Tuesday's Tip

... on a Tuesday this week!! Yah for me ;0)

This week I'm giving you an incite to how I organise my week.  Since I gave up the 9 to 5 rat race, I initially found it difficult to keep track of which month it was, never mind which day.  Slowly each day moulded into the next, and as a result I have become a slave to my calender.  Without it I would become forgetful (okay, more so than I am already) and unorganised.  Now if I'm unorganised then it creates stress and anxiety for me, and I've learnt over the years that although I work very well under pressure, I can not do stress and anxiety.  So I've learnt to adapt a routine which works for me.  Most days have tasks assigned to them, but it's not regimented and certainly doesn't take me hours, I like making my life simple, easy and with little effort possible.  Apparently it only takes 28 days to do something repeatedly before it becomes a habit.
Rainy days card, £2.00 Accidental Vix 
Mondays  I usually do my grocery shopping on a Tuesday, so on a Monday I'll clean out the fridge, plan a menu for the week ahead and creating a shopping list from this.  Because I clean out the fridge every Monday (or day before my shop) it doesn't take me long to do, I know exactly whats in there and therefor less waste as I take note of use by dates.  Menu planning can be daunting at first, and take a while to get to grips with, if you find this then keep your weekly menus and rotate them on a monthly basis.  You can easily change one day a week where you try something new out so as not to become too boring and predictable.
Pair of Placemats, £12.50, love from Beth x
Menu Planning Tips
* Ask your family what their favourite meal is.  If you have older children, then why not get them to cook this one night a week. 
* Have one night where dinner can be rustled up very quickly, all of us have our days when we're just too tired, there's nothing wrong with good old beans on toast or baked potatoes.  Of course cooking double the quantity and freezing half the previous week is good for these nights too.
* Pick one chicken dish, beef, vegetarian, pasta and  fish to keep variety.
* I have two pudding nights a week, it keeps it a nice treat, we have them on the same days each week (Tues & Friday, Sunday we're at my mums) it gives us all something to look forward to, and there's no arguments! as the kids don't expect pudding every time they clear their plates. 
* You could have themed days, or weeks, ie: Italian, Chinese,
* Slow cooker, if you have people eating at different times then a slow cooker meal is perfect, it keeps dinner hot and no over cooking, also there's very little washing up to do as all prep is done in the morning.

The photos I've used are from Accidental Vix and Love from Beth who are on Folksy
Just click on the pictures to take you to their shops.

As always I'd love to hear your ideas too,
I'm no expert and there's always room for improvement!!

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