Can’t decide what to keep and what to release
Have forgotten what your surfaces look like

Then 7 Days To A Dramatically Decluttered Home is perfect for you!

What Does The Program Involve?

Over 7 days, we’ll help you to:

Make a life-changing mindset shift so you can finally part with unneeded stuff
Know how and where to start decluttering – and to make that start
Be able to make decisions about things you might need one day
Decide how much stuff is the right amount for you
Work out exactly what to keep and what to let go, room by room
Choose what to do with your decluttered stuff – sell, donate, toss?
Get rid of clutter – even when there’s nowhere uncluttered to work
Deal with kids’ clutter
Rediscover your surfaces – yes they’re still under there somewhere!
Learn how to keep clutter at bay – for life
Cope with other people’s clutter.

Each day’s task takes about 1 hour.

Here’s What Others Say About Our Program

Mindset Shift #3 a– totally worth the price of the premium subscription! THANK YOU! Laura

Thanks for the encouragement and the plan to help make changes. Jenna

This is addictive! Carole

This program was just the push I needed to start to get my place back in shape. Although I still have more decluttering to do my home looks better than it has in a long time. More importantly, it feels more serene. Which means, so do I Thanks, Michele! Ellen

7 Days To A Drastically Decluttered Home

For a short time we are offering the program at the sale price of $29. That’s a huge 42% saving. (You’re welcome!)

Only $29 to radically reduce the amount of junk, clutter, and excess STUFF in your life. All in just 7 days, 1 hour a day!

You can read all about the program here.

FREE For Premium Subscribers

Learn more about 7 Days To A Dramatically Decluttered Home.

As with all our programs, this program is FREE for Premium Subscribers.

Simply log in to your My Account Page and join us at any time, from anywhere, starting Monday 30 November (US time).

To see upcoming programs, check out the Program Schedule.

Join Us

The results are life-changing. We start Monday 30 November 2015 (US time). Click here for more information.

Why Meal Planning Helps You Stay Organized