Meal Planning for January

So I FINALLY sat down and did it. :) Well, started anyways.

This morning I got out my Meal Ideas list, a pen and a sticky note. I wrote down headings of Beef, Pork, Chicken and Other, and started filling in meals we like or often eat from the Meal Ideas list. I came up with 7 beef ones, 5 pork ones, 7 chicken ones, and 4 other ones. Not too bad. :) That gives us 23 meals already out of 31. There will be a few nights where we will probably have leftovers so I'm a little closer to having something for every night.

Next I'm going to go through the freezers to see what meat and meals I already have, adding whatever I don't to my grocery list that way when something goes on sale I can pick it up.

I'm going to put the sticky note on our family calendar. I'll write down what we eat for supper on the calendar each day and cross them off the sticky as I go. I may sometimes pencil things in ahead of time. I already have tomorrow's (January 1st) meal on the calendar. We're having roast beef as we're having pork dumplings tonight.

Feels good to be a little more organized and starting January off on the right foot. :)

Moving Plan

As I mentioned not too long ago, we're looking to move. We need more space inside and out. We're staying in the same area, just farther from the centre of the city and maybe into a little town outside the city.

No matter when we purchase the home, we most likely won't move till at least the Spring so that gives me a few months to declutter, dejunk, organize and prepare. That sounds like a lot of time but I'm sure it will fly by. My plan is to do a little each day (or at least a few times a week). This will mean we won't go over the garbage limit each week. It gives me time to sell or donate stuff. It also means I can get the stuff we're keeping better organized.

Since I mentioned we're moving, I already started planning my attack on our stuff. And bonus, I've already started. :) With Christmas being over, I already took our tree down. It's a little bit early but I had a new bookcase to go in its spot so I was happy to move it. I've got four bins to put our stuff in - two red and two white. My plan is to put all the Christmas stuff into the red ones and the Winter stuff into the white ones. It's mostly already done but I still have some decorations up so it's not quite finished.

With the new bookcase, I've got all our DVDs out finally and filling up space on it. Now the boxes only have VHS movies which I hope to get rid of. And I started on the kids clothes too. I got through all their drawers and found the clothes I had put in the basement. Everything upstairs now either fits them or will fit them. The old stuff is all in the front porch for one more sort and then selling/donating.

It feels good to be making some progress already. I know the stuff I started isn't complete but it's a beginning. Sometimes it's hard to get through stuff with my daughter around since she seems to get more attached to things then my son.

More again soon.....

Happy Holidays!

Oh my! Somehow Christmas is over. I feel like I was just getting things ready and it's gone already. I hope you all had a great one. Was it overwhelming? Did you feel prepared? I sure was glad I broke up a lot of the jobs I had on my list and got something done each day. Definitely made it less overwhelming.

I can't believe it's almost January. Things have been coming together for the new year but I'm still not quite ready. I'm aiming to get stuff finished up this weekend. Will let you all know soon. :)

Happy New Year my dear domestic ones. May 2013 be full of many blessings, peace and organization for all of us.

In a word... Distracted!

I have been very distracted lately. There's been a lot going on here and I've been having a hard time keeping balance and finding focus.

We're started looking for a new home and that seems to be all I want to do. It's taking over all my thoughts and I find myself drifting to looking at properties all the time. I found one online and we went to look at it, put an offer in and waited. After a couple back and forths, we didn't get it. I found another one and we saw it today. Another offer in and now we wait. I keep sitting down here at the computer to do something but I somehow end up on websites dealing with our local real estate. I'm really finding it hard to focus on anything else, even Christmas.

I'm going to have to get over it all soon and start focusing on other things. I need to find balance again so I can get things accomplished. I definitely won't be ready to move when we find a place if I don't. ;)

Big News....

First, it's officially Winter. Okay, not officially, but according to me it is. We've got snow on the ground. The snowploughs were running around last night. And I shoveled off our deck this morning. Sounds like Winter to me. ;)

Second, I have a free day today. Was supposed to play cards today but the hostess has no water in her house so she's got to get that fixed today instead. Oh well, gives me time to do stuff here.

Third, so my plans are always good but don't necessarily work out. I've now got friends coming over on Tuesdays to knit so Technology Tuesday ain't working out too well. But I still want to get stuff done so I'm going to start moving my Task Days around rather than have them assigned to Tuesday and Thursday.

And finally, the real big news... We are moving!!! Not yet, but it's in the works. We're aiming for the Spring or Summer. We've got a realtor and he's on the right track for properties we would be interested in. We've outgrown our house and our yard so we've started looking. No fixer-upper this time, just some paint and flooring and be done. 

So my new plan is this: Two days a week for two focused jobs. One day is going to be focused on Technology - I have commitments and priorities that need to be completed on the computer. The other day will be focused on Moving - I need to get the basement sorted and packed up. I think I'm going to start on the kids' clothes (past and current) and toys since a lot of it will go. The more I can get out of the house, the better.

So time for me to get moving today.... Have a great day!

Organizing my Christmas shopping

I am a list-maker. There, I've said it. I've confessed. In some ways this can hinder me - too many lists, not getting enough crossed off. But other times, being a list-maker is the best thing ever. See, being a list-maker keeps me organized especially at Christmas time.

I prefer typed up lists so that I can edit them and save them for next year. Also it saves on the paper filing. ;) The following year, it's easy to see who I bought for, what I bought, what I spent, etc.

On the first page of my Christmas shopping lists, I have the people I need to shop for and what to get them or at least ideas. Some things will remain on the list every year because we always get them (like an ornament for the tree and our favourite stocking stuffers). Other spots are left blank to fill in as I go. I also make sure to include how much I spent on items as I go so that I stay on budget.

The second page of my Christmas shopping lists has our meal plan for the important days including some breakfasts and lunches, and a miscellaneous shopping list for those extra items I need (like Gingerbread house, candy canes, wrapping paper, etc.).

I've added in something else to my organizing this year. Normally I just keep the receipts in an envelope in case I need to return or exchange something. This year though I'm using a coupon organizer. Last time I picked up one at Michaels I decided to grab an extra one for when  mine wears out. But when I was going to put away my reciepts, I thought of the coupon organizer. Why not use that? I can add my list to it too. AWESOME!!! I've got the receipts organized by store in the sections and keep my list with it. Now next time I go, everything is together. And if I find something better on my next shopping trip, I know where the receipts are to return other items.

Have you shopped yet? How do you keep organized with all the extra stuff you have to buy? Good luck! 

Let the Christmas shopping begin!

Yep, that's right! I started my Christmas shopping today and have crossed a few things off the list already. My daughter had a PA Day and was off school so I took the opportunity to have her join me in some shopping. I like to have her pick out presents for people and learn more about giving and not focus so much on herself. Plus it gives me an opportunity to see what she is interested in and add some items to her list. My son spent the morning with my MIL and we all had a good time. I've still got a long list of things to purchase but at least it's a start.

Have you started shopping for Christmas yet? Have you at least made a list and jotted down some ideas?