I’m a Planner

I am a “planner”, my husband is a “planner” and by default, our children are “planners”. What does that mean, you may be asking?  It means, among other things, we like to have a plan.  It makes us feel organized, efficient and in control…but that’s another issue.

This planning affects almost every area of my life..even food.  When it comes to dinner, I like to be able to look at the schedule in the morning and see exactly what we will be having that evening.  It saves me a lot of time and energy…I simple look at the meal plan on the frig, go to the freezer, get the designated items out and go about my day.  Do I stick to the “plan” no matter what?  Of course not. There are days I get up, look at the planned meal and think, “I really just don’t feel like that today”, so I look ahead and choose something else.  Sometimes, unexpected events happen and that meal just isn’t feasible…so we order pizza!

I love a plan but I also try very hard not to allow the “plan” to come before people (although not always successfully).  I want to be able to “drop everything” sometimes and go out, help a friend, accommodate my children’s schedule or just take a night off.  

For the most part, ever since I left my parents home, I’ve functioned this way. I have experimented with how far in advance to plan these meals, varying from one week to one month.  My preference is to plan and shop once a month.  After reading Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America’s Cheapest Family, it confirmed this to be the most economical option.

I was really “gung-ho” for a while, but gradually began to slack off in the area of menu planning.  I had gone from monthly to bi-weekly, then down to weekly until I was at the point of, “What can I scrounge up for dinner tonight?”  

That’s when I realized…I could “blog” it!  A monthly menu would make a great blog post (or at least in my mind).  Plus, if I started it, maybe people would use it, then I’d HAVE to keep up with it.  About that time I saw a post on Facebook from Heather, at Frugal Homeschool Family.  She was asking for monthly contributors in several areas and I decided to apply.  Lo and behold, I was accepted AND one spot she needed to fill was the “Monthly Menu Planner”!  You don’t get much more accountability than that…if I committed to provide her with a monthly menu plan, I had to do it, and if I was already making it, I might as well USE it…PERFECT!  

A couple of days before the end of each month I will be posting a Monthly Menu for the next month. It will be a printable with links to most recipes.  Some of the recipe will be my own, others will be from Pinterest or other bloggers.  I haven’t tried all of them so it would be great to get your feedback.  You should be able to print it from here or by following the link over to Frugal Homeschool Family.  

March’s Monthly Menu will be available tomorrow!

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