Planning, Needs, and Peace.....Meal Planning

One way I strive hard for peace in our home is by meal planning. Every good plan starts with a vision. My vision for our family is that we eat our meals together, we eat what I prepare, I prepare one meal (I'm not a waitress....I'm not taking orders), and we stay within our budget. I have found a way to meal plan that works best for me. For other moms, they have a better system. But during this season of my life, with 3 kids ages 5 and under, this is what is working for us. Here is what I use:

1. A Shopping List

(I like this one b/c it has a magnet on the back that fits nicely on my fridge.)

2. A Weekly Pad of Paper

(This one is from Target's dollar spot. It, too, is magnetic and I am in love.)

Here it is stuck to my fridge.

Here's how I execute:

1. Every Sunday afternoon I open The State newspaper and cut coupons. I file them in my coupon organizer. Then, I go to www.couponmom.com and print out more coupons.

2. I get out my Weekly Pad of Paper and a pen.

3. After looking through my coupons, the Publix Buy One Get One Free items, and investigating our pantry and freezer, I write down our meals for Monday through Sunday on my Weekly Pad of Paper.

4. I get out my Shopping List pad and write down every grocery item I need to buy.

5. I get out the coupons that go with my grocery items and put them in a little pile.

6. HERE'S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF MY EXECUTION: Every Sunday night at 7:30pm, I go grocery shopping. WITHOUT MY KIDS. Nathan stays home with them, gets them bathed, read to, and in bed. This is a very purposeful part of my plan. If my kids come, I end up buying more or leaving something off my list or getting too distracted to notice the clearance items. So, my rule is no kids. At least at the ages they are now. I know this part of the execution is impossible for some moms if husbands work late or if it is a single parent situation. In that case, I have a dear friend who does her grocery shopping online. Another friend of mine has a neighbor watch her kids while she grocery shops.

7. When I get home I lay all my groceries out and ask Nathan to guess how much I spent and how much I saved. I know. NERD. This is not a requirement. It's just plain fun.

And meal planning is done. Everyday I know what our meal will be that evening. It's posted for the kids to see. Knowing ahead of time what we will have for dinner and having all the ingredients bought and ready for cooking brings loads of predictability, organization and extra time to our little family.