November Habit #6 Menu Planning – I Love the Testimonials

Dear FlyLady,

I have to say I am so happy I found you and like many others I never thought I would write a testimonial. After finding you about 8 months I am still working on my morning and evening routines and they are making such a difference. I’m finding that when I prepare myself for the following day I am no longer angry or frustrated with my children for being late. We are on time and happy.

I decided to write you because I felt like I was indebted to all the people who write testimonials and inspire me each day.

Meal planning has been one of the habits I have developed over the years and stuck with and I wanted to share some of my ideas. My family and I have recently relocated for a year. I have many recipes that I enjoy using, but they came from so many different cookbooks and I couldn’t bring all of them with me. So…I started photocopying them and placing them in a binder with sheet protectors. I have organized the binder into categories just as you would a cookbook. I have a metal cookbook stand where I place the pages from my recipe book and keep them held up by a magnet. The sheet protector makes my recipes easy to clean if I splash anything on it.

At the very front of my cookbook is a list of my family’s favorite recipes. Whenever I don’t know what to make I look at this list, or read it off to my husband and it helps us decide what to make for dinner. (my children are very small so they aren’t able to participate in menu planning yet)

I know many people who plan their meals for a whole month, two weeks at a time or just a week. I have found that once or twice a week has been the best for me. I started taking the recipes for the week out of the cookbook binder and placing them in my control journal. At the end of the week, I put them back. I also write down my meals in my calendar. I then write down the ingredients I need on my grocery list, which is divided into different sections. (grocery, produce, bakery etc.) This makes grocery shopping more efficient.

Besides just using my special binder, I have also started collecting my recipes on an online recipe box. This way I can access my recipes anywhere. (works great if you have a vacation home.)

My cookbook didn’t come together in one day. I did it gradually over a few months, which is probably why I was able to finish it. (although it is never finished!). I am always adding new recipes and getting rid of ones I don’t like. Now I realize that I need to get rid of a lot of cookbooks when I get back at the end of the year. I don’t need them anymore. Many of us have those cookbooks that we only use one or two recipes from. Photocopy and donate. There are many great websites where we can find recipes. We don’t need anymore cookbooks cluttering up our lives.

Thanks to everyone for you inspiring testimonials,

Flying in Alberta
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FlyLady here:

Our Office in a Bag makes a great recipe saver. I love the idea of decluttering your cook books by photocopying just what you use and donating the rest.

Are you tired of making the same recipes? Leanne Ely, aka The Dinner Diva, is FlyLady’s very good friend and a certified nutritionist. She has developed several cookbooks full of healthy dinners for families. Check out her original cookbook, Saving Dinner. You can buy a copy of Saving Dinner from The FlyShop.

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