Dawn let me try her menu planning service and I am very impressed! She plans five days worth of dinners and puts them in a printable format for her readers. The dinners are  family and budget friendly. One of my favorite aspects of her weekly menus is how crisp and clean they look which makes them easy to read. I love using recipes with photos and her plan includes several each week.

Her recipes, which use  easy to find ingredients, have a helpful comment prior to each one. She always tops off the weekly recipe file with a  brunch and a dessert recipe – some of which are new to me and sound AMAZING- as well as a shopping list.

Once you are a member of  her site, you can access the online cookbook to find “that casserole I made a few weeks ago, but now can’t find the recipe” as well as previous week’s menus.

Dawn offers a free weekly trial at MenufortheWeek.com so you can see what I’m talking about and you can also request a sample menu. The six month membership is $25. Ladies, this might be something to put on your Christmas list for your guy, its a win/win. Your job is made easier and he will love the good food!  This service could also be a perfect gift for a new mom who wants to cook but feels a little overwhelmed, as a housewarming gift or for the hard to buy for person at Christmas.

Because of Dawn’s budget and family friendly ideas, recipes and menus, she is one of My Best Picks.

You can visit her at MenufortheWeek.com.

Last week Sandy from Organize With Sandy taught us how to declutter and today, we will pull everything together and learn how to get out the door on time.

I would like to thank Heather for asking me to be her Guest Blogger today. She had this great contest and it sounds like clutter was at the top of your problem areas of your home. She also mentioned that “Time Management” was an issue. Hope this helps! Thanks.

Break down your day into 15 minute increments.

For instance, if you have to be at the school by 3:00 to pick up the kids, but you need to go to the bank and grocery store first then plan it this way:

3:00 – Be at School

2:45 – Leave for school. (It takes 10 min. to get there from school – but use 15)

1:45 – Be at grocery to do the shopping.

1:30 – Leave from bank to go to grocery. (It only takes 8 min. to get there, use 15)

1:15 – Leave for bank. (It only takes 10 min. but use 15)

So to get to the school by 3:00, you need to leave the house by 1:15.

You will have an extra 17 minutes to play with if there is traffic, or if the grocery store is crowded. If you end up being early, just keep a book you are reading or a steno pad in your car to make a “to do” list.

Now make sure that 15 minutes before you get ready to leave the house you get your keys, grocery list, banking items ready and have stopped by the bathroom. So if you need to, set your timer on your stove for 1:00. Once you get in the habit of using 15 minute increments to plan things out, it will become easy and natural and you won’t have to worry about being late.

Because your clutter is now cleaned up off that kitchen counter, you can find those keys and bank book and grocery list and you can get out the door on time! Time management is more easily accomplished when you do not have clutter blocking your path!
Sandy is a Professional Organizer, blogger, mom, and a wealth of information. You can read more of her tips at Organize with Sandy. Be sure to check back here so you do not miss her Time Management tips. Heather

This post was linked to:
Finding Freedom Friday by Cents to Get Debt-Free

First, I always ensure that I start the week with the basics: bread, milk, veggies, lunch meat, peanut butter, and of course, coffee and creamer. There’s nothing worse for a sleepy morning than realizing you don’t have an essential part of a meal.

Each week, usually a Sunday night, I wash and slice all the veggies for the coming week. I recently wrote a post about how prepping veggies ahead is a great time-saver. While I am working on the veggies, I put some eggs on to boil. The boiled eggs are great for extra snacks or on salads through the week. If we want tuna or egg salad, the eggs are ready and waiting.

When all the veggies are prepped, I divvy some of them into bags for lunches, leaving the rest for extra snacks and meal ingredients. I also divvy up the chips or pretzels and cookies into smaller bags for lunches. Not buying the prepackaged individual sizes of veggies, chips, and cookies saves us money and I am still enjoying convenience-size bags by spending just a few extra minutes in the kitchen once a week. When the bags are finished, the only thing left for lunch assembly is sandwiches and any extras a growing boy might need to supplement his lunch.

Each night, I fix the sandwiches for the next day and plan breakfast. Then, I set out the children’s vitamins and allergy meds in little sauce-size cups. These are set on the table with the napkin and fork or spoon depending on what will be served for breakfast. Most critical to my morning, I prepare the coffee pot and set the automatic timer.

Ideally, the only thing left each morning is to assemble the lunches that I have already prepared and fix the pre-planned breakfast. This gives me the time to deal with any issues the children forgot to tell me about (because it always happens despite our best efforts) and to chat with them before they leave.

How do you make your mornings in the kitchen stress-free?

This post is linked to:
Kitchen Tip Tuesdays at Tammy’s Recipes
Talk about Tuesday at The Lazy Organizer
I am Blissfully Domestic at Blissfully Domestic

When I prep the vegetables ahead of time, there are always healthy snacks ready for hungry children (and adults.) When we want a salad, we merely have to assemble the pre-cut veggies, or perhaps just cut them into smaller pieces if they are not already salad size. Also, when making pizzas or casseroles, the veggies are already washed, peeled, de-cored, etc., and all I have to do is chop them more finely for the casserole.

Now, there are no more excuses left for us not eating our freshly prepared, readily available vegetables…

You can read more kitchen tips at Tammysrecipes.com.

What do you consider the biggest time-saver in your kitchen?