Do you already have a great menu planned for this week? Have you done your shopping for the week? Did you use coupons? If so, you can stop reading here. If not, you may want to read on....

A couple months ago I made it a goal to go to the grocery store once a week! In order to reach that goal, I had to use the power of menu planning! I will be honest, I don't plan every meal of every day of the week. As a SAHM of two little kids, our life is not perfectly scheduled! So, I plan for dinner! I always keep essential lunch items {hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fruits, veggies, lunch meat, bread, etc.} on hand and replenish those when needed, but I do plan out the dinners for each week!

I sit down every Monday morning and go through the Sunday paper. I pull out the coupons, and any sales fliers for stores that I am interested in/need to go to this week.

Now, every person who coupons has their own strategy that works well for them. Some couponers save the entire coupon booklet from the paper. Others clip just the coupons they want. Me? I am a coupon clipper. Plan and simple. If it isn't something I would buy... I don't clip it. Things like toilet paper, paper towels, feminine products, deodorant, toothpaste, laundry detergent... etc. I clip the brands that I am most apt to use. Then, I hold on to them until one of the brands goes on sale and if it's a good deal, I buy that one. I am not too picky about my brands.

Now that I have clipped my coupons, I store them in a coupon organizer like this one from Target.

Baby items: diapers, cream, powder, pull ups, etc.

Produce: fruits, veggies, etc.

Dairy: milk, cheese, eggs, etc.

Snacks: fruit snacks, crackers, cookies, etc.

Frozen Foods: anything found in the frozen foods section

Household: cleaners, paper goods, detergents, etc.

Toiletries: deodorant, feminine products, toothpaste, makeup, etc.

Baking: cake mixes, frosting, spices, oils, etc.

Dry Foods: cereals, rice, pasta, etc.

My coupon organizer also gives me an extra pocket in the back. I use this one for store specific coupons. I paper clip each store's coupons together. Then when I get ready to put together my menu and shopping list, I can look at the coupons for that specific store.

Click here to download the PDF file.

Tip Junkie also has a fun menu planner printable you can download.

If you want to be a super organizer, plan several sample menu's. Then, each week, just grab one of your sample menu's. You can even have your grocery lists all planned based on your sample menu. Paper clip them together. Then, simply add whatever "staple" items you need to purchase to your already formulated shopping list and you are ready to go!

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http://www.cellfire.com/ - coupons to add directly to your Von's/Ralph's/pavilions cards

http://www.groupon.com/ - save on local businesses in your area

http://www.ebates.com/ - discount codes for online shopping

http://www.coupons.com/ - printable manufacturer coupons

http://www.smartsource.com/ - printable manufacturer coupons

http://www.redplum.com/ - printable manufacturer coupons

http://www.pgesaver.com/ - printable and grocery card coupons

http://www.homemadesimple.com/en-us/pages/home.aspx - will send you coupons

http://www.hip2save.com/ - great overall deals, coupons, and suggestions

http://www.mamacheaps.com/ - great overall deals, coupons, and advice

Tomorrow: Important Information Binder

Who doesn't have a couple favorite recipes?!? Do you keep them in a recipe box? A notebook? A website? A pile? A box? A drawer? A mess?!?! 

Today we are going to focus on tackling those recipes!!

STEP 1: Gather your recipes.

Grab all your recipe magazines, recipe cards, Internet print-outs; recipes you wrote on post-its, receipts, scratch paper, etc. and put them in a pile! Make sure it's in a place where you have enough space to go through them!

STEP 2: Decide on an organization method.

Here are a couple ideas.

You can take pictures of your recipes as you cook them and create a new post for each one. A website allows you to electronically "sort" your recipes using parameters you create {i.e. tags, labels, etc.}. My mom, my sister, and I have our own password protected recipe blog where we share new recipes and "old" family favorites from growing up. We add pictures when we can, but even if you don't it's still a great way to share your recipes with others!

 One of the hardest things is actually going through the mounds of recipes you have accumulated.  Make 3 piles "try", "keep", "recycle". {Label your piles if you think you might need to☺.}

Odds are you saw a good recipe in a magazine that you wanted to try... so you saved that magazine. Then the next month's issue came out and you found another good recipe to try.. so you saved that magazine too. Have you actually tried all those recipes that you have been stock piling? Flip through your stash of magazines. If you find a recipe that looks delicious that you just have to save... rip out that page! Start a small pile of the recipes you tear out - the "try" pile. Then, toss  recycle the magazines. Next step... try them. If they aren't good, recycle them. If they are good then add them to your recipe collection.

Next, tackle the recipes that you wrote down on scratch paper, post-its, recipes people gave you, etc. Have you tried those? If not, add them to your "try" pile. If you tried it and liked it... add it to the "keep" pile... or to the "recycle" pile respectively.

Now, how about that recipe box. Go through and recycle the ones that you know you will never use. Then sort the rest into your "try" and "keep" piles.

Now, you should have a pretty good set of piles! Hopefully your "try" pile isn't too big. If it seems like a lot, go through it and get it down to your top 10-15 recipes. Any more than that and it get  too overwhelming and you are back to recipe clutter! Then set a goal to try at least 1 new recipe a week. Once tried, either add that recipe to your collection... or recycle it!

Now that you have the recipes you want, you have chosen your method of recipe storage {☺} it is time to put it all together! If you have chosen the recipe box method {which happens to be the method I currently employ} today is your lucky day! I have a free printable for your very own recipe cards! I suggest printing them on heavy weight card stock. Since your recipes are all now recipes that you know you will use, you can run them through your laminater {or Xyron} so that they are protected from any spills in the kitchen. {If you chose the binder method, you can put your recipes in page protectors to keep them safe as well!}

Click here to download the PDF printable file. Each recipe card is 4"x6".

Happy sorting!!

Tomorrow: Menu Planning and Coupons

At the end of this month we will {hopefully} all be a little more organized, some of us {myself!} will be a lot more organized. But, then what happens at the end of the month? Well, in order to keep an organized space organized we need a plan!

I once read on a blog {it was so long ago that I am sorry I don't remember who it was to thank you!} that a good mantra is "If it will take you 2 minutes or less to do it {meaning clean something up, put something away, etc.} just do it!"

I have been implementing this idea for a while now and it totally makes a difference! I find myself passing a "mess" and thinking, will it take me 2 minutes or less to do this? put this away? If the answer is YES {even though I may be on my way to do something else} I do it!

BUT {there is always a but isn't there?!?!} make sure that it doesn't distract you from getting your original thing done!

For example, does this sound familiar? Today I woke up and made breakfast for the kids. While cleaning up breakfast, I realized I was out of paper towels. So, I went to get paper towels, but on the way, I passed my sons room and his laundry was overflowing. So, I grabbed his laundry and threw it in the washer. After putting the laundry in the washer I saw that I was almost out of detergent. So, I went to grab some more from the garage when I passed my daughter who was in desperate need of a diaper change. After changing her diaper I went to take out the diaper trash. On my way out I noticed that breakfast still wasn't cleaned up, the paper towels dispenser was still empty, laundry needed to be moved to the dryer, and I was still out of detergent! Those are the days when a loving husband comes home and asks what I did today and I just want to scream!

So, there has to be another way! It is all about having a good routine. There are always going to be little things that come up and throw a kink in your plans, but being open to that and knowing that will happen prepares you for when it does!

So, today we focus on developing schedules and routines to make cleaning and organizing {and keeping up with it all} a little easier.

In order to have a good schedule/routine, you need to take note of what you do on a daily basis and work with that! If you set out to change your schedule entirely it won't work.

Here are some suggestions {things that seem to work for me}:

 • designate 1 day a week to do your grocery shopping. Of course this means you have to start menu planning your meals {if you don't already} and putting together a shopping list. It is a great way to use your coupons. Planning ahead saves $.

• choose 1-2 days a week as "laundry days". If you work full-time, then you may want to plan doing 1 small load of laundry a night for a couple nights a week.

*Most importantly put your laundry away as soon as it comes out of the dryer! I have been guilty of NOT doing this. I would have weeks worth of laundry piled up and have to "dig" through it to find my clothes for that day. Partially it was because we were living in an apartment and having to cart 2 kids and 3 loads of laundry to and from the laundry room at the end of the building! By the time laundry was done I had 3 loads of laundry to put away and it was overwhelming! Now, in our new house, I can put away 1 load of laundry at a time and it is much easier. When you let it pile up it seems like such a daunting task to put it away that you just choose to put it off!

• chores. If you have other people in your house {husband, wife, kids}, put them to work! Not only is it a good family bonding and learning experience, but it also teaches responsibility! Little kids {mine are 2 and 4} are capable of putting away their own laundry {with a little help}, picking up their toys, helping to make meals, getting the mail, and so on. Bigger kids can help with the dishes, doing the laundry, sweeping, vacuuming, etc.. Put together a chore list - offer incentives for completed chores - and place it where everyone can see it ... like in command central!

• 10 minute clean-up. Everyday before you retire for the night, do a quick 10 minute clean-up. Pick up the last couple of toys, straighten the book shelf, put the last couple of dishes from dinner in the dishwasher and start it, put away that last load of laundry, fluff the pillows on your couch {☺}.  Taking just 10 minutes each night will help you be a much happier person in the morning! No one likes to wake up tripping over toy cars and barbies, or having a sink full of dishes to do! Get it all done the night before!

• designate time for the Internet. Sometimes I think we all spend WAY too much time online! Reading blogs, catching up on emails, working on our etsy shops, etc. This is a great article to read if you are looking to figure out how to limit your online time! Super Organizer Mom took some time away from the Internet and wrote about what she learned.

• designate time for work. If you are a work-at-home-mom this can be hard!! BUT, if you can figure out what time{s} during the day work the best for you - for example: in the morning before kids are up, during naps, after kids go to bed - plan to do work ONLY during those times! This leaves more time for just being MOM {or Dad}! I am totally guilty of this myself.. and I am making the change starting TODAY!

• Whatever I have forgotten. Each house and each family is different. If you have another routine that is not included in this list, please add it to your list! Once you figure out what your regular routine items are, you will be able to develop a schedule that works for you. It may take a week or so to put something together and it may need tweaking once you start following it.. but once you can get a good routine and daily schedule going, your life {and mine} will be much easier!

Here is my sample chore schedule:
MONDAY:
• Go through Sunday paper. Clip coupons and create a menu for the week.
• Clean out fridge.
• Grocery shopping.

TUESDAY:
• Sweep and mop floors.
• Vacuum.

WEDNESDAY:
• Laundry : Mom and Dads, Kids, Linens

THURSDAY:
• Windows.
• Mirrors.
• Dusting.

FRIDAY:
• Bathtubs and toilets.
• Kitchen sink.

SATURDAY:
• Laundry: Mom and Dads, Kids.

*Of course, having 2 kids under the age of 4 there are sometimes extra laundry loads thrown in there!

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If you don't know what to do for your schedule, watch what you do this week and take notes of what days you typically need to do laundry or what times you are usually on the computer.

In the meantime, I created these really simplified chore charts! Most of you probably have something a lot cuter, but this is at least a starting point!

What a great weekend! I have been uplifted, inspired, and enjoyed spending time with my family! I hope all of you had a great weekend too!

If you haven't hopped on the "Project Organization" bandwagon.... climb aboard! Click on the Project Organization tab to "catch-up"! I have some great organizing ideas scheduled for this week {a new one each day} to help us all get a little more organized!

If you are new to the hop, leave me a comment with the link to your blog and I will stop by this week and follow you!

Here's how to join in the fun!

• Become a follower of mine (GFC - on the right-hand sidebar)

• Grab my button!

• Link yourself to the list

• Visit whoever you want and tell them you are stopping by from Mingle Monday

• Tell your friends.. and come back next week! ☺

{** Open to family friendly blogs ONLY, please!}

What is command central? Well, it's the one place that everyone can go to in your house to know everything about what is going on!

Here are some samples to give you an idea of what command central can look like:



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So, what is included in command central {at least the basics anyways}? Here is a small list. Feel free to add whatever works for you and your family to the list!

• Calendar {wall, desk, or day planner}: Keeping your family calendar where it can be viewed by all is a great way to keep everyone on the same page! It is even a great idea {especially for busy families} to have a calendar night where everyone sits down and you fill in the calendar for the following week with what everyone has planned.

• Pens/pencils/hi-lighters/markers/post-its/scissors/etc.: One of the important things about a command center is to make sure that you have everything that you will need! If you have to search for a writing utensil, you probably won't write it down! Keep all the items you need for your calendar, grocery list, coupons, etc. close by {or as a part of} command central!

Monday: Schedules and Chores