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Thanks so much for all the comments, tweets, re tweets and emails, it's always great to hear from you. I love a new week and always feel the most energised on a Monday. This is the day when I plan the week and make sure I'm ready for the week ahead.
To start, I've shopped my stores and cupboards and made my list, shopped for a few vegetables and made my menu plan for the week.
I've read the meters and submitted the readings on line. I've checked all my bills and made sure anything that needs paying has been paid such as my water bill that I pay monthly according to my usage.
I've checked my clothing for the week and have ironed anything I need.
I've also put a menu plan together to use what I have and give some variety to the week.
I would encourage anyone to menu plan. It can simply be fish fingers and peas on Monday, Tin of tuna, baked potato and mayo on Tuesday and so on. If you can plan the main meals of the week then you can make sure you use everything in the house. That way, nothing goes off, nothing gets wasted and you don't shop for food you don't need. It also gives you some variety? Do you eat pasta for almost every meal? Are you eating the same food day in day out? My lunches look the same but salad varies itself as does the protein, sometimes it's a boiled egg, sometimes goat's cheese other times some quinoa with dressing but I differ every day. As does our breakfast, sometimes we have a tin of broken mandarin segments, sometimes frozen (obviously defrosted) blueberries or raspberries. Sometimes I don't bother with breakfast at all and just make myself a milky de-caff coffee..............sometimes I don't bother eating all day as I'm just not in the mood for food.
Plans don't have to be ultra efficient, or followed to the letter but they give some structure in a chaotic world. It means I can control my spending, know when I have to carry money and when I have to leave my wallet at home. Having a day a week to get the household in order means you'll have time the rest of the week without worrying about the bills or who is going to eat what?
Planning could take the place of a household schedule on a piece of paper and stuck to the fridge door with a magnet. I remember well the days for Boy's brigade, Brownies, tennis, swimming, the museum art club and library days for the children. Most mothers can plan the children with military precision and running an organised home is no different. A cheap calendar will do. I always buy one late about mid January and have one in the kitchen and one in the office.
Now it's your turn. How do you organise your home to save time and money? If you are disorganised, what are you going to do differently from this day onwards to save money and get your budget in order?
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxx