CTR Organizing Team

My family’s meals were all planned ahead for the week and I was feeling quite organized. I made out the menu, put together the grocery list, and got my shopping all done in one trip. This week we were not going to waste any money on fast food or delivery meals. I was on a roll.

My bubble was burst, however, when I got home and started putting my groceries away. Lo and behold, I had purchased several items that I already had in my pantry. Now that wouldn’t be a big problem except that I bought those items earlier at a great sale price and now have paid full price simply because I didn’t remember I had them. Unnecessary pantry items purchased at full price. Ugh! Talk about wasting money.

I think it’s time for a plan to get my pantry set up so that I don’t buy food when I don’t need it and when it’s not on sale. A 4 step plan should work for me. Let’s see if it will work for you, too.

Step 1: Clear Out Your Pantry. Pick a day, make a cup of coffee, and start cleaning out your pantry or cupboards out of all the dry or canned food items. Take everything out, checking each item for expiration dates or damage. Then wipe your shelves off so you can start fresh with a clean space.

Step 2: Sort Items From Your Pantry. Take time to examine your pantry items and sort them by type. You can use categories like tomato products, broth, crackers, sauces, noodles, salad dressings, baking goods, or whatever you think. Same with the spices, but I think it’s easiest to arrange them alphabetically so you can sort through all the duplicate spices and throw out the old ones. Be sure to, once again, examine the packages and throw out anything that is beyond an expiration date.

Step 3: Make A List Of Your Basic Items. Making a list of all your most used items may seem like a lot of work, but it will really be a useful tool. Once this “most used” item list is made, stick it on the pantry door. Now you can routinely update your items, keeping a tally of items as you buy them and use them. (Highlight them when they get low and cross them off once you run out.) A very simple grid type paper will be easy for the entire family to follow. Just some rows and columns, and you’ll have a handle on everything that is in your pantry. This is very simple once you start using it.

Step 4: Use Your List On Shopping Day. If you’re sitting down with your recipes for the week, you can now grab your pantry list and easily eliminate any unnecessary purchases. You won’t pay full price again for staples in your pantry if you know ahead of time that you already bought those items the other week on sale. Now you will stock up on the basics, like canned tomatoes, rice, or broth, when you find a sale, and not buy at full price when you need it for tonight’s dinner.

In a perfect world we know what we have in our pantry and only buy food when we need it and it’s always at a sale price. Since we don’t live in that dream world, we all end up with food lost in the far recesses of the cupboard or pantry shelves. Once your pantry items are inventoried, categorized, and listed, your grocery shopping trips should never again yield a gross of unneeded, duplicated, and overpriced surprises.

Many mothers juggle a full-time job while trying to maintain the home for their spouse and children. While it is easy to become overwhelmed, there are a few practical steps that busy mothers can take to save time and cut down on their stress levels.

1. Plan your menus: Planning has a lot of advantages allowing you to save money and enjoy meal times that are no longer harried and stressful.

2. Advance meal preparation: With technology on your side, you can make two to three meals simultaneously. One can be served, while the others are frozen for later. Cook double portions of the meals and when you need it; you will have a meal ready.

3. Community Meal Rotations – The mothers in the rotation group take turns making the evening meals during the week. It is possible to cut cooking time to one night a week although you will be preparing for a larger number of people.

4. Errands – Route your errands to be taken care of on the way to and from work. By taking care of errands on the way to someplace else, you will save gas and time and not feel so overwhelmed.

5. Car Pool – Taking turns getting kids to and from school or sharing a ride with other working moms can be fun and time-saving as well.

6. Get your family to help: Every one needs to pitch in for successful time management. If your children are keeping their rooms clean then it means less work for you and possibly a reward for them.

7. Segment Housework – Segment each household task according to importance. Cleaning the house can be done one to two tasks each day. Maintain cleanliness to avoid an overload of work and dirt.

8. Learn to say “no” and stop trying to be a supermom. When you over-commit you will never be able to manage your time.

Many mothers juggle a full-time job while trying to maintain the home for their spouse and children. While it is easy to become overwhelmed, there are a few practical steps that busy mothers can take to save time and cut down on their stress levels.

1. Plan your menus: Planning has a lot of advantages allowing you to save money and enjoy meal times that are no longer harried and stressful.

2. Advance meal preparation: With technology on your side, you can make two to three meals simultaneously. One can be served, while the others are frozen for later. Cook double portions of the meals and when you need it; you will have a meal ready.

3. Get your neighbors involved: Take turns in cooking the evening meals with other friends and neighbors. Although this involves cooking for more people this has the advantage that you may be cooking only for one night a week – and its fun.

4. Errand planning: Plan your errands in such a way that you can do them on your way to and from work or while in route to some other place. This will save time and fuel and leave you less stressed.

5. Car pooling is a great time saver. All you need to do is get the moms of the neighborhood involved.

6. Get your family to help: Every one needs to pitch in for successful time management. If your children are keeping their rooms clean then it means less work for you and possibly a reward for them.

7. Perform a housecleaning task per day; by breaking it up into manageable segments, it won’t be as stressful if you miss a day. Breaking necessary tasks into smaller, more manageable ones makes it easier to accomplish more in less time.

8. Learn to say “no” and stop trying to be a supermom. When you over-commit you will never be able to manage your time.