Menu Planning

Since becoming a SAHM I have tried desperately to reduce my grocery shopping to once a week.  My success rate is about 50/50.  I find that when I use a grocery list I get everything that I think I need, but end up missing those little things needed for a weeknight recipe.  Here is a menu planner and grocery list that I created in order to make those shopping trips more efficient.  The list matches the flow of the store I shop at most often, but I hope it will be useful to you as well.

Download this file for your personal use only, thanks!

Year of Organization: Laundry Room

At the beginning of the month I spent some time considering my goals for 2012.  My biggest goal of the year is to become more organized.  Deep down I am an organized person, but not in a neat freak type of way.  In order to accomplish this I have loosely used a few organizational calendars that I found via Pinterest, you can find them here and here.  Knowing myself, I thought the daily tasks were more than I could handle, so instead I decided to tackle my house by month.

January just happens to be the month of the laundry room.  Southern Living created a wonderful list of 10 ways to create an organized, functional, and beautiful laundry room.  I loved their advice so much I thought I would share it here.

1.  Work with the space your given: utilize every square inch and keep your workspace simplistic

2.  Hide the necessary supplies: keep unsightly clutter hidden behind fronted cabinets, add a hanging rod to keep hang-dry clothing neat and use baskets to softly contain laundry to be put away.

3.  Use a serene color palette: calming colors provide a sense of organization

4.  Designate spaces: create separate areas for each activity in a multipurpose room

5.  Camouflage the room: neatly tuck a small laundry area behind doors or create a room in of itself through paint and decor

6.  Conceal with curtains or cabinets: hide the washer and dryer behind curtains that coordinate with the adjoining room.

7.  Utilize kitchen cabinet space: in small spaces, place a compact washer and dryer behind pantry doors to harmonize the space with the kitchen.

8.  Add a storage island: space permitting, a large island provides room for sorting and folding laundry.

9.  Create an ironing station: keep all of your ironing essentials in one convenient space.

10.  Decorate your space: in a spacious laundry room, utilize closed cabinetry and open shelving to show off favorite items and collections.

images via: Southern Living, A Little Chippy, Six Sisters Stuff, Houzz, Pink Wallpaper, Pinterest, Pinterest, Pinterest, Houzz, Things that Inspire, Best Laundry Room Ideas, Better Homes and Gardens, Nest Egg, Houzz