I learned a long time ago from my Nana how to plan for the week. She was a stay-at-home Mom of 4 children. Back when there were no luxuries in the house. She did have a mixer, but it was a hand held mixer.
She didn't do all her chores in one day or a weekend. She spread the duties out in seven days.
Examples:
- Baking and laundry was a daily chore.
- One day she ironed, one day she would scrub the bathrooms.
- She had no carpet so she swept and used the dust mop under beds. (less allergies)
- Papa was the gardener. Nana picked what she needed for each days meals and canned or froze the rest.
Of course, there are only two of us in our Tin Can. Now that hubby works four 10 hour shifts the time is tighter as we commute.We are up at 5am and home at 6pm. Preparation is the key.
My life:
- I plan the EASY part of my menu for our work week. I might buy one or two prepared Trader Joe's meal, make two meals in the crock pot, and one soup and sandwich during the week. Week ends are based on the weather. Good weather means BBQ and on bad weather days we use our Walmart Grill inside.
- Remember try to plan menu. I make my menu on my Friday break, because we shop on Saturday.
- When we get home Saturday I wash off ALL my produce, even produce with skin.
- I try to do my laundry on Friday, saving the rest of the week for other duties. (Hubby cleans our tin can at the same time)
- Sunday's I bake or cook for the week. Only taking 2 hours.Example: Bake muffins, make salads for lunches.
- I even brown the roast the night before if I am making a roast in the crock pot, sealing the juices. I also chop up the veggies and put them in a bag. Put the spices and extra stuff on the counter, for a quick get-a-way.
- I also make hubby's favorite lunch the night before. Yep, antipasti. I use uncured salami, pepperchinis, dried tomatoes, chunks of cheese, olives and low-fat Newman's Salad Dressing.
I try to make it simple and fast during the week since I only have three hours after work before I go to bed.
During the week I have very little time to use the computer. I cook dinner, do dishes (no dishwasher), shower, and try to read a bit before bed. Even after all this I seem to make all of our meals from scratch, even pancakes.
Time savers: make a double batch of waffle mix, cook them all, and freeze some for busy mornings. OMG our mornings are real busy. Breakfast, making lunches, and getting ready for work. All done in 45 minutes. Soooo I better be organized.
It is possible to be organized. It does take time to get it down. Our weekends you will find us sipping a glass of wine on our deck listening to the birds and watching the cattle.
Life is simple when well planned.
