Meal Planning, Ravelry Organizing, and The Cutest Sock

I think that maybe it has been too long since my last post. To be honest, I haven't really accomplished too much on the organizing front. There was a lot of cleaning, and a lot of good intentions. However, there was very little actual progress, well other than knitting.

I've been desperately needing to get my meal planning and grocery list in order. Like I've said before, I've had a system in the past that worked quite nicely. I had enough dinners planned for a week, and four separate weeks listed. I would just get my lists out when it was time to go shopping and ask hubby what he wanted to eat for that week and then make my grocery list from there. I was looking for something different now. The reason? Hubby likes to be overly spontaneous. He wants to go to Walmart every day and browse the food isles to decide what sounds good. It drives me and that little OCD voice in my head completely bonkers!! But, I don't like making a list and going shopping just to find out that he doesn't want anything that I've bought. Or worse is when I go to make dinner and after all the preparation and work, he won't eat it because it doesn't sound good. Ugh.

We were seriously discussing the whole food situation last night and he told me just how much he liked my old way of doing things. Ok! Why mess with a good thing? Well, other than to improve it. So I made a list of our favorite foods. Then I made a plan. One day a week we will have each of the following for dinner: salad, soup, crockpot meal, meatless meal, and a new meal. With that settled I started on my weekly plans.

genius in the making...

 So here is week one and two. I have plans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I plan to make a grocery list to correspond with each week. So week one will have a list with everything I need to make those meals, a section for things I should have on hand (so I can double check those staples), and room to add anything extra that I need, too. Each week will have a specific list. I think this will cut down my time as far as grocery shopping is concerned. I think it will also make the meal planning less of a teeth pulling affair. I'm digging it. I'll write it all out and then type them up and I'll show you the finished product. I made lists for weeks 1-3, started weeks 4 and 5, and started week 1 grocery list last night. It took a few hours. This will be quite the under taking. Once it's done, though, it will make that part of my life a piece of cake!

so much yummy crispiness!

And this is what we had for dinner last night: homemade, baked flautas and Spanish rice. The flautas were filled with seasoned, baked chicken, frozen (thawed) spinach, and shredded cheddar cheese. They were awesome! I've made them twice and both times they were a huge hit. You can find the recipe here. You can also follow me on Pinterest, because I have some pretty awesome boards filled with the most wonderful goodness. *toot toot* (tooting my own horn, like you needed to be told that)

And while I am still sitting around this morning, I did manage to get some organizing done. I organized my project page on Ravelry. I added tags and sets to all of my finished projects. It was great fun! Now I can easily look for all of the blankets I've made, or hats, or socks, or anything in a particular year. I love it. Next will be my que. I also need to inventory all of my stash. That is partially done. These are very time consuming tasks, and require hubby to give up the computer to get it done. 

see my cute, new tabs?!?

 On the crafty home front: I have finished my socks!! This prompted an immediate mini tantrum from my little Miss. She needs socks NOW. I guess I'm sort of prone to giving into her, and I love when the kids want me to make them something, so I cast right on. They are cruising right along.

they are so small and sweet.

So, the house is clean, and is actually staying that way, and I'm keeping up with my awesome record keeping. All in all I'd say the year of the follow through is going great as it nears the end of it's first month. I think that this year is going to be pretty amazing. I'm still very excited and full of momentum. I'm going to keep plugging away on my Big Binder. This year is going to come together quite nicely. :-)

Packing Away the Christmas Stuff and Meal Planning

 Well, I didn't get my small thing done that day. However, I did do it yesterday. It took me much less time than I thought, which is awesome. So, I laid it all out to see what I needed and what had to go.

Now, I know that this is not all that I had. I'm pretty sure that a very large box of Christmas whatnots was left behind in our last move. Isn't that always the way it goes? I needed to get everything into this tote. It was relatively easy.

Ta da!! It's all packed up and stored away. This is what I had to donate. I'm proud to say that I did, in fact, put it in the car and actually drop it off. I know, shock! It is amazing.

I had to go grocery shopping this week. I tried not to, but it didn't work out. Once upon a time, I had a great meal planning and grocery system. I had seven meals per week numbered week 1-4. When it was time to meal plan, I just handed hubby the list and asked him what week he wanted. This worked great until hubby changed what he likes to eat. This changes more often than you might think. I've been a little thrown off and way unorganized because of it.

 Here is my menu plan for this week. I think that I will probably make a hard copy with our favorite meals. I should hope that it would make it easier when we need to plan what to eat. 

I used that list to make my grocery list. Really, the whole process took about half an hour. Then off to the grocery we went. It made that whole trip much, much easier.

In crafty news, my scarf is moving right along. I'm almost done. Now, if the cat lets it go then I will be able to finally be done with my Christmas gift giving.

I've been thinking a lot about clean schedules and how to get my house in less of a chaotic state.  I've never really had a cleaning schedule that worked for me. I've tried several things and they all worked for the short term, and only if I focused on cleaning and nothing else. Well, we all know that real life doesn't work that way. Yesterday and today was very productive days. I timer tasked my cleaning with my knitting with my kid time. I used one of the boards on Ravelry in Reclaiming the Home. It was lovely and my hubby is super happy to have the house so clean. How do you organize your cleaning?

One Small Thing and a Garden Journal

I have been bitten by the Spring bug. I ran out and got my garden journal. I really just couldn't manage not having it started. Last year I had an amazing garden going, but I started everything months late and it had a huge impact on the relatively low yield of absolutely everything that I planted. I really, really do not want that to happen this year.

I went through all of the seeds that I have from last year and noted what I need more of and what I have more than enough of. It surprised me to find just how many seeds I will not need to buy. This is why I need to get organized. I'm all about grabbing an extra whatever while I'm at the store because I don't know what I have at home. It's ridiculous. This happens on all fronts of my life: groceries, yarn, gardening, clothing, you name it.

So far, I am using everything implemented, up to this point.  I do get a day or two behind sometimes, but so far my follow through is ridiculously surprising. I mean it. I even surprise myself.

Anyhow, I also went through and wrote down what needs to be started indoors or outdoors and when. I also have a few plants that will need to be started twice during the year. I'm using lots of highlighters to decide what my plans are exactly. I am also using the website Smart Garden to plan the garden. If you have not at least looked at this site, do it. I'm serious. You tell it where you live, how many adults/children you are growing for, size of plot, and what you are growing. It suggests a plan and tells you when to plant based on your location. I'm going to rearrange where my plants have been placed, but I really love this site and find it very helpful.

This is my garden plan for 2013, so far. I have 22 different kinds of plants that I am planting this year. It's all still a work in progress, but at least it's getting attention early this year. 

In knitting news, I am working on my Doctor Who scarf. It is a long, boring project. It is also a late Christmas present. I know, booo hisss, bad me. It is a fully garter stitch project done on size US 8 needles. Gah! Well, I am about half way done now. I needed to do twenty-five rows a day to get this done in ten days starting on the 18th. I am three days in and already twelve rows behind. I did get my twenty-five in yesterday and I may be able to make up those twelve rows today. This is one of the projects that just needs to be done. We've all been there and this is mine. 

I have been listening to a podcast called The Organized Knitter. It covers two things that I love: organizing and knitting/fiber. I think that I would like to find more podcasts to listen to, but am not really sure where to start. Do you have any that you love? I like to listen while knitting and it never really lasts long enough. You know the feeling. Well, this week's challenge is to find something small that you have been putting off and just do it. Challenge accepted! lol

These are my Christmas ornaments. Shhhhhhh.....don't tell hubby I actually put this online. lol We took down our tree in a hurry to make room for Dad to spend the weekend with us. This is what happened and this is where it has sat. It's a mess. Not just that, but it's full of things that we don't need/didn't use. This is my one small thing. I will do it today. I'll let you know how it goes.

That's all for today. We have a lot going on right now, and even more that will start happening here all too soon. For now, the house is in desperate need of cleaning and experience tells me that it just won't clean itself.

More Journals and Some Organizing

Thinking of Spring is something I do year round. I like the winter, and it's not like I want it to end, yet. However, I love dirt. I love to dig in the dirt, have my bare feet in it, and, most importantly, grow stuff in it. When the snow is on the ground, I am thinking of what to grow, when to start, and how will I not run everything late this year. I'm good at that, the running late part. Not this year. (no, I don't say that every year. *cough cough*)

I've been working on my garden book. Now I have all of the labels in it, but not much more information. I keep changing my mind on the set up. I've also been thinking of adding a separate garden journal. My garden book is for how-to's and tips I learn from other gardeners. My journal is for progress pics, start dates, harvest dates, and other info that is only pertinent to this particular year and region. I'll have to get the journal soon because it's almost time to starts some seeds! Squee! I'm pretty excited.

Don't worry; there is something to be shared on the organizing front. You know how you see something on Pinterest (or even somewhere else. Hey, it can happen!) and you think to yourself, or out loud, "now why didn't I think of that?!?" You know, it's something so simple and something that you've almost done several times. That wonderful 'duh' moment. I had one. I have one linen/medicine/towel closet in my house. It has to hold it all. It's normally a horrid mess with whatnots falling out all. the. time. Well, looky what I did.

I have two of these housing the majority of our medicine. I need to get probably two or three more to finish the job. Hey! There are seven of us; don't judge. lol Anyhow, Now there is actually room for my towels! Right now I have six categories: pain, kids, stomach, topical, first aid, and adults. I bought the containers at walmart for around $9 each. Totally worth it. My other system was horribly inefficient. I had mini totes full of medicine and we were always buying what we already had or searching and making messes in the middle of the night. This is so much better. 

There is no new craft news to share. I did, however, add some lovelies to my blog. I have the Ravelry progress bars, and they make me happy. I also added a Google+ and Pinterest button. Enjoy!!

A Care Notebook

I've had a busy day, but I managed to get a little organizing done. Today I bought a notebook and some labels and made Dad's medical notebook. 

I bought a medium spiral notebook. It has a thicker than normal cover and front, two dividers, and a few pockets. It seems like it will be durable enough to withstand being brought in and out of my purse. At least I hope it will be. 

I added a tab so that I have three: meds, hospital/doctors, and other. Now I can keep track of all the medicine changes. I also have a place to keep everything that is said during doctor's appointments and when I call the hospital. I'm not sure what I will put in the "other" section, but I felt it pertinent to have that section. You just never know. This all makes me very happy. I have to make a lot of phone calls on his behalf and they always seem to ask me questions that I don't have the answers to. I keep a folder with all this info at his house. It doesn't help when I'm at home. This should make life easier. 

On the crafty home front  I officially finished my first sock ever! It's so, so soft and I love it. I just need to make the other one. To summarize: I make socks. :-)

A New Yarn Project and Some Thoughts on Progress

Today there were several affirmations that I desperately need to get my act together. Well, keep getting my act together. First off (not that I thought to take pics while it lasted), I cleaned the kitchen. It was a mess. I wasn't upset that it was a mess. I just accepted it and found a calm in my work. It looked lovely! All of the dishes were done and all of the surfaces were cleaned. Then I made dinner and fed the herd, and that's all she wrote.

Next time I get a room in my house cleaned the way that I would like I am going to take a picture. I am going to keep those pictures, probably in the Big Binder, where I can look at them for inspiration. I am a victim of comfort. When I get lazy I just don't care how bad the house gets, that is until there are no clean dishes and it's Sunday and no one has clothes for Monday. Then I care a little more. It's not that I don't love having a clean house; I do. However, I get tired, as I'm sure we all do. And when I get tired I get lazy. Then I just want to play with yarn. Quite often that is what I do.

So, that's one of my binder plans: I will have a cleaning section in the Big Binder and pics of the clean rooms of my house in it. Other categories that I'm considering are pets, vehicle, and calendar. I'm still deciding how to work those.

The other big thing that happened is I had to run to Walmart, twice. I didn't have everything for dinner. No big deal? That didn't happen when I was better about meal planning and proper grocery shopping. I sucked it up and ran to Walmart. I bought noodles, soda, and yarn. I came home and realized that I had forgotten chicken stock. Boo. So, back I went to get chicken stock and more yarn. This would not have happened if I had prepared a list. Even a small one would have saved me a trip.

Onto another question you might have: why did I buy yarn twice? No, it was not to ease the pain of having to run to Walmart twice in an hour. It was because I needed two different grays. I was sure I had a heather gray at home. I didn't have it in my stash, couldn't remember where it was, and wasn't sure if I'd even have the energy to look for it. Ugh. Now I can add my Ravelry stash to the list of whatnots to organize and then this will not be a problem.

In crafty news, I have started a new project. I did not need a new project, but it's in my personality to start a new, shiny craft. I'm making a scarf that will reflect my high temps for the year. I got the idea at this blog. Pretty neat, huh? I had to change the temps not only from Celsius to Fahrenheit  but I had to move them up to reflect my geographical area. I'm keeping track of my temps, but am a few days behind on the actual knitting part. This is mostly due to the fact that I'm still getting all the yarn together.

I've got a lot of ambition for this one. Let's see if I am able to keep it up all year. This project fits right in with my follow-it-through goal. 

That's all for now. Tomorrow is Monday*sigh* and there is plenty to be done. I may have something new to share, even. 

A Meal Binder, Maybe...

Well, it's been a few days. I'd like to say that I have something new to report, but I don't. Not in the productive sort of way, that is. Lots of thinking, though. I will say that I have kept up with my new paperwork system, mostly. I have a few bills on my desk *gasp* that haven't been put in the bill binder, yet. I know. I'm so going to do that as soon as I'm done here......I promise.

I have made the decision that I will have a binder set. I have my finance binder and the Big Binder. I would like another one just for Dad's stuff. I'm not a hundred percent on that one, though. Part of me is thinking that maybe a spiral notebook with some tabs would work, too. I'll let you know how it ends up. I am not a hundred percent on whether or not to have a binder just for food. So maybe I haven't made the decision. lol

Let's talk about a food binder for a minute. How do you keep your recipes? I have tried several methods over the years. There was a folder, a binder, cards, notebooks, and a recipe box style. The recipe box style is the one that I have now. Essentially, I have large index cards and little sticky dividers for the categories.

I just used one of those little Rubbermaid type containers that snaps up over the handles. It travels well and is easy to use. Also, it stands up to a toddler who thinks she needs to stand on every single thing in the kitchen. This is a HUGE plus around here. 

And here is a shot of my lovely index cards. I love the big ones. I am trying to get them all laminated. It's a work in progress. Aren't all things? I don't fill it with recipes to make or all of someone else's favorite recipes. I only add recipes that have been tried and that we love. 

For my binder, I am trying to consider if I need one section for the Big Binder or a separate binder. Categories could be: shopping, meal planning, favorite meals (maybe a couple of one week schedules).....after that I'm kind of drawing a blank. I'll have to think on it more.

In other news, we are having winter. I know, what a shock! lol It was 70 degrees F yesterday and today we have this:

Snow, right? Nope, that is a fresh blanket of sleet. Our town is pretty good about getting the roads clear so it really shouldn't bog things up too much.  I like it. I don't have anywhere to be right now, so really I kind of love it. We're all warm and toasty in here. And of course, cold outside leads to yarny goodness inside!

The littlest miss has been carrying on about needing me to make her socks. We settled for slippers. They are faster. So here's the first slipper and she seems pretty happy about it. Let's see how long the second one takes to get done. 

Well, hubby says I'm a loud typer and he's giving me the evil eye so that is all for now.