Meal Plan Monday: Easy Tips for Filling the Freezer & GF Meals for Sept. 23-30

Filling the Freezer WITHOUT a Freezer Cooking Day

You can stock your freezer full of healthy, homemade meals with minimal extra work. Look at your weekly menu and decide if there is anything that could easily be doubled or even tripled and would freeze nicely. I try to plan at least one main dish a week that is "freezable".

For example, soups and casseroles are perfect for freezing and reheating. Crockpot meals can be doubled and the extra ingredients thrown into a freezer bag for a future meal. If you are making pancakes or muffins, plan to bake extras and freeze for busy mornings.

How do you decide what will "freeze well"? Think about it this way...if you can buy it premade and frozen at the grocery (Lean Cuisine meals, waffles, grilled sliced chicken breasts, etc. etc.) you can make it yourself and freeze it! I even buy inexpensive glass casserole dishes for $1 at yard sales and Goodwill to use for my freezer meals. {Be sure to thaw in the fridge overnight before putting into hot oven and cracking your dish!}

This week, I am making Skillet Chili Mac which I will double--freezing the leftover as a casserole for later. When freezing soup, like my Chicken Corn Chowder, I use a muffin tin and transfer "soup pucks" to a freezer bag. I am also baking up some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Muffins and Pumpkin Scones, both of which will be excellent to freeze and reheat. {Recipes coming soon!!}

I don't plan a special freezer cooking day as some people do. For me, it's just as simple to make extra of something I am already cooking anyway and sock away the surplus in the deep freeze. Not to mention that it means a no-mess, low-stress, easy meal for another day. And the best part? You get twice as many meals with half as many dirty dishes!

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Here is what is on our family's menu this week. Recipe links are shown in BLUE. 

Monday
GF Skillet Chili Mac  ~ Recipe Coming Soon!
Honey Lime Fruit Salad

Tuesday
GF Chicken Corn Chowder 
Mixed Green Salad
GF Thin Mint Cookies

Wednesday
Dinner at church


Thursday ~ (Kids' night--Dad works late)
GF Pumpkin Scones  ~  Recipe Coming Soon!
Nitrate-free Bacon
Blueberry Banana Smoothies (with spinach...shhh!!)


Friday
GF Spaghetti Squash Lasagna
Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic & Butter
Homemade Applesauce


Saturday
Dinner out


Sunday  ~  (Company for dinner)
Grilled BBQ Chicken
Baked Sweet Potatoes
Oven Roasted Broccoli
GF Apple Crisp w/Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream 



Do you have a favorite meal to use for planned leftovers? Something that freezes and reheats beautifully? Leave a comment or link to your recipe in the section below. Have a great week!





I'm linked up at I'm An Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

Meal Plan Monday: Gluten-free Menu for Aug. 26-31

 

Here is what's on the menu at our house this week. Items in BLUE are recipe links. We leave for vacation on Sunday, so these meals are for Monday-Saturday.

 

*Meal Planning Tip*:  Make your family's menu with your calendar in hand. For example, this week I have a meeting on Tuesday night. Therefore, I needed a meal my hubby and kids could serve themselves. I also know this weekend we'll be busy getting ready for vacation, so I chose meals for Friday and Saturday that used up leftovers or were super quick to put together.

 

Take a look at your schedule for the week and decide if there are nights that a crockpot meal would work best (i.e. you'll be gone most of the day and you'll have no time to make a meal). Maybe you have lots of afterschool activities and something quick/portable like walking tacos or sub sandwiches would save your sanity. Sit down with your calendar and think about the week's schedule ahead of time for a less stressful, less take-out dependent (healthier!) menu.

 

 

Dinners

Sweet & Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Farmers' Market Butternut Squash

Steamed Broccoli

Baked Pears w/ Vanilla Bean Whipped (real) Cream

 

 

Crockpot Black Bean Chili Soup

Gluten-Free Cornbread

 Yogurt Covered Strawberries

 

Teriyaki Lime Chicken Kabobs (Chicken, Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms & Pineapple)

Brown Rice

Banana Split Bites

 

 

Salisbury Steak

Cheesy Cauliflower Mashed "Potatoes"

Farmers' Market Green Beans

Paleo Berry Crumble

 

 

Taco Salad*

Tropical Smoothies

*Drain leftover chili, reheat and serve over lettuce & tortilla chips. Top with cheese, salsa and sour cream. 

 

Quinoa Pizza Bake ~ RECIPE COMING WED!

Raw Veggies w/Homemade Ranch

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
 

Desserts

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Banana Split Bites

 

 

Baked Pears w/Vanilla Bean Whipped (real) Cream

 

 

Paleo Berry Crumble

 

 

Yogurt Covered Strawberries



 



I'm using a lot of farmers' market produce this week. What is your favorite fall fruit or veggie recipe? Leave a comment or link to your recipe in the section below. Have a great week!




I'm linked up at I'm An Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!

Simple Solutions for Kitchen Organization: 7 Creative Spice Storage Ideas

Join me for the next few weeks as we look at simple solutions for kitchen organization. I will show you some inexpensive and creative ways to deal with those annoying kitchen areas--such as the Tupperware avalanche, the stuffed-into-a-box-in-no-apparent-order recipes and finding that one spice jar that you know is in there somewhere. Wait...maybe that is only going on at my house! ;)

Week #2 ~ 7 Creative Storage Ideas for Spices and Seasoning Mixes



Note the "shelf extension" and the air
freshener! LOL

Last January I set out to overhaul my entire house and whip it into shape. I started in the kitchen, naturally, because I spend a good portion of my time there. I quickly realized one of the areas that was sorely in need of a good old-fashioned organizational system was my spices. I use a TON of spices. I'm not talking little grocery store jars of spices...I buy salt, cinnamon, chili powder, dried onions and other seasonings a half-pound at a time! When you cook from scratch as often as I do, you go through spices in a hurry. Last week I counted up the various spices I used in dishes on my meal plan and came up with 13 different spices--not including the previously blended taco seasoning mix and ranch seasoning/dip mix. (Links for my recipes can be found by clicking HERE.)

Photo Credit

I was having to dig through my hefty spice collection frequently to find the ones I needed, not to mention having to open all those dumb little plastic shaker lids to measure out the needed amounts. I stumbled across an idea on Pinterest for storing spices in cute labeled jars in a dedicated spice drawer. Sadly, I do not have a spare drawer available in my kitchen. The two small shelves next to my stove were the next best thing. Labeling the tops of the jars wasn't going to work for me since they were above eye level, therefore I opted to place my labels on the sides.

Organizing spices alphabetically
makes them easier to find.

Voila! Here is the end result of my project. I purchased my 4 oz. Ball jelly jars in a case of 12 at my local they-have-everything-under-the-sun store. The entire project cost me around $15. The jars came with the little oval labels, which I simply wrote on using my best teacher handwriting and a fine point Sharpie. I find that measuring out spices from big open jars like this is much easier than those tiny little containers. You know...the ones that measuring spoons don't even fit inside. Yeah, those. Ha ha!

Other Creative Spice Storage Ideas

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

I don't have any seasoning packets anymore because I cook most everything from scratch. However, if you happen to have a collection of packets and mixes, an inexpensive over-the-door shoe holder might just work for you. Or you could use the shoe holder has a convenient way to organize spice jars, as shown in the picture above.



SpiceStor Organizer Rack ~ 20 Cabinet Door Spice Clips

Another creative solution for the occasional spice user (whose collection is much smaller than mine) would be this back-of-the-pantry-door spice holder you can buy on Amazon.

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

What about using magnetic jars to organize your spices? I absolutely love these two solutions--especially the one using recycled baby food jars! I believe the photo on the bottom uses a magnetic knife bar, mounted under the cabinets, to hold spice jars with magnetized lids. Cool, huh? Perfect for those spices you use most frequently.

KitchenArt Pro Auto-Measure Spice Carousel

Last, but not least, imagine a world where no measuring spoons are needed and you can merely push a button to have the correct amount of spice dispensed. Dream no more! Get 1/4 teaspoon of spice with every push of the button. This gadget, pictured above, really exists! You can purchase your own HERE.

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The only pitfall I have run into with my spice jar shelves is being diligent in returning the spices to their proper location. I put the less frequently used spices on the top shelf and the ones I use all the time on the bottom shelf. If I put them back in the proper order, they are very easy to find when I need them. In fact, when I walk into my kitchen and see my well organized spice shelves...I can't help but smile from ear to ear.

Did you miss Week #1--Taming the Tupperware? You can find the post HERE. Be sure to sign up for e-mail updates and never miss a new blog post. Just add your e-mail address to the box on the upper right side of the home page to subscribe to These Precious Days.

Do any of these spice storage ideas appeal to you? How are your spices looking? The new year is the perfect time to toss outdated seasonings and give your spices a make-over!



Simple Solutions for Kitchen Organization: Plastic Storage Containers

 

Join me for the next 4 weeks as we look at simple solutions for kitchen organization. I will show you some inexpensive and creative ways to deal with those annoying kitchen areas--such as the Tupperware avalanche, the stuffed-into-a-box-in-no-apparent-order recipes and finding that one spice jar that you know is in there somewhere. Wait...maybe that is only going on at my house! ;)

 

 

Week #1 ~ Tackling the Tupperware (and other plastic storage containers)

 

 

I am going to venture a guess, that I am not the only one who gets assaulted by a Tupperware avalanche every time I open my cupboard doors. Heaven forbid this cupboard be in a location in your kitchen that is over your head! (What are you thinking anyway?!) This is a picture of what my plastic storage cupboard looked like last January. Okay...not really! This is what it looked like AFTER I straightened it up enough that I was comfortable taking a picture of its disarray. Just being honest with you, friends! :)

 

I was completely sick of having to hunt through the back of the cupboard to find the lid that matched the container I was using,multiple times a day. I attempted at one point to keep all the containers on one shelf and the lids on another, but when my husband unloaded the dishwasher he would just throw them in there any which way....completely negating my pathetic organizational system (if you could call it that!). I would let my toddler play in there with all the containers and when she was done, I'd just shove it all in and close the doors. This, of course, leading to the avalanche the next time I opened the cupboard.

 

 

I knew there had to be an EASY (as in everyone in my family can figure it out) and not terribly expensive solution to this Tupperware trouble. My solution was to purchase under the bed storage containers, creating a "drawer" of sorts in which to hold the containers and lids. I chose to keep them separate, because I liked the idea of being able to nest the containers and use up less space. The clear "drawers" I created, prevented items from being lost in the back of the cupboard. Locating the matching lid was fairly simple after first finding the right size container I wished to use.

 

 

I have pared down my plastic storage containers quite a bit over the last few years, because I have read so much about the potential dangers of eating from plastic, due to the toxic chemicals it can leech into food. I choose to store much more in glass jars these days and keep those in a basket on top of my refrigerator. (See more on BPA in plastic containers below.)



 

 

3 Simple Steps to Organizing Plastic Storage Containers

 

Step 1 ~ Take Inventory

• Take every container and lid you own out of the cupboard and place them on the table or on the floor. (If yours isn't clean enough to eat off of, use a clean sheet or blanket!)
• Sort through all of your containers, matching each lid to the appropriate bottom.
• Throw out or recycle any container or lid that is cracked, badly stained, etc. You could opt to donate mismatched pieces if you like.
• Be realistic about how many containers you actually need. If you have lots and lots of those cheapo Glad or Ziploc containers that are meant to be tossed after several uses, then either donate them or store them in a separate location for sending leftovers home with guests, giving away cookies at Christmas, etc.
 

Step 2 ~ Get Rid of What Isn't Safe for Food

• Many types of plastic, including those sold to us for food storage, are made with a chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA for short). A piece of plastic containing BPA will release the toxic substance when it is heated. (Think microwaving certain plastic containers--a big no-no or even putting them in the dishwasher.)

"Bisphenol A is a chemical used to make some plastics. It may be an endocrine disruptor, which means it acts like hormones in a human’s system. “More than 100 studies have been published “rais[ing] health concerns” about the chemical (from Wikipedia).” It’s possible that it’s carcinogenic, a term you’ll see around a lot. Read it as “cancer causing“. Big bummer. It’s possible that BPA may cause breast cancer. It’s possible that BPA may cause signs of early puberty. It’s possible that BPA may lower sperm count. Anyone notice any of that around our world?  

There isn’t conclusive proof that BPA is toxic, and the government still thinks there are acceptable levels. However…anything that messes with our hormones is not something I want to expose my children to. I look around and see rampant infertility, cancer, sexual disfunction and disorder, and I wonder why. If I can avoid something as easy as a plastic water bottle, I’m going to. It’s just a small step: over 90% of the general population carries residues of BPA in their bodies."

Read more at http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/03/18/food-for-thought-plastic-safety-for-people-and-earth/#cdCf3lXQg8G6oAqw.99

• Look for the recycling symbol (triangle made of arrows) on the bottom of your containers. If it has a 4, 5, 1 or 2 it should be safe to use as long as you cool food before putting it into the container and use it to store, but never reheat your food. (For reheating, use a glass or ceramic bowl/plate in the microwave or heat leftovers in a pan on the stove.)
• Remember the rhyme, "4, 5, 1 or 2...all the rest are bad for you!" and get rid of any containers that do not have one of those numbers on the inside of the recycling symbol or worse yet--no number at all. Your better option would be to use glass to store your cooled off leftovers and then you can reheat in the same container!
 

Step 3 ~ Shop for a Large Shallow "Drawer" and Organize Your Containers

• The last step is by far the easiest! Measure the inside dimensions of your cupboard (including the height) and head to your local superstore or discount store to find a large under-the-bed storage box. I found mine at Wal-Mart for under $6 each. I would recommend a clear one, but that is totally up to you.
• Store the lids for your under-the-bed boxes in a closet, next to the fridge, or in another out of the way location in case you need them down the line.
• Neatly place all of the lids in one box, flat or on their side, whichever you prefer. Place the container bottoms, nested, in the other box. I like to have a stack of square ones, a stack of round bowls, etc. Hint: If you have too many to fit in the box--you may have kept more than you actually need for an average size family.
• Wipe out your cupboard, replace any old shelf paper (optional) and place your new organized "drawers" inside. Stand back and breathe a sigh of relief the next time you open the doors.
 

And there you have it! A relatively simple and inexpensive solution to that avalanche of Tupperware that you have to shove back in every time you open the cupboard. I have been working with this organizational idea for about a year now, and I can honestly say I like it as well now as I did in the beginning. It is easy to maintain and still fits our needs well. I love pulling out my "drawers" to find what I need instead of getting on my hands and knees, digging around in the back of the dark cupboard for that one certain lid that I want. Not that I had to do that often....ha ha!

 

 

What areas of your kitchen are driving you nuts? Is there a specific location that needs to be tackled in the new year, in order to save your sanity? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!



Hope and Help for the "Time-Challenged" Mom

I was born late. About 2 weeks late, to be exact. Being late runs in my family, too. My father has always been habitually late, and even though we didn't live with him for the majority of our growing-up years--I believe I inherited a "tardy gene". When I was in high school and drove myself to school, I was one tardy away from serving a Saturday school. In college, I was on "chapel probation" because I would habitually get to the weekly chapel service at my Christian college about 30 seconds after they had passed out the attendance slips where you wrote your student ID #. Now, at almost 34 years old, I have two little kids who are constantly creating last minute drama that keeps me from getting to where I need to be on time. Sound familiar to anyone?


Seriously though, wouldn't it be easier if we could just "pass the buck" and blame someone or something else for our poor choices? Let's be honest for a second. I am totally and completely self-responsible for being late to everything. Every. single. time! Yep, you heard me right...it's not genetics or really long trains, or car trouble, or my kids, or even getting up too late that causes me to be chronically tardy for every appointment, meeting, playdate or family event. I've been thinking long and hard lately about why I do what I do and more importantly, what punctual people do to get places on time. Here are the top 3 reasons I am always, always late--and what I've decided to do about the problem. 

#1  I try to squeeze in "just one more quick thing" before leaving the house.
This wouldn't be such a big deal for people who aren't time-challenged . If you have 30 minutes to spare and want to throw in a load of laundry, that's just plain smart! However, because I have absolutely NO concept of how long it takes to do things--I usually underestimate projects by half the amount of time required. For example, this past Sunday I had sprayed down the shower with my new homemade shower cleaner and was planning on hopping in the shower and cleaning it out before doing my usual shower routine. I figured it would only take about 5 minutes or so and I had "plenty of time" before we had to leave for church. My five minute project turned into a 15 minute project and I had to leave my hair halfway dried in order to get out the door to the van, where Bill and the kids were waiting for me. 


There have been multiple times when I have been out running errands, looked the clock and thought, "Hmmm....I have 30 minutes before I have to pick up Jackson at preschool. I have "plenty of time" to run into Meijer for a few things before I go get him."  Deduct the 10 minute drive time to the school, the extra 5 minutes to load up Charlotte and the groceries in the van and the 5 minutes it takes to check-out/pay and you've got yourself 10 minutes left to "pick up a couple of things."  This would totally be possible for someone with a watch or a charged up cell phone to keep track of those precious 10 shopping minutes....have I mentioned I don't own a watch and I rarely charge my phone? Ha ha ha! 


Trying to use up every last second may sound like a good time management technique; however, I'm learning that not allowing any padding in the schedule for unexpected dirty diapers, red lights, or long check-out lanes will almost guarantee that I am late. 

#2  I subconsciously believe we can teleport ourselves places without actually having to drive somewhere.
Somewhere along the line, I have developed this horrible habit of thinking the time I need to be somewhere is the time I need to leave the house. It makes no difference if the appointment or event is 5 blocks from my house or several counties away...I never account for travel time. Ever! Before children came along, there was never really any "loading time". Unless you have to scrape snow off the windows, you just go out and get in the vehicle and drive away. Easy peasy! However, the process of buckling my kids, loading up the diaper bag and my purse, returning to the house for forgotten sippy cups, rounding up library books that need to be returned, remembering the casserole for Mom2Mom, or locating my keys (ugh...lost keys are the biggest time suck!) takes at least 10 minutes. In spite of  knowing this process takes time, I allow zero minutes for loading OR travel time. And yet I wonder why I am chronically late....Beam me up Scotty!


Here's a great example for you. A friend invited me to a playdate a few days ago and said it started at 11:00 am. When I looked at the clock at 10:45 am, never once did it cross my mind that I should have the kids loaded in the van and be en route to her house. Wanna know what I thought when I looked at the clock? "Oh good! I still have 15 minutes to take a quick shower." (See #3 for why showering is the last thing I do instead of the first.) Needless to say, I arrived about 45 minutes late--again! My brain does not automatically deduct time for getting places like most people do without thinking about it. The time I need to BE somewhere is the time I plan to LEAVE my house. (Inevitably, I will leave 10 minutes later than that because I forgot to account for the time required to physically get loaded into the van!)


Most of the places I drive are fairly local and I am there in 15 min. or less. Very rarely do I go anywhere more than 30 min. away. I need to plan on 30 minutes of drive time for every destination--regardless of actual distance. I read somewhere that you should plan 5 minutes of "loading time" per child. For me, that would be 10 minutes--which seems about right. Adding together the 30 minutes of travel time and the 10 minutes of loading time means when a friend says her playdate is at 11:00--my brain needs to say 10:15 and my body needs to be walking out the door at 10:20. Wow! Do punctual people really have to do this kind of math every time they need to go someplace?! Ha ha ha!

#3  I do the least important things first and the most important things last.
Ugh...this one is a killer!! In addition to being "time challenged", I am also terrible at prioritizing! I have never been able to determine what order things should be done for the most efficiency. I do the most enjoyable things first and save the most difficult or dreaded tasks for last. I underestimate how long things take and procrastinate on the important things--like showering for instance. I get wrapped up in the little things and the next thing I know, I look up at the clock and realize I need to be two towns away in 25 minutes and haven't even begun getting myself ready. Panic sets in as I rush around like a mad woman and treat my kiddos like a jerk, just because I didn't use my time well.


I have always gotten myself ready at the last possible second. I perfected the art of putting my make up on while driving when I was in high school. Like many teenagers, I slept too late, didn't leave myself enough time to get ready, and spent way too long trying to fix my hair. I realized one day that I had 10 minutes of driving time to school that I could easily use to put on my make up. This is habit that has continued for the past 15+ years. (I am totally embarrassed to be admitting this fact, but at least now I am smart enough to wait until I am parked someplace before applying it! I have to tell the kids to wait for a second while I slap on some mascara and lip gloss before going into the store.) This topic came up a few years ago, when I was talking to a co-worker who was in her early 40s. She volunteered that she always put on her make up while driving because the lighting is better in her car than in her house. Sometimes it helps to know you aren't alone in your quirkiness!


On mornings I have to be somewhere--I will type blog posts, check Facebook, feed the kids and myself breakfast, dress the kids and occasionally fold some laundry before I finally make the time to shower or get myself ready. I think putting myself last has deeper roots than I want to deal with in this post, but the fact is that I don't do the important things first (like getting clothes on!) and I don't allow adequate time for necessary tasks--which leads to me being late time and time again. 


I recall a friend with three small children showing up frazzled to our weekly moms' group a couple years ago. Her youngest daughter, who was old enough to be walking, was in her pjs. I kind of chuckled about it and she said something I will never forget, "Some days there is only enough time for one of us to get dressed and it's as sure as heck going to be me!"  Man, if I that had been me that day instead of her...my daughter would have been dressed head-to-toe (probably with a matching bow and shoes) and I would have been the one decked out in my pajamas! 


4 Ideas for the Time-Challenged Mom 
1. Sometimes less is more. Why not skip the "one last thing" and just be 10 or 15 minutes early for that appointment or school pick-up, thereby eliminating the mad dash to get somewhere and lowering my stress level in the process? I won't be as likely to snap at my kids for being kids (spilling milk on the floor as we're walking out the door, having to go to the restroom after getting into the van, etc.) if I am not acting like a crazy woman trying to get from Point A to Point B. I could use the extra minutes to sit in the waiting room and read a book, clean out my purse in the car line at preschool or just listen to a favorite CD. What if I were the first one to arrive at a playdate, instead of the last? What would it be like to hear the opening song at church because we were in our seats when the worship celebration started? 


2. Begin tracking how long things take (such as unloading the dishwasher, stopping to get gas, folding a load of laundry, etc.) to have a more accurate idea of the time involved in completing those little tasks that we try to squeeze into our "spare time". Or go ahead and guess how long you think it will take to do the task/errand and then double or even triple that amount of time to come up with a realistic figure to work with. I'm not sure about you, but I'm not nearly as quick as I think I am!


3. Plan ahead by deducting both travel time (30 minutes will be my standard) and loading time (5 minutes per child) from the time you need to arrive someplace. Set a kitchen timer to go off 10 minutes before you need to be heading out the door to give everyone in the house a warning to put on shoes, go to the bathroom and gather up last minute items for the road (library books, sippy cups, grocery list, KEYS!!).


4. Last but not least (Am I the only one who finds it ironic that I put this tip last?), put the most important things first. People are more forgiving of kids with bedhead who are still in their pajamas, than they are of adults. Save unloading the dishwasher, checking social media and even dressing the little ones until YOU are ready (make up and shoes, too!). If there is extra time, feel free to do the less important tasks--but keep tip #1 in mind and don't try to squeeze in too much and end up in a mad rush. 


Are you "time-challenged"? What part of this post really spoke to your heart? Maybe you are naturally organized and punctual. If so, I would love for you to share what goes through the mind of an "on time" person and what secrets you use to get places with time to spare. 

Get Organized with These Stylish & FREE Printable Calendars!

As the weeks of summer fly by, I am becoming more and more aware that the beginning of the school year is looming closer. My husband and I have made the decision to homeschool our 5 year old for kindergarten this year and I have been looking for some really cute calendars to use in our daily "calendar time". 

Anything But Perfect

I happened to be browsing some of my previous pin boards on Pinterest last week and stumbled upon a link for these super cute printable calendars at Anything But Perfect. Like many of my pins, I never actually clicked on the link to go directly to the original site....I just pinned it as a reference for "later". Well, I think this qualifies as "later"! Ha ha!

Click HERE for cute printables!

Anything But Perfect has generously offered these free printable 2012 monthly calendars, with the most clever and fun graphics. They have great kid-friendly designs. Oh let's be honest, grown-ups can like watermelons with smiley faces and Christmas robots, too. Can't they? The rest of the months for 2012 are available and the 2013 calendars should be ready later this summer. Hang these on the fridge for school activities and/or sports practices. Use them to write appointments or other obligations. They'd make some pretty adorable monthly menus, too.

Speaking of menus, check out these cool monthly meal planners while you're there! Don't let the "monthly" part freak you out. You could just as easily do a week at a time, but seeing the past weeks' menus would help you avoid repetition. She also has some pretty cute to-do lists and other fun printables. I already feel more organized and I haven't even printed mine out yet! 

Home Reboot Challenge #9 ~ Become a Cleaning Tornado

If you could peek in my windows and watch me clean, you would laugh...hard! I clean like a butterfly. I flit from one room to another, one project to another, stopping to read magazines or check Facebook statuses on my way from this task to that. What would take an average person 10 minutes (like unloading the dishwasher, for example) typically takes me about 4 times as long. Just ask my mother or my husband. I am S...L...O...W... 

I envy those moms who get up an hour before their kids and can shower, get dressed, make the bed, drink coffee, unload the dishwasher, throw in some laundry, do a quick workout and start breakfast in UNDER 60 MINUTES. Seriously? Seriously!     I am lucky to be dressed an hour after I'm up (sometimes it's more like noon) and then there are other people who look like a tornado--a cleaning tornado. They move like an angry wind, hurrying from one task to the next, never stopping until the entire to-do list is done. My husband is like that. Some Saturdays I just scratch my head at all the things he has accomplished before I've even made coffee or gotten dressed. 


I'm not sure if I dislike cleaning so much that I do it incredibly slow, or if it is because I am so ridiculously slow at it that I tend to hate doing it. Do I poke around and get distracted, struggling to anything done, because I just don't like doing it? Or am I overwhelmed that it has taken me 45 minutes to fold one load of clothes and I have 5 more to wash, dry, fold & put away? Either way, I need to learn how to be a tornado instead of a butterfly. Sarah Mae shared some tips today  HERE on her blog about how to clean like a tornado. Here they are!

How to Be a Cleaning Tornado
Give Yourself a Challenge and Do It in a Set Amount of Time
There is something about a challenge and a time limit that makes you focus and move. It is incredibly effective to go into cleaning mode and just do the work as fast as you can. One of the inspirations I have is from this 31 Days to Clean Mamas of Little Ones Facebook group. They give each other challenges and you have to do them within a set time frame. They hustle and do whatever they can in that 10 or 15 minutes span of time, and then they encourage one another and do proverbial high-fives before moving on with their day. Which brings me to this…
Don’t Clean Alone
The women in the group above live all over the U.S. and yet they clean together and encourage each other daily. They’ve been doing this for about a year now. These women have not only come up with a system (Task #1,2,3,4), but they jump on when they have the time and just ask, “anyone up for a challenge?” Within a few minutes someone else jumps on and they pick a task and go for it, together even though they are miles a part. I love it. Here are some of the quotes I’ve seen in the group:
“ I am SO THANKFUL to have ladies to work with today! I need to encouragement and motivation!”
“Ok lovely ladies! onto #1!!! WE can do this!!!”
“BREAK!! What did you get done so far?” “I got started on the kitchen and took a phone call from my doctor…. Second half will be stronger!” “I got all the dirty laundry moved to the laundry room, sorted, and a load started, and I exercised for 10 min!” 
This reminds me, live cleaning on Wednesday! Stay tuned for details!
Get Hyper-Focused
If I have to clean fast, I’v got to get focused. No music, no organizing, no emails, no nothing. Just hone in on the task at hand and go, go, go! I see my sister do this and it works wonders! Once I finish the task at hand, then I can listen to my music and slow clean or organize something else that doesn’t take priority.
Get the Babes Involved
It’s amazing what a child can do when there is a clear focus about attaining a goal together, quickly. I couldn’t believe all that my children got done as my sister was no-nonsense. They had no option but to clean, and so clean they did! I get too slack about making the children help me, I either move to slow myself which doesn’t motivate them, or I get upset that they are not cleaning fast enough…they get distracted so easily (hmmm…wonder where that comes from?)
Watching my sister, it helped me to realize that I just need to say, “okay loves, we’re a family, a team, and we’re going to get this done in this amount of time and then we can play.” I find that when I give my children specific, age-appropriate tasks, they do the work. It also helps if they know they have a reward when they’re done: they can play, go outside, watch a movie, get a treat, etc.

Today's Challenges from Sarah Mae

Mary Challenge: Practice focusing. Pick one verse and take about 10 minutes to focus on it alone. Let it roll through your mind, let it marinate, and ask God to speak to you through it. See if you can set it to memory by just meditating on it.

Martha Challenge: Give yourself a 15 minute challenge. Pick something that needs done in your house, perhaps just a main space clean, and set your time for 15 minutes and get all hyper-focused and get as much done in that time frame as you can. See if you can get your babes to help as well!

If you want to find a 31 Days to Clean Facebook group, look here.

What is your best tip for cleaning like a tornado? What strategies work for you? Please share your ideas in the comment section below, or head over to my Facebook page to chat about today's post.

Home "Reboot" Challenge #8 ~ Home is Where You Dump Your Crap

I read this story over at Sarah Mae's blog this morning and I got several things out of it that I want to share with you.

Finally, at 10:00, thinking about falling into bed just to stay alive, did I say, beyond weary to the bone, if possible,

when I passed Joy’s bedroom. (She was out at her very last speech party, with friends and comrades.)

Piles everywhere–strewn clothes on chairs, floor; shoes, speech ballots and paper all over the floor, dirty tea cups, plates with crumbs in them, and unmade bed with stuff here and there…….an overall mess…….

She was not being irresponsible, she had given her all–practicing, writing, dressing, running from room for room for giving over 30 speeches, adrenalin spilled, energy expended. Her bedroom was a reflection of our weeks.

If I were her, I would not want to come home to such a mess.

I know what it is like to return from conference weekends to a messy bedroom when you are beyond tired. It oppresses one to think of more work and more effort……

And so with one last weary push, I hung clothes, stacked papers into neat piles, picked up all the dishes, folded her sheets and covers into a straight and welcome turn down for needed sleep, placed shoes in the closet, picked up random things off the floor and placed beloved stuffed animals in the proper place of old, when she as a child loved their welcome.

When she returned at midnight, she would see love all over her bedroom, a little more ordered place, where rest would come more easily, because I needed to do unto her as I would have her do unto me–if I had been so weary and in need of an angel to straighten my room.

Please read the whole post over at Sally’s blog, I Take Joy.

I can totally relate to this story. Not from the perspective of the mom, who lovingly serves her daughter, but from the perspective of the daughter who had "given her all" to a project/task and her bedroom was "a reflection of our weeks". When I am focused on a big thing (working on a presentation, leading a Bible study at church, a holiday season or birthday party, preparing for a trip, etc.) I let my home go. I get so absorbed in the task at hand that I literally walk in the door, dump my crap and my kids' crap and walk back out the door. I just don't have time to to deal with it all until the "one big thing" (or lots and lots of small things!) is over and done with. After several days of this routine...it becomes utterly painful to come home and look at the filth and disorder. Overwhelming. Uncomfortable. Exhausting. 

The other thought that I had after reading Sally's story, above, is "Wow....I want to be that kind of mom!"  Jesus demonstrated his love for us through His sacrifice on the cross, giving up His own life on our behalf. Am I demonstrating love to my family by choosing to lay down my selfishness and serve them?  I need to look at my "chores" not as sacrifice of my own time and interests but as service to those I love. The laundry...an act of love. Mopping the floors...serving the littlest ones who play down there. Doing the dishes...showing a visible heart of gratitude for the food we are blessed with eating.

I don't know about you, but I need to CHOOSE to love my family well. To share a quote from Sarah Mae, "I want to be that, I want to be the woman who loses herself in Jesus, who lays down her life to give life to others. And in losing myself, I can find  reason to clean and to write about cleaning. It is just another gate through which to show people Jesus; it is another way to love."

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Today's Challenges (from Sarah Mae)

Mary Challenge: Take a few moments and write down all the ways you have felt loved in someone else’s home – what were the little touches that warmed your spirit? Think about how you can implement those kind of things into your own home. Write down some ideas of how you can really make your family feel loved and special in their home.

Martha Challenge: Move on to the next task in a bedroom. Today I’m cleaning my son's room!

Can you relate to my post today? In those busy weeks or months, does your home become a place to dump your crap and sleep at night so you can start over again the next day? I would love to hear from you in the comment section below!