Guest Author - Michelle Pendergrass

Are you busy? Aren't we all. Fixing that problem isn't really up to me, but I can give you some time-saving advice that comes from someone who understands.

For two years now, God had impressed upon me one word: Simplify.

Lately, I've fallen into that what's for dinner rut. An explanation is probably not necessary, if it is you're reading the wrong article! In the midst of being a wife, mother, homeschooling teacher, church member and volunteer, soccer mom, writer...how can I possibly have enough energy to plan meals? The better question is how can you not plan meals?

In an effort to save money on groceries, my husband and I did a freezer and pantry inventory. What we found simply amazed us, we had enough food to make approximately two months worth of meals for our family of three. We do have a deep freeze and we buy our meat in bulk from a local butcher to save money, so you may not have quite so many meals stashed away, but I bet you've got some.

We made a list in on column of all the meats or main dish items, vegetables and side dishes in another, and miscellaneous in the final column. On a separate sheet of paper, we made calendar and filled in meals with their appropriate side dishes. We even scheduled in leftover days! From there, we formed a rather small shopping list and realized we'd only have to spend a few dollars a week on things like milk, bread, and eggs.

Things didn't go quite as planned for the whole month. Situations occurred that were beyond our control and we'd have to eat out, we didn't like what was "scheduled" for that particular day, or we were out with family and friends and we otherwise changed plans. It still worked out. We ended up crossing of the meals we did cook and since we did the whole menu in pencil we changed the menu around as we pleased.

The most pleasant surprise after finding out how much grocery money we saved was the time this saved and stress this easy task took away. I no longer dread dinner time. I read over our monthly menu and decide what to make. If I don't feel like making a decision, no problem, the decision has been made, I just make what I wrote on that day during the planning.

Please drop me a line to let me know how this tip to simplify works for your family!