It’s summer! The sun, the water, the shade of a leafy tree and the smell of a BBQ–it’s all calling your name.

But, wait…

You say you need to get organized. Your kitchen, your closet, your papers from the last three months–all need organizing.

It’s a dilemma. Spending time outside means you’re not organizing inside.

I’m a Professional Organizer and even I don’t want to spend much time organizing when it’s 85 degrees and sunny!

The solution for the summer (as well as the other three seasons)?

Get organized in 5 minutes.

No, I’m not crazy. It IS possible to get organized in 5 minutes. You’re not going to organize your entire closet or kitchen in 5 minutes but there are teeny-tiny tasks that you can complete that will move you one step forward towards your organizing goals. And, I’ve said it a bunch of times–it’s those baby steps that will motivate you and keep your eye on the organizing prize.

Here are 10 ways you can get organized in 5 minutes:

Declutter your wallet

A bulging wallet isn’t always a sign of wealth–it can sometimes be a sign of a wallet in need of decluttering! Cash, receipts, business cards, and random scraps of paper multiply like bunnies in between clean-outs. Take 5 minutes to make space in your wallet for money to flow into it!

Create a home for an item that doesn’t have one

We’re always bringing new items into our homes whether it’s children’s artwork, a plant, a picture frame, or a new piece of technology. If the item will be sticking around for a while (or permanently), it’s going to need a place to ‘live.’ Spend 5 minutes thinking of the best ‘home’ for the item and place it in that spot.

Create a file for a new document

Papers also need ‘homes!’ Perhaps you opened a new bank account or you just received your child’s school directory. Those papers need to live somewhere (not your dining room table!). Take 5 minutes to label a file folder, place the papers inside, and store it in a spot that guarantees you’ll always be able to find it.

Delete blurry or duplicate photos from your phone

I was telling my kids the other day about how cameras used to use something called film and you could only take either 24 or 36 shots at a time. And then we had to pay to develop the whole roll regardless of what the pictures could potentially look like. And you had to carry an extra roll of film in case you ran out of shots (and flash cubes, but that’s a whole other story…).

It’s so easy to take multiple pictures of the same thing on our phones. But, that takes up precious space on our little hand-held computers. Ever spend time waiting in a line for 5 minutes? Waiting for the water on the stove to boil? Waiting for the laundry to stop spinning? All of these scenarios and many other 5-minute pockets of time are perfect for deleting blurry and duplicate photos on your phone.

Plan one meal

Does this scenario resonate with you? You come home from work or school or from taking your kids to activities and discover you have nothing in your pantry that comes close to resembling a meal. Taking 5 minutes to plan one meal in advance will save you hours in the supermarket and at the stove, put money back in your wallet, and time back in your day. You won’t feel ‘hangry’ and it may even help trim your waistline, too…

Toss expired food from your fridge, cabinets, or pantry

While you’re planning that one meal, take another 5 minutes to dispose of food that has expired or that resembles a science experiment. Sort through and purge one shelf at a time. Check expiration dates and if you’re brave enough, give leftovers the ‘sniff test.’ By doing this for 5 minutes at a time, you’ll stay on top of your food inventory and keep your refrigerator fresh and clean. Best time to do this? The night before your garbage collection.

Unsubscribe to emails from businesses/organizations you no longer make purchases from/donations to

Imagine if all of those unsolicited emails you receive daily were actual physical pieces of mail. You would have one clogged up mailbox and a whole lot of recycling to do! Get organized in 5 minutes by unsubscribing from unwanted email solicitations. It may take a few days for the ‘unsubscribe’ to take effect but those 5 minutes will have been worth it when you’re no longer using your time to sort through so many ‘junk’ emails.

Test pens and markers

Is your junk drawer overflowing with pens, highlighters, and markers? If so, spend 5 minutes finding out if they still work. This is an ideal job for kids! Give them a pad of paper and a bunch of pens and markers and have them scribble and sort–anything that still works stays and anything that is out of ink or isn’t writing as well as it should gets thrown out or recycled.

Create your to-do list for the next day

Take 5 minutes to write out your next day ‘to-do’ list before you turn in for the night. This technique has multiple benefits. It will help you sleep well–you’ll wake up knowing exactly what needs to be done. It gives your brain an opportunity to think about what needs to be accomplished and places that information elsewhere when you write it down (using paper or tech). Now you can use those morning hours to plan and prioritize your tasks instead of spending time wondering what you should be doing next.

Make your bed

It’s one of the first chores of the day and the first accomplishment of the day. It starts your morning off in a calm and organized fashion.  No need to make your bed look picture perfect. Cover the bed with your blanket/comforter, smooth it out, and tidy up your pillows. Unless you sleep restlessly it should take you less than 5 minutes to make your bed. If you have a partner, split the task with them–it will take even less time!
5 minutes making your bed = Time.Well.Spent.

You CAN get organized in 5 minutes!

What 5 minute organizing task will you accomplish today?

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This blog post is the fifth in a series of posts designed to teach you how to meal plan during times of crisis and in your every day life (post-coronavirus). If there was ever a time to consider practicing the Art of Organized Meal Planning–it’s now.

We eat every day–many times a day. When we’re not eating, most of us are probably thinking about food. When I dream about food, those dreams usually consist of mouth-watering meals and decadent desserts that I have not shopped for, prepared, or cleaned up after. When I need to think about food, it’s more like what I’ll be cooking every night for a week, what produce is on sale at my local market, and what recipe can successfully use up the leftovers in my fridge.

If I chose to keep all that cooking, recipe, and shopping list knowledge in my head, my brain would probably explode!

As I mentioned in my first post in this Organized Meal Planning series, it’s important that you use your brain for generating ideas–not as a storage device. Planning out your meals on paper or a digital device takes the everyday decision making out of your brain and places it outside of your head. This ‘write-it-down’ system is especially helpful if you’re in charge of feeding a family or you have food-related needs to consider such as food allergies, diabetes, or a low-sodium diet. Even if you’re only in charge of feeding yourself, it’s still a worthy idea to write down the food-related knowledge you need to reference on a daily or weekly basis.

For the purpose of meal planning, I’d like to discuss three types of meal planning knowledge to be organized:

Shopping Knowledge
Recipe Knowledge
Planning Knowledge

Shopping Knowledge

A lot has to happen before walking into a supermarket. We need to think about what foods we like to eat and when we want to eat them. We need to see if those foods are in our pantry and take a close look at what foods are languishing in the back of our fridge. How can we keep all of this information from turning into a food knowledge jumble?

Lists, lists, and more lists!

Lists

Why do people use lists?

Lists:
• help us to remember things
• declutter our brains
• reduce anxiety
• bring order and organization to our efforts (including meal planning)

What are some types of lists that would help take Shopping Knowledge out of your head?

• What I’ll Be Cooking this Week list (7 days of dinners or whatever # of days works for you)
• What I Need to Buy Next Time I Go to Trader Joe’s list
• What’s on Sale at Whole Foods this Week list

And the Big Daddy list: The Everything-I-Need-to-Buy-for-the-Week-at-the-Supermarket Shopping List

I would advise against trying to remember everything you need to buy when you head to the supermarket–even if it’s just a few items. Write them down on paper or in your phone–your preference. This is not the time to be testing your memory. Creating lists will keep you organized and ready to shop. The fewer trips you need to take to a supermarket, the better–virus or no virus!

Recipe Knowledge

I have been cooking for many years and have collected more than my share of recipes. No matter how often I’ve cooked certain meals, I still haven’t completely memorized any of them. I always refer to a recipe when I cook. Here are three ways I keep my recipe knowledge organized:

Paper recipes

Grandma’s handwritten apple pie recipe, a recipe ripped out of a magazine, and a print-out of your favorite Julia Child recipe all need a home–a place ‘to live’ while waiting to be used. In the organizing world, we call this place to live a ‘container.’ A container can be anything from a ziplock bag to a basket to a bin. Since printed recipes are flat, storing them in a ‘container’ that organizes paper is a smart idea. A few examples:

• A two pocket folder if you don’t have many paper recipes
• A poly paper sorter for a few different recipes across many categories
• A recipe box for recipes written on index cards
• A binder with plastic sleeves for many recipes across a variety of categories

It’s time to cook! Take the recipe out, use it, then return it back to it’s folder, sorter, box, or binder. Next time you’re planning to make Grandma’s apple pie, you’ll know exactly where to find the recipe.

Cookbooks with post-its

One would think that the abundance of recipes found on the internet would eliminate the need for the traditional cookbook, but people still buy and use cookbooks. I have a bunch and reference them often. For quick and easy retrieval of your favorite recipes, use post-its to mark the pages you wish to refer back to. No need to search the index or table of contents every time–you’ve got the page and recipe marked off. Paper post-its work perfectly, but if you’d like something sturdier, try writeable tabs that can be repositioned.

Pinterest

OMG, Pinterest. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

When I first started using Pinterest, I mostly looked for and curated articles about organizing. Then, I noticed there were also recipes appearing in my Pinterest feed. Lots of recipes. Recipes for family dinners, holidays, food allergies, school lunches, and more.

Early on in my admiration for Pinterest, I realized that I could create ‘Boards’ not just for topics in organizing, but also for the recipes I thought might work for me and my family. It was then that I realized Pinterest could be a valuable recipe organizing tool. At first, my Pinterest recipe board titles were pretty vague such as “Recipes – tried” and ‘Recipes – haven’t tried yet.” Now, the titles are more specific which makes it quicker and easier to find the recipe I’m looking for.

Part of the beauty of using Pinterest to organize recipes is that the recipes you want to save don’t always have to come from the Pinterest platform. Let’s say you just read an article on BuzzFeed about 5-ingredient dinners or you just watched a show on the Food Network and wish to save one of the recipes without printing it out. Most recipes found online have a ‘Pin It’ button. Click the ‘Pin It’ button or hover over and click on the main image for a clickable Pinterest logo to appear. This will prompt Pinterest to open and ask you what board you’d like to save the article/recipe to (If you have a Pinterest account, try it out on the graphic at the top of this post…).

If you appreciate Pinterest even half as much as I do, I think you’ll find it to be a fairly effortless way to organize recipes you discover online and on Pinterest.

Planning Knowledge

Meal planning takes more time and effort than most realize. Here are a few ways to keep all of your meal planning knowledge organized and ready when you are:

Evernote

Much like the above-mentioned Pinterest, I have the same feelings of love and affection for Evernote. It’s a note-taking app that stores every piece of information you could ever need to keep track of and retrieve for yourself or others. Before I started using Evernote, my brain was a whirling dervish of details and data and my surfaces were dotted (more like–covered) with post-it notes.

How has Evernote revolutionized the way I organize my meal planning knowledge? Two main ways…

• Everyday dinners
• Holiday meals

Everyday dinners
I have about 30-40 different meals I make for dinner and rotate them over a series of 4-6 weeks. Keeping a list of them in Evernote frees up space in my brain. Organizing the meals by categories that are helpful and meaningful to me cuts down on the time spent thinking about what to cook on a particular day. One category is food type (poultry, meat, vegetarian), one category has to do with occasions (easy meals for busy afternoons with kids) and one category is for the food allergies we monitor in our household (meals with no allergens, meals with one allergen, etc.). When I’m meal planning dinners for the week, I open this file and my choices based on my family’s schedule and what’s on sale at the market are right in front of me.

Insert *sigh of relief* here…

Holiday Meals
Since we renovated our home over four years ago, we have taken on the hosting of more holiday meals. All of my notes, links to recipes, seating arrangements, and shopping lists are in Evernote. They are listed individually by holiday by year with a post-mortem included so I have a note of what worked and what didn’t. This has made hosting the holidays infinitely easier. No more trying to remember how many pounds of chicken I bought for twenty people. No more wondering what recipe I used for the Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole. It’s all in Evernote.

Insert a ‘happy holidays’ *sigh of relief* here…

Meal Planning Apps

Have you ever considered using a meal planning app? There are meal planning apps for families, for those with dietary restrictions, those who need a little help in the kitchen, and those who wish to connect with food bloggers and ‘foodies.’ If you think a meal planning app will help keep you organized, check out the information in the articles below. You just may find one that works for you!

The 8 Best Meal Planning Apps of 2020.
The Best Meal Planning Apps to Download Right Now
10 Meal Planning Apps You Need to Have to Get Healthier Easily

Meal planning notebook

I’ve been meal planning and cooking for my family for years. I know what dinners my family enjoys (they’re all listed in Evernote!) But, like I’ve said above–I can’t hold the list of dinners I cooked last week or last month all in my head. I don’t always remember the last time I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner or how many times we did ‘take-out’ in a month. We are a food allergy household and I find it helpful to know what I’ve served for dinner and when.

That’s where my meal planning notebook comes in handy. Since the beginning of coronavirus lockdown, I started using a spiral notebook to track what I cooked for dinner. I wrote the days of the week down the left side of the page and next to each day, jotted down what I cooked for dinner that night. At this point, I have pages and pages of what I’ve made for dinner for the past five months. Having this information at my fingertips has saved me time and mental energy at meal planning and list-making time. As I plan meals for the week ahead, all I have to do is turn back a few pages to see what I’ve prepared and when I’ve served it. This has made meal planning so much simpler for me at this time. I appreciate the fact that my brain has room to think about what’s most important right now–staying safe.

Ready to make lists, take inventory, and plan for shopping and eating? I know you are!

What shopping, recipe, and food planning knowledge will you take out of your head and organize today?

This blog post is the third in a series of posts designed to teach you how to meal plan during times of crisis and in your everyday life (post-coronavirus). If there was ever a time to consider practicing the Art of Organized Meal Planning–it’s now. 

Do you have a mantra?

A mantra is a statement or slogan that is repeated frequently. It’s often a positive phrase used to motivate, encourage, and inspire yourself or others to achieve a particular goal.

You may have a personal mantra for meditating, feeling empowered, or for living your life. You may even have mantra or two to help you get through this pandemic we’re currently living through.

But, do you have a mantra for meal planning?

I’ve been ‘head chef’ of my household for almost twenty years. That’s twenty years of breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, holiday meals, brunches, and the occasional barbecue. Since going on lockdown in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve done an inordinate amount of meal planning and cooking. Three meals a day plus snacks for my family of four has kept me (and our dishwasher) very busy. I’ve mostly stuck to ‘crowd-pleaser’ meals and familiar foods to help make this time in our lives dare I say–more palatable.

The more time I spend in my kitchen, the more I find myself repeating a few food-related sayings. I say these phrases so often, they’ve become my meal planning mantras. I sometimes even hear my husband and kids repeating them!

BTW…While I was composing this blog post in WordPress, my 10 year old son walked into the room. He looked at my desktop screen and the image quotes below and asked me what a mantra was. After I told him, he looked at me and said, “Mommy you say ALL of these–a lot!”

Here are my top three favorite meal planning mantras for crisis time or any time:

MANTRA #1: Cook Once. Eat Twice!

Many of us are spending more time than usual eating at home. That’s a lot of meals–especially if you are feeding a family day after day, week after week (and now month after month).

I have been saying Mantra #1 for years. It brings me great joy to cook once and eat twice. It’s a major time saver to not have to prepare each component for each meal every day! The ‘cook once and eat twice’ philosophy requires thought and meal planning but not a lot of extra prep time.

A few ways to ‘cook once and eat twice’ during crisis time or any time:

• Cook enough of a protein at one time for two different meals. For example, cook enough chop meat to be used for tacos one night and bolognese sauce a few days later. Make roasted chicken for dinner and shred the leftover chicken for chicken tortilla soup to be eaten over the weekend.

• Cook enough for two complete meals. Take out those large pots you use at holiday time and double your recipes!

• Use a crockpot. A crockpot makes a ton of food. And you can ‘set it and forget it’ while you’re spending your time working, cleaning your home, keeping your kids occupied, and of course–meal planning.

Think about it: What foods would you like to ‘cook once and eat twice’ this week?

MANTRA #2: Keep it Simple with Kit Meals

If you’ve been a fan of the Food Network for over two decades like I have, you’ve watched a whole lotta cooking shows. One show from 2005 that inspired the above mantra is called ‘Cooking Thin with Kathleen Daelemans.’ It wasn’t just an in-studio how-to show demonstrating low-calorie recipes. Chef Kathleen helped ordinary people with food challenges and taught them about meal planning, goal setting, and gave them tips on cooking lighter. One tip I recall and use in my home is the basis for Meal Planning Mantra #2.

Chef Kathleen often spoke about how keeping a pantry filled with healthy foods would support a healthier way of eating. She would pull items off the shelf that worked together to create a healthy meal and referred to them as ‘kit meals.’ I started using that phrase more often after I had children. Having to come up with fairly healthy dinners without using much brain power (sleep deprivation will do that to ya) led me to create ‘kit meals’ for my family. A box of fish sticks with a box of mac and cheese and a steam-in-bag of mixed vegetables was a ‘kit meal.’ A package of chicken cutlets, one lemon, a bag of Trader Joe’s kale and a box of Near East Toasted Almond rice was a ‘kit meal.’ As long as I had all of the components to the kit meal and a way to keep on top of my pantry inventory, I could feed my family simply and easily. Thanks, Chef Kathleen!

Think about it: What kind of ‘kit meals’ could you make for your family?

MANTRA #3: The ‘L’ in Lunch Stands for Leftovers

Of the three meal planning mantras, I think this one is my favorite. It’s also the most recent one I’ve come up with. If I’m not running errands after working with a client, I come straight home and eat lunch. So as not to waste food, I try to make sure I eat leftovers at lunch time.

At the moment, I am not working with clients in their homes. I am in my own home eating lunch with my family every day and going food shopping as infrequently as possible. In an attempt to make sure none of our food went to waste, I created Mantra #3. It’s actually a take-off of a mantra I’ve chanted to my children over the past few years:

“The ‘M’ in “Mommy’ Does Not Stand for MAID!”

It’s a great title for a children’s book. I’ll keep that in mind when I’m not so busy meal planning…

To prevent food waste, I have been managing the leftovers in our home for the past few months #likeaboss. During the early days of lockdown, I would stand in front of the refrigerator and tell my family that if there were leftovers in the fridge, they had to be eaten for lunch. That’s when I would say (OK–yell) “The ‘L’ in Lunch Stands for Leftovers.” I think if my family put a dollar in a jar every time I repeated this mantra over the past few months, we’d have enough money to pay off our mortgage. It has gotten to a point where my husband and kids won’t think about making something for lunch without looking for leftovers first!

When planning your meals, consider cooking enough to have extra servings for leftovers. Even if there’s one portion of food left from dinner, that’s one meal someone can eat for lunch.

Leftovers: Plan for them. Eat them. Don’t forget about them!

Think about it: What leftovers can you eat for lunch tomorrow?

Tell me! What are some of your favorite meal planning mantras?

This blog post is the second in a series of posts designed to teach you how to meal plan during times of crisis and in your everyday life (post-coronavirus). If there was ever a time to consider practicing the Art of Organized Meal Planning–it’s now.

With most of the country required to adhere to ‘stay at home’ orders, it’s just not practical or safe to be running out to the grocery store on a whim for today’s lunch or dinner. It’s time to start planning out the meals you prepare for yourself and your family. In my last blog post, I discussed the benefits to meal planning and shared my seven step system for meal planning success.

Ask anyone who has been meal planning for awhile whether they think it’s worth doing and I’m sure a majority would agree with a resounding, ‘YES!’ Meal planning saves you time, money, energy, and stress. It automates the process of what you and your family will eat every day. Three times a day. Not including snacks.  That’s a lot of thinking about food that your brain doesn’t need to do on a daily basis! Meal planning prepares you with fuel for your body and brain and in unpredictable times such as these, meal planning will keep you safe.

To assist in keeping your tummies full, your brain less stressed, and your health in check, I’ve gathered some meal planning do’s and don’ts to help you reach your meal planning goals:

Organized Meal Planning Do’s and Don’ts

General Organized Meal Planning Do’s and Don’ts

Do pick a day of the week to do your meal planning. Many people choose a Saturday or Sunday but it doesn’t matter what day you set aside for meal planning as long as your meal planning gets done.

Don’t worry about meal planning on the same day every week. Just make sure you meal plan before leaving for the grocery store.

Do start small, start easy, and start where you are. No one learns to meal plan for a week at a time overnight. It takes practice, know-how, and desire.

Don’t become overwhelmed with meal planning. If you’re new to the concept, start by meal planning for one day. When you become more comfortable with meal planning, try doing it two days a week. Baby steps eventually reap big rewards.

Do your meal planning when your energy levels are at their highest. You need a good amount of brain power to meal plan successfully.

Don’t meal plan when you’re tired, frustrated, or hungry!

Do inventory your pantry closet and cabinets before buying more food and household goods.

Don’t forget to check your fridge for any foods about to turn green. ‘Almost-green’ food items can be turned into a meal with a bit of creativity.

Organized Meal Planning During Crisis Time or Anytime Do’s and Don’ts

Do block out at least one hour for the task. In the first post in this series, I discuss the process for meal planning. It takes time to check your pantry, look at recipes, and make your list–I promise you it will be time well spent.

Don’t rush through the meal planning process. Meal planning will save you time, money, stress, and energy. Giving meal planning the time it requires for success will make your life easier when you go to prepare meals and feed your family ALL DAY LONG. EVERYDAY. For the UNFORSEEN FUTURE…

Do choose recipes/meals that members of your family enjoy eating. This is a stressful time already. Planning and preparing what I call ‘crowd-pleaser’ meals keeps family members happy and willing to eat leftovers!

Don’t deprive yourself of certain indulgences if they are in your budget. Our bodies crave certain foods–even more so in times of crisis. If a more expensive cut of meat or a cake from your favorite bakery will make you or a family member happy, then plan for it.

Do check your store circular for sale items to build a meal around. Meal planning from the sale circular is a tried-and-true money-saver!

Don’t cook many meals that require expensive or ‘for-one-recipe’ ingredients. Save these recipes and ingredients for a time when the economy is more stable. You’re going to want to celebrate when this is all over, anyway!

Do plan out at least 3-5 days of meals with a week’s worth being optimal.

Don’t run to the supermarket every day.  At the time of writing this, we are still being advised to leave the house for essential items as infrequently as possible. For this reason alone, it is imperative to jump on the meal planning bandwagon and make it a part of your weekly routine.

Do check your calendar before planning your meals for the next few days. Maybe you have a late afternoon Zoom meeting on Thursday or an early evening birthday drive-by on Sunday? You’re going to want to plan for quick-cook or easy-to-serve meals for those days.

Don’t think your calendar is just for jotting down events and reminders! Write the meals you’re cooking in your calendar to keep track of what you’ve cooked and when. You’ll know exactly which Tuesday you made tacos and which Sunday you chose to indulge in take-out. No need to strain your brain thinking about what meals you’ve prepared in the past–it’s all in your calendar.

Organized Meal Prep and Cooking Do’s and Don’ts

Do review your recipes before heading to the store. Write all ingredients on your shopping list to ensure you’ll have what you need when you start cooking.

Don’t think you can keep it all in your head. Recipes, ingredients, family favorites–take that information out of your head and write it on paper or in your phone/tablet. Use your pantry or cabinets as storage space–not your brain!

Do consider doubling your recipe or making a bit extra while you’re cooking (if you can). This will save you time in the future when you’re looking for a quick lunch or an easy-to-reheat meal for the family.

Don’t let leftovers go to waste! Not eating leftovers is a waste of money as well as the time it took you to cook it. Organize your leftovers on one side of your fridge or at eye level so you don’t forget about them.

Do plan to cook with fresh vegetables within the first few days of bringing the home from the supermarket. Unless they are a hearty vegetable like squash, carrots, or onions, there’s the possibility that your veggies will wilt or become mushy if not used quickly.

Don’t forget that frozen vegetables have similar amounts of nutrients as fresh. They are often harvested when they’re at their freshest. So, go ahead and buy some for your freezer. They’ll be there when you need them. 

Meal planning may seem challenging and time-consuming but like any other task, the more you do it, the easier it gets. Remember to start small, start easy, and start where you are. Your meal planning efforts will become effortless in no time.

Which set of Do’s and Don’ts do you think you’ll find most helpful? Leave a comment–I’d love to hear from you!

I have been thinking about blogging about meal planning for a while. With the coronavirus pandemic currently a part of our everyday lives, there isn’t a better time to talk about it.

I’ve been a Professional Organizer for eighteen years. I’m also the ‘head chef’ in my family. One of the most vital organizing systems I’ve created in my home is the meal planning I do for my family.

Why do I meal plan?

I grew up with my mom planning our meals–I witnessed the benefits of planning ahead. As a single woman (an elementary school teacher living on a tight budget) I shopped, packed my own lunches, and planned dinners according to the needs of my schedule. Now, as a wife and mom, good nutrition, multiple family food allergies, and a busy lifestyle make meal planning a necessity to stay on top of our food needs.

Why is it important to meal plan?

We eat every day. Multiple times a day. To live. There’s no getting around that…

Anything we do multiple times a day, every day should have some kind of automation so we don’t have to constantly be thinking about it.

Meal Planning is a multi-step system and organizing strategy designed to take the every-day-multiple-times-a-day thought process of ‘what-are-we-going-to-eat?’ out of your head and put it onto paper or your favorite digital tool.

You want to avoid organizing your sock drawer–OK. I’ll give that to you. But, please–don’t avoid meal planning. Especially now.

Why is its important to meal plan NOW?

In the time of coronavirus, food shopping is considered an essential trip outside of your home. For safety reasons, we’re supposed to stay out of public spaces as much as possible. This is not the time to be running to the grocery store for a forgotten ingredient or because you can’t think of what to cook for dinner.

Meal planning is a time management strategy but now, it is also a safety measure that will ensure you spend as little time as possible food shopping in public. You’ll also know exactly what recipes you’ll be making, what foods you’ll be eating, and when you’ll be eating them–one less thing to think about every day when we have so many other recent lifestyle changes to juggle.

*If you currently do most or all of your food shopping online due to age, illness or personal choice, it’s even more important to take the time to create a meal plan for you and your family.

If you’re a beginner to meal planning (or any other organizing) I advise you to start small, start easy, and start where you are. I want you to have the tools necessary for meal planning–not only for the sake of good nutrition, saving money and time, but also to keep you safe.

What are the benefits to meal planning?

Besides promoting healthier eating, meal planning saves you time, money, and stress.

Time

With meal planning, there’s no need to take time out of your day to run to the market, find a parking spot, grab a few items, stand on line, come home and eat later than you wanted to. Meal planning will put hours back into your life!

Money

With a meal planning system in place, there’s no need to pull out a menu and order last minute takeout–often more expensive than a home-cooked meal. Fewer trips to the store means fewer opportunities for impulse shopping which can add up to hundreds of dollars a year. With many people out of work at this time, meal planning is a necessary part of tightening up a budget.

Stress

This coronavirus pandemic is causing us to feel more stressed than usual. Our brains are working on overdrive. With that being said–we HAVE to eat. But, we don’t have to keep all that food-knowledge in our head. Meal planning takes the every day decision-making out of your brain.

“Your mind is meant for having ideas, not for holding them” says David Allen (the founder of the Getting Things Done work-life management system). Bluntly said, (by me)–your brain is not a storage device! We already have enough swirling around up there–we shouldn’t keep any more information up there than we need to!

Are you ready to learn how to meal plan? Great! Follow the steps to help you get organized for meal planning…

My Seven Step System for Meal Planning:

Step 1: Do a Brain Dump

Take four separate pieces of paper. Write the word ‘breakfast’ one one, ‘lunch’ on the next piece, ‘dinner’ on the third and ‘snacks’ at the top of the fourth piece of paper.

Take a few minutes to do a ‘brain dump’ of what meals/snacks you like to eat and write them on the appropriate papers.

Ex:
breakfast = almond butter on a bagel, blueberry pancakes and syrup, cereal with milk and fruit
lunch = chicken nuggets and french fries, turkey sandwiches and chips, cheese sticks with crackers and baby carrots
dinner = chicken cutlets/steam-in-bag veggies/rice, spaghetti and meatballs
snacks = dried apricots, Oreo cookies, pretzel rods

Step 2: Ask for Ideas

Gather the members of your household and ask them to brainstorm their favorite meals in each of the categories and add them to the appropriate lists.

Everyone eats? Everyone gets a say!

*In the time of coronavirus–remember to also list out meals you may be cooking for/delivering to family and friends. You’ll need to add those ingredients to your shopping list, too.

Step 3: Start Meal Planning

Now that you’ve written down meals that everyone likes to eat, it’s time to start meal planning!

Two things to consider:
-what recipes you want to make
-how many days you want to plan for–two? Five? A whole week?

It’s now time to take out a new piece of paper (to plan out your meals) and consult those four pieces of paper from Step 1 and Step 2 for ideas on what meals to plan for.

As an example, let’s create a one-day sample meal plan using the meals from above:

MONDAY
breakfast: cereal with milk and fruit
lunch: turkey sandwiches and chips
dinner: spaghetti and meatballs
snack: pretzels

Next, make a list of foods in each meal:

breakfast = Cheerios, almond milk, raisins, banana
lunch = sliced turkey, rye bread, lettuce, mustard, Baked Lays
dinner = box of spaghetti/sauce/chop meat for meatballs/garlic & butter/Italian bread/salad items (lettuce, cucumber, etc.)
snacks = Rold Gold pretzel rods

Whether it’s one day or a whole week, do the above exercise for each day you are planning meals for.

*It’s important during this coronavirus crisis that you be in the supermarket as infrequently as possible for everyone’s safety. Please try your hand at planning out a few of your meals. If you’re not used to doing much cooking or meal planning, start off planning for 1-2 days and slowly work your way up to a week’s worth of meals. Don’t stress about this–start where you are.

Step 4: Take Inventory

After listing out all the food items you’ll need for the meals you’re planning to make, it’s time to take inventory and see if you already have the ingredients for those meals. Take the list from Step 3 and a pen and carry it to your fridge, freezer, and pantry area(s). If you already have the item at home, circle it on your list–no need to buy it (unless you want to stock up on more while at the store). Any items not circled will be added later to your Shopping List.

*If you’re using a specific recipe, take time to review it to determine what ingredients you’ll need.

Step 5: Shop at Home

You don’t always have to start from scratch. Meal planning can also start at home. It’s a time, money, and stress saver to meal plan with…
-items that are about to turn green and fuzzy in your fridge
-items that have been in your freezer long enough to have a few ice crystals on them
-items in your pantry that are about to expire
-items on sale at the supermarket

Maybe you have mushrooms that have 1-2 days left in them. Plan to make mushroom omelettes for lunch or chop the mushrooms into the sauce to go over spaghetti and meatballs.  Or, maybe on page 3 of your supermarket’s sale circular, you see that chicken cutlets are on sale. Consider buying enough to make chicken based meals once a week for a month.

Add these ‘shop at home’ and ‘supermarket sale’ options to your meal plan for the next few days. This is not the time to let food go to waste!

Step 6: Put it on your Calendar

There’s a famous time management quote that says, “What gets scheduled–gets done.” Let’s combine that with David Allen’s quote from above about how your brain is not a storage room. Take your meal planning ideas out of your head and put them on your calendar!

What day do you want to make that spaghetti and meatball dinner? What day next week do you have a 4pm Zoom call?

Take out your calendar and organize those meals you just spent time planning for.

Some things to consider…
-Do you want to eat meat and vegetarian meals on alternating days?
-Do you want to create ‘theme nights’ such as Meatless Monday and Taco Tuesday?
-Which days do you want to cook? Which days would you prefer to support a local restaurant with a take-out meal?
-Do you think you’ll have enough food for a ‘leftovers night?’

All good questions to ask yourself while scanning your calendar and meal planning for the days of the week ahead of you.

*In the future (after the coronavirus pandemic is over) your schedule may include days/nights where you’re working late, your son has to be at baseball practice, or your daughter has a dance class. Check your calendar for those events and plan to make on-the-go and quick-prep meals (or takeout) on those days.

Step 7: Make Your Shopping List

You’re ready to make your shopping list! Grab a long piece of paper or your phone (whichever you prefer) and start listing out the foods you’ll be needing to purchase for your pre-determined amount of meals.

Here are two ways to do this:
-List out your foods by category (an easy place to start–especially for beginners)
-List out your foods by supermarket aisle (for advanced meal planers and/or those who are familiar with the aisles of the stores they shop in).

Listing foods on your shopping list by category can look like this:
Ex: spaghetti and meatball dinner from above (with a box of spaghetti already in your pantry)

Shopping List
Cans/Jars/Boxes: spaghetti sauce
Bread: Italian bread
Meat: 1.5 – 2 lb package of 85/15 ground beef
Spices: oregano
Dairy: butter
Produce: lettuce, cucumber, fresh garlic

Listing foods on your shopping list by supermarket aisle can resemble this (using my local ShopRite as an example):
Ex: spaghetti and meatball dinner from above (with a box of spaghetti already in your pantry)

Shopping List
lettuce, cucumber, fresh garlic (my store opens into the produce section)
oregano
spaghetti sauce
1.5 – 2 lb. package of 85/15 ground beef
Italian bread
butter (dairy is the last aisle in my store)

This infographic spells out the basics…

Congratulations! You’re a meal planner! The more often you do it, the easier it will become–I promise! And over time, you will notice your meal planning efforts saving you time, money, and stress–now in crisis time and anytime.

Be safe. Be healthy. Be a meal planner!

What meals will you plan this week? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below…

It’s been almost a month since Hurricane Sandy blew through the Northeast.

I am thankful that my family came out of the hurricane fairly unscathed. We had power and heat–our only loss was internet and cable for about a week. We know many who slept in chilled houses and went wherever they could to charge their phones and laptops for weeks on end. And that’s nothing compared to people who completely lost their homes…

But I was nervous…

I was anxious about another tree falling on my house during the hurricane but I was equally as anxious about the possibility of having to feed my youngest child if we had no refrigeration or way to heat food up. He has multiple food allergies on top of the fact that he’s 2.5 and doesn’t have the most sophisticated palette.

I channeled my anxiety by making lists–a great way to get organized and prepare for an event such as a hurricane. I started on paper but then switched over to my favorite productivity app, Evernote. I use this app as a place to dump my brain and keep information for future use. I started an ‘Emergency Preparedness’ folder in Evernote and created the following lists of items we’d need:

-perishable food
-non-perishable food

You can access Evernote from any computer or your phone–the information is all in the cloud. I HIGHLY recommend this app. My desk would be overrun with papers and post-its without it!

Now that I had made my lists, I felt more prepared for the upcoming storm. What I wasn’t prepared for was my 2.5 year old getting his foot stuck between the slats of a dining room chair as the wind was howling and the trees were swaying. Days later, people asked us if we had any damage due to Hurricane Sandy. I laughed and said to them, “one chair–and it was INSIDE the house.”

Three more cheers go out to Girl Scout Troop 445 of Fair Lawn. They made up a list of food items they wished to collect for those affected by Hurricane Sandy and were nice enough to staple a plastic bag to the list. Very organized, ladies!

Once again, I took my son into our pantry. We had another talk about people affected by the hurricane that need food and how lucky we were to have what we need in our house. He read the items from the list and I put them in the bags–a lesson in literacy and gratitude. I recycled the plastic bag, and used paper instead…

Other companies/organizations involved in collecting for Hurricane Sandy–

Deposit A Gift, an online cash gift registry service, has partnered with The Foundling Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund and is donating an extra 4% for every dollar given. Here’s how you can help. People have even created ‘registries’ for family/friends who have lost much to Huricane Sandy. Here’s an example of how one couple is raising funds for their Aunt Pat who lived in the devastated Breezy Point area of NY.

Whole Foods near me in Paramus, NJ is collecting coats through December 7th for New York Cares 24th Annual Coat Drive. According to the NY Cares website, “the storm created an unprecedented demand for warm coats.”

The Container Store is partnering with One Warm Coat to collect gently used coats, hats and mittens, sweaters and sweatshirts.

Please take a look in your closets and see if you have any outerwear that is in good enough shape to donate. This is the perfect time to de-clutter and help others.

Hurricane Sandy blew through town a few weeks before Thanksgiving–a time when most of us have more of an awareness of what we’re thankful for.

I’m thankful for much but in terms of the hurricane, I’m thankful…

-we had power, a working kitchen and didn’t need to leave our home.
-that we were able to help others after the storm.
-for my husband being home from work for a week and the time we got to spend as a family.
-for the break from the internet. As wonderful as it is, sometimes my eyes and brain need a rest…
-for the little time we got to organize. Not always easy with little kids around but we tackled a few -hot spots in my house.
-for Evernote which got me organized for this storm and prepared for a similar emergency in the future.
-that the only storm damage we had was a dining room chair!

A hurricane is a powerful reminder of our need to express gratitude and desire to be of help to others. Just because Thanksgiving has passed and the holiday season is upon us doesn’t mean we should forget about those who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. Please consider de-cluttering your closets, buying an extra holiday gift for a displaced child, or donating food to a local food pantry. Keep thankfulness and gratitude on your mind and in your heart this season and always.

A year and a half ago, I discovered a product that revolutionized my sandwich-making abilities. No, I didn’t hire a chef–I bought a Fridge Bin for my refrigerator.

My food, especially my bread products, was getting lost, smushed and squashed. While strolling through the aisles of The Container Store one day (Yes, that’s where Professional Organizers stroll…) I happened upon the Fridge Bin. I thought the concept was great–but would it function well in my fridge?

If you read my first Fridge Binz post you know that it was a success. And, I’m happy to report that almost a year and a half later, it still holds my bread products and saves them from being mutilated on a daily basis.

That’s some of my bread products safely nestled in the Fridge Bin…

I was so happy with how it functioned in my refrigerator, I bought another one! This one wasn’t for keeping my bread organized–it was for baby food. Those dang jars and little containers are very good at hiding! And when they hide, the food inside of them goes bad. Can’t feed that to a baby…

I had tried organizing my youngest son’s food on the top right shelf of our refrigerator but somehow, it would all migrate across the shelf, and start hiding behind and mingling with other foods–not to be seen for days.

Back to The Container Store I went and here’s what I came home with…

It’s deeper and more narrow than my first purchase. It’s perfect for corralling my little guy’s food items and it’s BPA free, too.

It lives on the right side of the top shelf of my refrigerator–the spot where I had begun my organizing process. It’s a place for me to throw my son’s little containers, baggies of leftovers or anything I’m defrosting for him. No more lost toddler food which means the Fridge Bin is saving me money and time. I like that!

Another Fridge Bin success story!

If you watch television and you have even the teeniest tiniest interest in organizing then you know who Peter Walsh is. If not, here’s the short version: Peter Walsh is an Organizing Expert from Australia who has a ‘tell it like it is’ attitude but also uses compassion and empathy while organizing with his clients. He has worked miracles in tiny spaces, as well as in the homes of hoarders. I first saw him on an organizing show called ‘Clean Sweep’ and from there, he occasionally appeared on The Oprah Show as well as other daytime shows.

I ‘Like’ Peter Walsh on Facebook. He’s always posting about projects he’s working on, easy organizing tips, and when he’ll be on TV next. So, a short while ago, he posted that he was going to be de-cluttering Rachael Ray’s home kitchen on The Rachael Ray Show. Sweet! My DVR was set. If you didn’t get to catch it last week, here’s what happened…

Rachael Ray, America’s sweetheart of the kitchen had a secret…

She told her audience that she has a tiny NYC apartment kitchen and that she’s just as guilty as other homeowners when it comes to de-cluttering her kitchen–it never happens. Cluttered cupboards, out-of-date food in the pantry and cabinets overflowing with pots and pans were just some of her organizing issues.

If I had her hectic schedule, I might not have time to de-clutter my kitchen either…

She decided to bring Peter Walsh to her home to see if he could get her kitchen organized again. Rachael gave him a quick tour of the room and then he kicked her out and started organizing. Peter started with the pantry–he emptied it, sorted the items and tossed all expired food in the trash.

Some of Peter’s pantry tips:

-Store platters upright for easier access. Use an organizing product that stores baking trays to do the same thing for platters.

-Keep flat surfaces clear. They are for food prep–not for storage.

Peter then headed to a spot most people wrestle with in their kitchen–the junk drawer. Like the panty, Peter emptied the drawer and sorted out the trash. He then grouped ‘Like with Like’ and used containers to keep ‘like’ items together.

Peter used drawer dividers like these to organize Rachael’s junk drawer

What junk drawer items did he hold up for all the world to see? Four pair of gardening shears! Since Rachael didn’t use them very often, he promptly moved them to a different area of the kitchen.

He then removed all magnets from her refrigerator. I have a ton of magnets and children’s artwork on my fridge–Peter Walsh would have a field day with my fridge!

He and his crew worked to de-clutter the rest of Rachael’s kitchen and then brought her back in to see.

The first spot he showed her was the pantry–she loved how de-cluttered it was and how Peter had grouped ‘like’ items with like items on clear trays from The Container Store. They then moved on to the junk drawer–Rachael was so thrilled with the way it looked, she gave Peter a high-five! He had removed many of her household tools and placed them in labeled bins in a cabinet over the refrigerator to get them out of the way.

Rachael then walked over to the fridge and saw that most of her magnets were gone! She almost had a heart attack because a magnet with her deceased dog’s picture on it was no where to be found. It was quickly placed back on the fridge–organizing crisis averted!

As I often do with my clients, Peter gave ‘Organizing Homework’ to Rachael Ray…
-go through all cooking utensils
-separate out the ones she uses often from the ones she barely uses
-keep drawers neat and tidy

Peter offered up two tips and advice for the viewing audience:
1. Stop using the word LATER as in, “I’ll put that away later.” Do things as you go and he promises it will make a huge difference.
2. Flat surfaces are for PREPARATION not STORAGE.

Peter also gave the viewing audience five ‘Double Duty’ organizing products to use in the home:
1. Use an empty tissue box to store plastic bags (I do this in my own home.)
2. Use a tension rod to create hanging space under a sink
3. Thread a tab from a soda can over a hanger and hang another garment from it to double your closet’s hanging space. (I LOVED this tip!)
4. A tag from a loaf of bread can be used to wrap around and label electrical cords.
5. Use extra glass vases to corral multiples of items.

I thought this was a great segment. Kudos to Rachael Ray for being brave enough to have Peter Walsh organize her kitchen for all the world to see!

*Author’s Note: I love watching de-cluttering segments on daytime television–I pick up great organizing and product ideas all the time. But, what I’d like you to know is that de-cluttering a room takes hours–sometimes days and sometimes weeks. It looks quick on TV but what you don’t see is a multi-person crew working arduously to get the job done in a certain amount of time. When it’s just you, or you and a friend, or even you and a Professional Organizer the process takes a LONG time.

If you are de-cluttering an area of your home, don’t despair that it’s taking a while to emerge as a clutter-free space. Make good decisions, have trash bags at the ready and look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Here are a few tips to make sure your organizing efforts are taking you in the right direction.

Between raising a family and being a business owner, there’s a lot going on in my brain. If I need to remember something, I have to write it down or else it’s as good as gone. I’m a visual person so I like post-its and pads of paper for quickly jotting down ideas, to-do’s and lists.

With four people in our household, we go through a lot of food. When we run out of something, I add it to my shopping list (my main supermarket is ShopRite). But, I shop in four or five different markets depending where I’m driving past that day and what food item I’ve run out of. I needed a central place to keep track of all our food needs. That’s when I came up with the Master Shopping List.

My Master Shopping List

I went to Michaels and purchaed a magnetic pad with lines and stuck it on the side of my fridge. I wrote in the names of stores I shop in often–ShopRite, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Fairway, and Costco and left room underneath to write what I’ve run out of. When I buy the item, I cross it off my list. Sometimes I’ll circle an item if I need to purchase it later or at another store.

Keeping this list close to the fridge or pantry makes jotting down items a quick and easy task. If you don’t like to or can’t hang items on your fridge, store your Master Shopping List near your refrigerator. Don’t like the note pad? Create something similar to this on your computer.

The master list is not just for food. Use it for drugstores, big box stores–wherever you shop often.

This master list has made my life much easier. If I notice we are running low on an item from a particular store, I grab my pen and write it under the appropriate store name. If I know I’ll be passing by a certain store after working with a client, I’ll jot down from the master list (onto a separate piece of paper) the things  I need and cross items off them off the list when I return home.

I guarantee–creating a Master Shopping List for your family will work as well for you as it has worked for me. Give it a try. It’s all about making our lives easier and having what we need when we need it.

I’m lucky to live so close to The Container Store! Even if I don’t need anything specific, I’ll drop by, walk up and down the aisles and check out some new products now and then.

A short while ago, I was in the ‘kitchen’ aisle and came upon a product that I thought was not only cool but it could also help me with my own organization problem–my refrigerator.

Food was getting lost in my fridge. Food was going bad in my fridge. I didn’t want to open my fridge!

OK–it wasn’t that bad but I was having ‘bread issues.’ Loaves, buns, pita, wraps, and mini-bagels were getting lost and smushed in my fridge.

And then I met my new best friend–The Fridge Binz Tray. These heavy-duty plastic trays help to organize food items and create additional storage space. They come in different shapes and sizes but this one suited my needs best:

I looked at the tray in The Container Store and whispered to it, “Come home with me…”

I brought it home and it has become one of my favorite and most useful household organizing product. Here it is in my fridge:

All the bread products are in one place! When I want some, I pull it out by the handle:

Voila! Bread products slide out. Bread products slide back in. Nothing lost. Nothing smushed. Nothing wasted.

Take a look in your fridge. Could you use a Fridge Bin?