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Mastering Mom Life

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Homemaking

5 Spring Cleaning Tips

Homemaking

Spring Cleaning Tips

Inside: Don’t let Spring Cleaning get you down! Find out the best Spring Cleaning tips for moms to help you clean fast and easy!

I personally have a love/hate relationship with Spring Cleaning… I love it when things are cleaned and organized but I hate to actually do it.

Sounds familiar??

So, this year I came up with 5 awesome Spring Cleaning tips to help you Spring Clean in the easiest way possible!

These Spring Cleaning tips will help you accomplish your spring cleaning effortlessly, at your own pace, and effectively!

Let’s not waste any more time, and dive into these awesome tips!

5 Awesome Spring Cleaning Tips

1. Use a checklist

Man, oh man do I love checklists!

Not only do checklists help me get everything done but it allows me to what I need to get done in a tangible place so I don’t have to keep remembering it over and over again. It also helps me prevent the risk of forgetting to do something.

I believe a Spring Cleaning checklist is essential to Spring Cleaning. Why? Because it puts everything you need to get done in a place that is easily accessible and in a way that you can easily see what you need to do.

There are times when I remember to do something and just jot it down on my list. Then I don’t have to worry about it again until I have to do it. Great!

If you don’t have your own Spring Cleaning checklist yet, I created a super simple and easy to use Spring Cleaning checklist that you can download for free!

It has a ready-made checklist and then a template for you to create your own checklist too. Plus, a free Spring Cleaning Goals sheet for you to write out the cleaning goals you want to accomplish.

It really comes in handy! Especially if you are planning to redo a closet or organize your garage or redecorate a room. Having those goals down on paper and figuring out the steps you need to take to complete the project can be really helpful!

Download the Checklist now!

 

2. Go at your own pace

The second Spring Cleaning tip is to go at your own pace. This is crucial to Spring Cleaning! You know why? Because it’s easy to get burnt out really fast, especially when you are cleaning.

Ever started cleaning something and then it rabbit trailed to you cleaning 3 other things? I have! You start cleaning and then find something that was dirty and then something else…and so on.

I personally think people hate Spring Cleaning because it can take sooo long and can be exhausting. One way to prevent that from happening is to go at your own pace, not a pace that you THINK you need to go.

If you get one thing done every week, that’s great! If you want to do one small thing every 3 days, do it! Find a pace that works for you and Spring Clean over time, not all at once.

Spring Cleaning | Room by Room

 

3. Do one room at a time or One category at a time

The next Spring Cleaning tip is to clean one room at a time. This tip piggybacks off of the last tip (to go at your own pace) because as you are creating your own cleaning schedule you want to be sure to only focus on one area at a time.

This will help you not get overwhelmed with having to clean your whole house at once!

So, let’s say on your Spring Cleaning goals list is to reorganize and declutter all of the closets in your house, it’s best to do one at a time, one room at a time.

For example, one weekend you would go through the closets in your room- your closet and your spouse’s closet. Don’t do the linen closet, coat closet, and your baby’s closet ALL at the same time!

Or if you’re feeling adventurous and want to get Spring Cleaning done as fast as possible, you can group certain things together. So do all of your baseboards throughout the house at the same time and clean all of your ceiling fans at the same time.

Completing a category of things at the same time eliminates the stress of having to go back and do the same thing in another room!

Simple Spring Cleaning Your Home

 

4. Plan what you want to get done beforehand

I know there are many moms who hate to plan and rather go with the flow of things, but I’m telling you—a super easy way to get through Spring Cleaning is to PLAN what you want to get done.

Planning what you want to get done helps you see an overview of your Spring Cleaning!

Let’s say you want to clean out your attic, deep clean your bathroom, and kitchen cabinets, and rearrange your child’s closet. Writing out what you want to do and when you plan to do it can help those goals be more attainable.

It also helps you see what you NEED. For example, if you want to reorganize your kid’s closet, maybe you need some extra storage bins, hangers, and a couple of smaller drawers.

Before you start the closet, you want to make sure you have these items so you can complete it all at once!

Planning out what you want to clean in advanced will help you save time in the long run!

And you don’t have to go crazy with planning. Just simply figuring what you want to clean on what days can be the very thing that saves your sanity 🙂

Spring Cleaning Tips

5. Find ways to do things EASIER!

The last tip is my favorite tip- find easier ways to clean! I absolutely LOVE Pinterest because it’s not only inspiring but it’s filled with ideas of things that I would have NEVER thought of.

Just a quick search for “tips to clean my kitchen” can save you hourssss of cleaning your kitchen the hard way. My Spring Cleaning goal is to clean in the easiest way possible.

Here are some cleaning hacks:

  • Instead of cleaning blinds with a paper towel, put a sock on your hand and clean the top and bottom of each individual blind. It only takes 2 minutes!
  • Put vinegar and water in a microwave-safe bowl and let it steam in the microwave for a couple of minutes. It’s a miracle worker!
  • Soak your vent covers in soap and water in the tub and let air dry.
  • Clean your showerhead by placing a Ziploc bag over the showerhead filled with equal parts vinegar and water solution.

See? Super easy cleaning hacks to save you’re a crazy amount of time!

Free Spring Cleaning Checklist

Download the Simple Spring Cleaning Checklist Now!

This checklist is seriously awesome because it breaks Spring cleaning down and makes it easy and simple! No more scrubbing your house for week and weeks! Simply use the list to check off your Spring Cleaning as you get around to it.

It’s Spring cleaning simplified!

Alllsssoooo, as a BONUS to help you Spring Clean in the easiest way possible, I added Spring Cleaning Goal Worksheets along with the checklist so you can create your own Spring cleaning goals to make your “to-do” list more attainable!

Download the checklist now!

>>Well there you have it! Just to recap, here are the 5 awesome Spring Cleaning Tips:

  1. Use a checklist
  2. Go at your own pace
  3. Do one room at a time or one category at a time
  4. Plan what you want to get done beforehand
  5. Find ways to do things easier

Remember, these Spring Cleaning tips will help you accomplish your spring cleaning effortlessly, at your own pace, and effectively. I hope you enjoyed them!

Want to read more about Spring Cleaning the easy way?? Click here to read more about how to create a perfect Spring Cleaning checklist!

Happy Spring Cleaning!

Always With Love, Brianna

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Spring cleaning tips for busy moms

March 23, 2019 · 4 Comments

Tips For Living on One Income: Stay At Home Mom Edition!

Homemaking

Tips to living on one income successfully as a stay at home mom

Inside: The key to living on one income as a stay at home mom is to have a budget game plan, set goals, and stay encouraged. Find out more tips now!

Being a stay at home mom is not easy. You are constantly chasing your kids and watching them like a hawk every second of every day. It’s a  full-time job that gives you no vacation, no weekends off, and least of all, no pay.

Choosing to be a stay at home mom often means choosing to live on one income. But don’t let that discourage you!

Since I left my career to become a stay at home mom, I’ve found tips and tricks to help live on one income successfully!

The key to living on one income as a stay at home mom is to have a budget plan, set goals, and stay encouraged.

So, let’s get down to it!

 

Tips to Living on One Income Successfully

 

Budget, Budget, Budget

I wasn’t always a big budgeter but once I became a stay at home mom I realized that I needed to budget if we were going to survive.

Surprisingly, it was really easy to do too!

All I did was sit down with my husband and go over our finances. We discussed the actual amount my husband was bringing in each week and then went over our expenses: rent, utilities, groceries, internet, and miscellaneous expenses (Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, etc.)

I’m going to be brutally honest- going over your finances and expenses and setting a budget is extremely overwhelming! BUT- it’s going to make your life so much easier.

Also, try to set a budget for extra expenses. So you can maybe splurge on things that you would like each week. My husband and I were able to come up with $300 dollars each month for extra little things that we want.

Some people may think this is dumb but for me, having that little bit if extra makes me feel free and not too tied down to a penny by penny budget. Or you can use that extra money to go into extra savings account for a special vacation or splurge item.

Don’t get overwhelmed by setting a budget either. Don’t feel like you have to live dollar to dollar.

Budget in a way that takes the stress off of you and not in a way that makes you more stressed! Having a budget will just help set that structure so you never feel like you don’t know what you can or cannot afford.

Get on the same page as your spouse

 

Get on the same page as your spouse

Living on one income is really difficult sometimes, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. One of the most important things you can do is to get on the same page as your spouse. This goes hand in hand with budgeting too.

You don’t want to be at odds with your spouse over money. Trust me, it isn’t pretty.

Find a way to effectively communicate about money and come to a mutual decision about how you spend and how much you can spend.

After all, marriage is a lifetime of compromise and mutual respect!

Budget

 

Don’t waste

Another important tip for living on one income is to reduce waste.

Since your money is super valuable, you don’t want to purchase things that are going to be a waste or purchase too much of something where the excess is a waste.

For example, don’t buy the mega amount of eggs if your family only eats a couple of eggs a week. You may think that the cost of the large quantity is cheaper, but if you are throwing away half of the amount of food, then ultimately, it’s a waste.

Try to come up with household tips that would help your family reduce waste too. Such as, not using a brand-new paper towel each time you wipe down a surface. Instead, use a towel or clean rag that can be washed and reused.

Spend Wisely

 

Spend wisely

This really goes without saying but to live successfully on one income you need to spend wisely. Try to eliminate expenses that are unnecessary or redundant. And when you want to purchase something, ask yourself:

  • Do I need it?
  • Can I get it cheaper somewhere else?
  • Will I use it (consistently)?

Simply questioning each thing you purchase will help your expenses! It also exercises self-control but also helps you to not deprive yourself.

Bonus: Don’t forget to get your FREE copy of the mini Mommy & Me All-in-One Planner! No mom can think of and remember absolutely everything all at once. We all need a little help in planning and organizing our day and family’s life. Easily plan your day AND track your baby’s activities in ONE place!
Get the FREE mini Mom Planner by clicking HERE!

 

Meal Plan

I know you probably hear about meal planning all the time but it’s seriously a great way to stay on budget AND to feed your family efficiently.

I started meal planning when I became a stay at home mom and when my daughter began to eat table food. I started by finding recipes that my family would like and then just put them in a recipe binder.

When I would plan my meals for that week, I look at the local grocery store sales and make meals that contained the sale ingredients!

If you already meal plan- that’s great!  If you don’t, be sure to check out my post “5 Easy Steps for Meal Planning”. The post even comes with a free Easy Meal Planning Toolkit! Read it now!

Free Meal Planner Printable for Beginners

Set goals

I absolutely love setting goals because it gives me determination. I also love to set goals for my family because it brings us together and gives a common purpose.

Setting budgeting goals and savings goals can greatly help you and your family! It can take living on one income from being daunting to being possible and achievable!

Click here to get a FREE #MomGoals 2019 Goal Planner to help you set goals for yourself and your family this year!

 

Mama Love

 

Remind Yourself…

it’s okay to be a stay at home mom!

Sometimes when I’m really overwhelmed about money, all I do is look at my sweet daughter and how far she’s come. And in that moment, all of my worries go away.

Of course, I would LOVE to be bringing in the bucks and not have to worry about budgets, but I wouldn’t trade my role as a stay at home mom for anything.

When you feel consumed, just remember, it’s OKAY to be a stay at home mom. No matter what anyone may tell you, no matter how you may feel demeaned sometimes, know that your choice to stay at home is valid!

 

Mommy Planner | Free Mom Planner

Get The Free All-In-One Mommy Planner!

The Mommy & Me Planner is a 10-page, all-in-one mini mom planner to help you easily plan your days, weeks, and months all while tracking your baby’s schedule, feedings, naps, and activities!

I designed the planner to help you:

  • Easily plan your days, weeks, months, and even year so you can clearly see your schedule at a whole!
  • Focus on your day to day tasks, including to-do lists, appointments, and chores so you never forget to do anything!
  • Track your baby’s feedings, including how much they ate and what they ate so you never have to forget what they ate
  • Track your baby’s naps so you can see how long your baby is napping and at what time. This helps you create a nap routine that can help your baby sleep longer and consistently!
  • Create an overall schedule for your baby that is structured yet flexible to your family’s needs.
  • Set goals for yourself and your baby so you can accomplish new milestones together!

Help plan your schedule PLUS track your baby’s feedings and naps all in one place! Get the FREE Mom Planner NOW!

>>And there you have it! Here are 7 tips to living on one income successfully!

Remember:

  1. Don’t forget to budget
  2. Make sure you and your spouse are communicating effectively
  3. Reduce waste
  4. Eliminate unnecessary expenses
  5. Meal plan
  6. Set goals
  7. Remind yourself it’s ok to be a SAHM!!

As stay at home moms, we may not get sick leave, or be able to sleep in on weekends or see our bank account rise every Friday. But our “pay” is so much greater than any dollar amount. You are choosing to sacrifice your life and raise your children– being a stay at home mom is an amazing job title to have!

Living on one income takes dedication but it’s totally worth it when you wake up in the morning to see your little running to you with open arms!

Pin this post to pinterest

Always With Love, Brianna

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Tips for Living on One Income Successfully as a Stay at Home Mom | How to Live on One income | Living on one income tips | family budget | Stay at Home Mom Tips | Mom advice | free mom planner | #momtips #momadvice #stayathomemom

7 tips to live on one income successfully! Living on one come doesn’t have to hard with these 7 awesome stay at home mom tips! Easy, practical, everyday tips to thrive on one income! #momtips #momadvice #stayathomemom

How to be an amazing stay at home mom living on one income

January 28, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Tips To Easily Get Your House Ready for Guests

Homemaking

Easy Ways to Get Your House Ready for Guests

If you’re anything like me, as much as I love having family and friends over, I absolutely hate to get my house ready for guests. I’m a busy mom and I don’t always have hours and hours to get my house perfect for guests. So, I came up with some super easy, quick and most of all practical ways to get your house ready for guests!

Easy Ways to Get Your House Ready for Guests

Whether you live in a one-bedroom apartment or a 6-room house, these tips will help you get your house ready for guests in the fastest and easiest way possible. Above all, these tips are practical for everyday homes! These tips also come in HANDY when you have to get your house ready for guests in a flash. I’ve used these tips for years now and in every home that I have helped get ready for guests so I would love to share them with you.

To help you get your house ready for guests in a flash, I created this Ultimate Prep Your Home for Guests Checklist so you can easily get your house all tidy and prepared for guests! Download the FREE Checklist now!

 

So, let’s get down to it!

 

Tips to get Your House ready for guests

The number one tip to make your house ready for guests is to make sure that your home is inviting

A lot of people think that their house needs to be spotless and perfect for guests to be able to come over. But that’s way stressful! The thing you want to focus on the most is making your home inviting where your guests feel welcome. Here are tips to help you accomplish this!

Flowers on Table | Getting Your House Ready for Guests

It’s okay for your house to be messy- not dirty.

I always find that the first thing that someone does when they find out that guests are coming over is they go right into “I have to make sure everything is perfect” mode. But the reality is that when you have babies and children in your house that your house is not going to “perfect” for any longer than 5 minutes. Because truth is, your children are going to take out their toys and make a mess all over again. It can’t be helped!

 

Accept the fact that your house can be messy without being dirty.

So instead of trying to make sure your house is perfect, just focus on making sure your house is not dirty. No one wants to visit a dirty house. And by dirty I mean trash overflowing, food crusted dishes in the sink, the pets wee wee pads not cleaned, and your living room in a cloud of dust. These are the things that you should be focusing on when people come over.

But if your house is just “messy”, then I think that’s perfectly okay. I know some moms would be giving me the evil eye for saying that but sometimes there are things that happen in our house that can’t be prevented because we have a family. So this is my definition of “messy”:

  • the kids’ toys are out because they just finished playing
  • the dishes are drying in the rack and not fully put away
  • the jackets hanging by the door are not in the closet
  • the shoes by the door are not perfectly straightened up
  • etc.

These things I can live with! Being dirty is something that I cannot love with.

Candle | Getting Your House ready for guests

Focus on Scent

One of the easiest ways to make your guests feel welcome and make your home be inviting is to focus on scent. Scent is one of those things that evoke so much emotion and feeling. If your house smells like day old fish then no one is going to want to sit on your couch and watch a movie.

One of the things I do is make sure I always have candles on hand! A candle is amazing because not only does it smell great and can make your home smell good fast, but it also sets an ambiance and elevates the mood of a space.

If you have little ones, be sure to put candles high enough for them not to touch! And if you have climbing toddlers who like to get into everything then maybe you can just put some diffusers out or use plugin scents!

It's okay for your children's toys to be out | getting your house ready for guests

Instead of mass decluttering, just organize

Usually, when you have to get your house ready for guests the first thing you do is want to clean, clean, clean. And while I’m totally on board for straightening up and making sure things are clean, I don’t usually focus on mass decluttering.

I’m a stay at home mom of an 18-month-old so there are constantly toys everywhere and just when I put something away 2 seconds later it’s all over the floor again. Because of this, I can’t totally declutter! So instead, I just focus on organizing.

Remember, it’s perfectly okay to have things out- just make sure it’s organized and “looks” neat. Don’t get too hung up on having everything perfect and clear. Kids are kids so your guests will understand that your kids’ toys are out!

Dishes | Prepping your house for guests

Make sure the dishes are done

One of the easiest ways to get your house ready for guests in a flash is to make sure that the dishes are done and the countertops are clean. You have no idea how a dirty pile of dishes in the sink makes your home look dirty. To make your house “look” clean, make sure to do the dishes! It’s one of those little secrets to making your home “appear” clean when it’s not perfect.

 

Start cleaning a couple days before the guests arrive

I know this is super obvious and goes without saying, but if you know guests are coming a couple days in advance, then try not to procrastinate and start cleaning a little bit a day. You don’t have to go crazy, but it will save you’re your sanity by cleaning day by day instead of just mass cleaning 2 hours before guests are arriving.

Mopping | Prepping Your House for Guests

A clean floor goes a long way

While your house doesn’t have to be perfectly cleaned and decluttered, be sure to clean your floors. Whether you do a quick vacuum on your carpets or a quick Swiffer to your floors- it makes all the difference! A shiny floor will automatically trump the fact that you have toy bins all over the place. This is one of the tips that differentiates your house being messy and dirty. It’s okay for your house to be a bit messy because of the children, but you don’t want your house to be dirty.

 

Clean the bathroom

Another tip to get your house ready for guests in a super easy way is to flash clean your bathroom. This just means to do a quick wipe down of the sink, counters, mirrors, and toilet. Maybe even throw some toilet bowl cleaner and do a quick flush so your toilet bowl is nice and sparkly. Quickly fold any towels and do a sweep and you’re done!

Cleaning the Toilet | Getting Your house ready for guests

Don’t underestimate a good wipe down

To reinforce the “it’s okay messy but not dirty” tip, one of the ways to make sure your house is clean is to do a quick wipe down of surfaces. So wipe down your tables, counters, side tables, ottomans, and entertainment centers. You can even use a Swiffer to do a quick dust down of your living room and shelves. Trust me, it takes all of 5 minutes!

 

It’s okay to keep doors closed

Another tip to get your house ready for guests is to know that it’s okay to keep some of your doors closed. When I know there are guests coming over and I haven’t had a chance to clean like I wanted to, like fold the laundry in the basket and put away some shopping bags, I usually just put it all in my room and close the door. It feels like cheating but it’s not!

So, don’t feel bad if you need to throw some “cluttered” items in your room and just shut the door. You’re not a bad mom or host for it!

Getting Your House ready for Guests

Don’t forget to have drinks and snacks

I sometimes forget this tip the most because I’m so worried about cleaning, but a good tip to get your house ready for guests is to make sure you have drinks and snacks for your guests. Or at least a plan for drinks or snacks.

Sometimes I just make a pitcher of iced tea and throw open a couple of bags of chips and I’m done. Other times when I didn’t have as much time to prepare food or drinks for guests I just involve them in the process and have my guests help me make something.

My friends LOVE doing this anyway! They love to feel included and to help me out. Or you can just order some food from a local restaurant and have it delivered. There are so many options! Just be sure to have some sort of plan or else your guests are going to sit there parched!

You can also never go wrong with a pot of coffee and some cookies!

Want more tips?? Download my Ultimate Prep Your Home For Guests Checklist to get more easy tips!

Prep Your Home For Guests Checklist

Also, don’t forget to download my free Ultimate Prep Your Home for Guests Checklist so you can easily get your house all tidy and prepared for guests! The checklist has all of these tips plus MORE that will help you get your house all ready for your family and friends. Make sure you don’t forget a tip by downloading the checklist now!

 

Well, that’s it! Those are my super awesome, easy to do, quick, and practical tips to help you get your house ready for guests! Remember, not every time you have guests does your house have to be “perfect”. Everyone understands that you are a mom and you have to take care of your family so don’t put too much pressure on yourself to have to perfectly clean before you have guests over.

Tips to get your house ready for guests in a flash | Easy ways to prepare your home for guests |Get House ready for Guests | Prepare your home for holiday guests | Cleaning checklist | free printable | mom advice | family | #cleaningtips #momtips #holiday

Do you have any tips that help you get your house ready for guests?? Feel free to leave it in the comments below!

Always With Love, Brianna

Tips to Help You Prepare you House for Holiday Guests | Easy ways to prepare your home for guests |Get House ready for Guests | Prepare your home for holiday guests | Cleaning checklist | free printable | mom advice | family | #cleaningtips #momtips #holiday

November 20, 2018 · Leave a Comment

5 Steps for Easy Meal Planning

Homemaking

5 Steps to Easy Meal Planning for the Busy Mom

I envy those moms who cook like master chefs. The moms who love to cook up a feast and spend hours doing it. I wish I was them!

But I’m more of the “what’s the fastest and easiest meal I can get on the table after a long day a battling 10 piles of laundry” kind of mom.

And because of this, I usually shy away from my meal planning and meal prep.

If you find meal planning realllyyy tasking, overwhelming, difficult and never seem to find the time to actually do it– you are not alone. I’m right there with ya!

BUT I was tired of constantly dreading dinners and being pressed for time every day when my husband asked me what was for dinner.

So instead, I pressed on and tried to create a system that worked *for me*. Not one that made me feel guilty for being the “perfect” kind of mom.

And if you felt anything like I did, I would love to share my easy meal planning tips with you!

I created an easy meal planning system that not only is stress-free but is also friendly for the “not so chef”, busy mom.

And now it only takes me 15 minutes a week for my meal planning and prepping!

This easy meal planning system is super flexible and allows you to set it up in a way that works best for you (and that’s affordable!).

This easy meal planning system will give you the flexibility to plan your meals at the pace you’re comfortable with and plan meals you’re comfortable with making.

Maybe you want to just plan for 5 days or even 3 days. It’s totally up to you!

This system is an outline for easy meal planning that you can fill in with your own details! I’m super excited to share it with you today!

Busy Mom’s Meal Planning Toolkit

To help you easily meal plan, I created a Meal Planning Toolkit specifically to help busy moms!

The toolkit includes 5 pages of printable templates and planner sheets that will help you accomplish each other these 5 steps to easy meal planning.

I personally use this toolkit every week when I meal plan and it takes me less than 15 minutes to meal plan for the week from start to finish. It’s my all-in-one meal planning resource!

Download the toolkit now!

 

So, let’s dive into the easy meal planning system!

5 Steps to Easy Meal Planning

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I always avoided meal planning because I thought it was only for the moms who had a really large recipe box and was able to pump out 7 dinners a week from all of the recipes they knew how to make.

And I definitely did not fall into this category.

But once I actually created a meal planning system and started to use it, it has been a complete lifesaver!

5 Steps to Easy Meal Planning- step 1

1. Go Hunting

Step 1: Write out the recipes you know how to make or want to make

Honestly, the first and second steps will probably take the most time but after you set this up you never have to work on it again (unless you want to update it).

The first step to easy meal planning is to actually find the recipes that you would want to make.

You’ll hunt down simple recipes that work for you.

Since I’m not a “chef mom”, this usually involved me combing Pinterest for easy family meals. When I found meals I thought I could make, I save it to a board I created.

Then I used that board as my recipe archive.

Be sure to find recipes for all of the meals you are planning to make.

Maybe you just want to start meal planning your dinners. Or maybe you want to save an assortment of meals just so you have them handy, like breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

Then I either print the recipe or write it out on a recipe card. Since this is “easy meal planning for the BUSY mom”, I usually go for the printing method, but sometimes when I have some downtime I’ll actually write out recipes on a recipe card to make it nice and pretty.

This usually involves some work, but trust me it will be worth it!

Then, with the meals that I know how to make from memory, I even take the time to write out the ingredients and the recipe. This may seem like a waste of time but you’ll see why this is a lifesaver in the next step!

Like I mentioned before, this step is usually one of the most time consuming, but once you get it out of the way, you really don’t have to do it again until you want to.

5 Steps to Easy Meal Planning- Step 2

 

2. Organize

Step 2: Organize recipes in a system you like (recipe box or electronically)

Now that you have the recipes that you want to make, it’s time to organize them. I purchased this really cute recipe box where I can store all of my recipes. You can purchase it by clicking here.

I used to just have them all on my Pinterest “food” board, but it was really hard for me to view the recipe and make the meal all while trying to keep my phone open to the recipe.

So, what I did was print the recipe (step 1) and organized it in my recipe box according to what type of dish it was. For example, I have a section for appetizers, breakfast, lunches, dinners, side sides, and desserts.

Then I quickly alphabetized each section so I can easily find the recipe I am looking for. See? Wasn’t that easy??!

Remember, don’t forget to write out the recipes you know how to make from memory too. The goal of this step is to have ALL of the recipes you would make in the future all in one place so you don’t have to worry about thinking about what to make when it comes time to make a meal or meal planning. You’re thinking now so you don’t have to later- score!

 

5 Steps to Easy Meal Planning- Step 3

3. Start planning!

Step 3: Use those recipes to plan your weekly meals!

Now that you have all the recipes that you would make accessible and organized, all you have to do is plan your meals from those recipes.

I found the key to easy meal planning is to plan a specific time a week that you want to dedicate 15 minutes to meal planning. I usually choose one day a week that you want to start your week and then use those 15 minutes to plan the meals you want to make that week.

For example, my husband works Tuesday-Saturday so technically our “week” starts on Tuesday and our weekend is “Sunday and Monday”.

Since Tuesday is our “first day of the week”, I’ll make a conscious effort to sit down Monday night for 15 minutes to do my meal planning for the week.

Only 15 minutes to plan my meals for the week?? That’s a busy mom’s dream come true!

Are you a busy mom who wants to start meal planning? Read my busy moms guide to easy meal planning! Find out the 5 steps to make meal planning easy and how to meal for the entire week in less than 10 minutes! Get real mom life tips and advice on meal planning for beginners all about meal planning made easy! #MealPlan #Momlife #MealPlanningMadeEasy

Here is where the flexibility of this meal planning system comes into place.

Maybe you just want to plan lunches for the week. Or maybe you just want to plan 3 dinners because you want to eat out a couple of meals. Whatever works best for you and your family!

All you have to do is find and take out the recipe card or print out that you created in step 1 and organized in step 2. Then, write down the meals you want to make that week!

And a bonus thing that I do is take out those recipes that I am making for the week and put them in the front of my recipe box.

This way, all of the recipes are easily accessible when I go to make them. Then when I’m done making the meal, I store the recipe back in the organization system (such as my recipe box).

To help you easily plan all of your meals for the week, I created a Weekly Meal Plan Worksheet for you to write out all of the meals you want to make in one place.

The Weekly Meal Plan Worksheet is in the Free Meal Planning Toolkit for the Busy Mom! (don’t forget to download it!)

 

5 Steps to Easy Meal Planning- step 4

4. Easy Grocery Shopping

Step 4: Make a list of groceries you need for that week based on your recipes.

Now that you have all of the recipes you want to make that week, it’s time to actually plan out WHAT you need for those recipes.

I found that the best thing to do make a list of the ingredients I need from each recipe all on one sheet of paper.

I easily do this by using my Weekly Grocery List and Recipe Ingredient List, which are two templates I created that allow to me make a list of all of the ingredients I need so I’m only taking one master list to the grocery store when I do my shopping.

I created two different list templates because some weeks, depending on how organized I want to be, I use one over the other. It gives me the option to list things in a different format!

I included the Weekly Grocery List and the Recipe Ingredient Master List in the Free Planning Toolkit for the Busy mom!

 

Weekly Meal Planner

5. Bonus step: Meal Board

Step 5: Write out the meal plan on a family meal board.

I didn’t always use a Family Meal Board, which basically just a dry erase board that I keep in my kitchen for my family to see.

But when I actually started meal planning, I decided to have my meal plan for that week visible for my husband to see so I don’t keep getting asked the question “what are we eating today?”.

So, what I did was, I printed out my Weekly Meal Plan Worksheet and inserted it into an 8.5 x 11 picture frame and used the glass as a dry erase board.

That way, the menu worksheet always stays in the frame and all I have to do is write over it on the glass and clean it off weekly when I create a new weekly menu!

If you don’t have to do this, I also see weekly menu dry erase board at Target and Walmart and even the local dollar store that you can use too. It’s totally up to you if you want to have a Family Meal Board!

Weekly Meal Planner Sheet

RECAP: What my weekly meal planning looks like 

  • Sit down for 15 minutes every one night a week to plan my meals
  • Figure out how many meals I want to make that week and which meals they are
  • Take out my recipe box and choose which meals to make for which day
  • Write out my meal plan or the week based on the choices I made
  • Accumulate all the recipes for the week that I want to make and write down the ingredients I need for each recipe for my grocery list
  • Finalize my grocery list
  • Make my meal on a particular day
  • After using that recipe, place it back in my recipe box

 Busy Mom's Meal Planning Toolkit

Busy Mom’s Meal Planning Toolkit

If you’re totally convinced that this easy meal planning system is right for you then I totally recommend you downloading my free Busy Mom’s Meal Planning Toolkit!

The toolkit has everything you need to easily meal plan and has all of the templates, worksheets, and lists that I discussed above. The Toolkit is a 5-page bundle that will help you accomplish your meal planning goals!

What’s included in the toolkit:
  • Weekly Meal Plan Worksheet
  • Weekly Grocery list
  • Master Recipe Ingredient List

Download the toolkit now!

 

Wasn’t that super simple!?!

I’m always running around completing errands so I didn’t think that meal planning was going to work for me and my family but once I started a system that worked for me, it’s been an absolute lifesaver!

I don’t always meal plan, because let’s face it, sometimes we can get really busy and even lazy- but when I do choose to meal plan it’s always really easy thanks to this super quick system!

I hope I was able to help you with your meal planning mission!

Happy meal planning!

Always With Love, Brianna

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How to Meal Plan for the Entire Week in 10 Minutes | Easy Meal Planning | Meal Planning for Beginners | Meal Planning Printables | Mom Life Tips | Mom Advice | #mealplanning #mealplanningmadeeasy #mealplan

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Busy Mom? Learn the Easiest Meal Planning System

October 24, 2018 · 2 Comments

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