Madness Monday!

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Welcome everyone to the first Madness Monday where I will provide a weekly topic to be covered that will hopefully reduce the "madness" that comes with the beginning of a new week.

Yesterday, I disclosed my first topic: Organization.

My focus today will be on the organization of your kitchen. When you are trying to get kids out the door, husband/boyfriend fed, and eat yourself, sometimes it seems as if you just can't find what you are looking for in a hurry. Also, sometimes we go, "CRAP, I forgot to get that at the store!" I will provide some ways to help smooth the daily feeding process!

First thing that I do is on Friday/Saturday, I plan the meals for the next week. I normally receive the next week's circulars by then, so this helps me to see what is on sale and create a shopping list. You may be thinking, "Planning meals? UGH!" But it is EASY once you start. If you purchase some staples (like seasonings, veggies, baking ingredients) then the planning will be easier because these are products that can be utilized multiple meals.

The key to planning meals is primarily done for dinners due to the busy lifestyle that we all have, so starting with this meal is a great start! I found a nifty dinner planner that could be helpful: planner.

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 As you can see, the full week is listed and has every aspect of the dinner meal available to be filled in.  I hope this printable worksheet helps!  Any other suggestions of how you organize your daily meals?

What helps me to plan meals is planning around my schedule.  If I know that I will be busy on Wednesday, then I will plan on leftovers, or sometime easy (like a crock pot recipe).  For the days, like today, that provide ample time for a meal, I will plan on a wider spread.  Another hint:  When shopping, buy in bulk if it is on sale!  Brisket was on sale for 1.29/lb (vs. the packaged 2.59) so my boyfriend and I snatched up a 5lb brisket for $6!! There are literally 3 meals out of it, so we will either section it and cook accordingly, or we will cook it all and then have leftovers the next night.

My sister-in-law (bird&tree) provided me with a wonderful website called The Krazy Coupon Lady.  This website is phenomenal with providing a foolproof way of shopping for great deals while saving a ton of money.  So, Frugal Friday will provide a breakdown of the site and a personal "how-to" of my personal kraziness!

Here's to a wonderful week and a "Lighter Life!"