We are entering into week three. By now most of you
should be starting to feel just a little pressure (as
many are behind and still trying to get week one
completed). This is okay. Relax, don't worry about
that, just keep at it bit by bit.
I would like everyone to try and tackle their own
menu design. Although some of you may think this task
is a bit tedious, it alone can be one of the greatest
time saving techniques there is. Also it will require
little thought and choices on a daily basis. Until
you have tried this project, seen it in action, you
will not fully recognise what a time saver it is not
to mention the energy savings. It's amazing how much
energy we spend on this one area. And saves money too
as we never forget about the salad stuff in the
bottom of the fridge and find out that we bought it
just to make more garbage as it had to get thrown out
as its now gone rotten. Rechannel this energy into
other things and it is almost like having a spare
hand or two.
So give it a try. I am going to try and attach the
original posting I did about Messies ( the long one)
and I recommend that you print it out as we will use
it over the next few weeks as we tackle the layouts.
Before we can get into serious clean mode we really
need to get our menu's and cleaning schedules worked
out.
Week # 3 - Meal Planning
Try and spend time working out and naming your theme
nights for your menu plan. Then plug in different
meal plans that apply under each heading. If you have
a calander program ( I use Calander creator plus for
this) use it. Otherwise use the old pen and paper.
Remember the O.H.I.O. rule. When you are finished
writing it up, file the info. I file my written
copies with my cookbooks. If any of you are the
really organized types and have this area under
control it will leave you a bit of spare time to
finish up last week.
Plan Themes for your menu:
- Casserole night
- Finger foods
- Pasta
- TV dinner night (This is a favorite with the kids. We don't eat TV dinners, but this is the only meal where the kids are allowed to eat in front of the TV).
- Kids choice
- Dad's night
- Saturday night special
Be creative. Once you
have recorded your themes, then input meal
ideas under each theme. For example, Pasta night in
our house is either macaroni, spaghetti, or lasagna.
Casserole night is a combo of any of the meals that
can be made in one dish. I have a list of about 40+
ideas. Dad's cook night has the list of all the
things Dad can cook, sloppy joes, pizza, chili, BBQ.
Once you have come up with 7 pretty concrete themes
then you need to allocate each theme to each day. To
do this you need to look at your commitment schedule.
Here is an example. On Mondays oldest boy has cubs.
This means that we do not have much time to eat and
get out the door. Therefore, Monday night is
cassarole night. Tthis also works because Sunday is
Dining Room Dinner Night where we have roast beef, roast chicken,
etc., and usually results in leftovers. This way a
casserole can be made, cooked in oven, ready early
with no extra prep, dishes are easy to clean up, then
out the door on time.
Once you have themed each night the rest falls into
place quite easily. Plan your dinner menu, then add
in lunch and breakfast. I list everything, type of
sandwhiches, soup, vegs, etc. This way it can be
balanced by the Canada food guide, and it also
provides me with an instant grocery list.
Extra hint:
Saturday mornings is always brunch, usually pancakes
at 10:30-ish. Plan for a snack lunch that kids can
prepare themselves and we always have Saturday night
Special. We eat late. This gives us a little extra time in getting
everything layed out for Sunday. This prevents
a crazy Sunday morning before church. Sunday, we have
bagels, muffins, or donuts. Special treat only on
this day! Also, it is Hot dogs for lunch. Fast,
easy, everyone (except me) loves them, and doesn't
create a lot of work or dishes.
Keep these menu plans in a binder with your
cookbooks so that they may be reused some other week
down the road when maybe you ran short of time
writing out the exact menu. Post both the menu plan
and chore list for the week on your fridge for
everyone to see. Refer to it as much as possible.
Remember...
Remember to try and stay on top of the daily stuff,
maintenance stuff not major cleaning/organizing
projects, so we don't take too many steps backwards.
With the menu out of the way we will be ready the
following week to tackle the big stuff.
Don't have the scriptures ready for you but will pass
on some food for thought!
God had to be organized to create the earth in six
days. If He wasn't organized we would really live in a mixed up
world. He must have had some preplan time. The task
was undertaken one step at a time. And remember, He
did not go to the next task without completing the
previous one. Amen! This is a good example for us to
follow. All we need to learn is good time management
to complete our tasks and we need to undertake them
one step at a time.
Last but not least, we need rest.
Large corporations adopt and recognize this
instruction to rest. They recognize that failure to have adequate rest
results in fatigue, decreased work productivity, and
sickness hence the development of "Wellness leave."
All we need to do is learn how to manage our time
effectively as it applies to our individual
responsibilities. The rest will be easy.
Many times over the past few years many people who
know me are amazed that I can have so much going on
at the same time. They are wonderful and give me much
ego boosting praise. But truth be told, it is
really only a result of good time management and
using the gifts God has given me. One nice side
benefit of using good TM is that you have such
variety, which is really the spice of life. God
invented variety for our enjoyment. I have found that
one of the greatest defenses against depression is lots of variety. I really don't have any
time to get bored. My life's garden just doesn't
grow roses. I have carnations, lily of the valley,
daisies, ferns, and gardenia. Occassionally, I don't
watch for weeds starting, and by the time I see them
it requires a major weeding job, but then the flowers
florish again. The key is that I watch for the weeds and
try to pull them at an infant stage. I also allow my
garden some rest time. If it was in the sun all of
the time it to would burn out.
Happy Meal
Planning this week. Johann DeWolfe.
©Copyright 2006 by ADHD
of the Christian Kind.
