I need help!

dianadors

In Managementy speak, they talk about "eating an elephant a piece at a time" which sounds like a load of rubbish, but you get the picture.
I'm not running myself ragged with the housework etc, but I'm finding that tackling specific big jobs (like the paperwork and decluttering cupboards etc) a bit at a time, i'm staring to see the woods for the tree's now, and its a great feeling. Getting everyone involved is a good idea (except for kids decluttering, as they seem to want to hang on to everything!!)

Good luck

poe.tuesday

I have cut down my food bills and time spent working out what to eat by having menus, I have now cut my food bill in half for our family of 4, we now spend about £100 per week on food and that's feeding all of us, incuding packed lunches and feeding 4 cats and a dog

This is what I do and 99.9% of it is good home cooked food.

The most important thing to me what not about saving money, it is all about having a balanced diet.

I have got a 4 week rota, that's 28 different evening meals, I have each week planned out and know what to buy for that week, I have all the shopping lists for each week on the PC and either take it shopping with me or do my shop on-line. I know what the children need for their packed lunches etc.

Once every 2 to 3 months I spend 1 day cooking and freezing food, I make up things like Chicken casserole, Pork stew, Lamb hotpot etc, I portion them out so there is enough in each portion to feed all of us and then freeze it, we will usually have one of these meals from the freeze about once a week. I also do things like boil up the chicken bones and make up a chicken stock, put this in the freezer and it's so easy to warm it up, through in some noodles, some chicken, sweetcorn etc and you have a great chicken noodle soup, great for saturday lunches

here is an example of one of the weeks menus, this menu is repeated every 4th week, we don't eat the same meal twice in a month and I change the meals depending on the time of year

fresh tuna with noodles and veg
chicken catchiatori with rice
shepherds pie with veg and spuds
pork saugage, mash, peas and onion gravy
fresh filled pasta with garlic bread
tortilla with salad
roast lamb and all the bits

now I know that it takes some getting used to and the planning is hard to start with but we have been doing this for a year now, we don't have any wasted food, my partner just looks at what we are having that night, knows it's all available and gets cooking, it really is a no brainer

we eat well, we all eat together at the table, the children help with things like making the pasta.

I have a full time job and do a 135 mile round trip to and from work, we live 5 miles from the nearest shops and my partner works school hours, time is not on our side yet I still get an hour soak in the bath each night.

Once the preping is done it will run smoothly and life is so much easier

and you know what, sometimes you just have to say sod it, all this work and no play is not worth it, get yourself a cleaner once a week if you can afford one, why run yourself ragged, it's not worth it

I do hope that your hubby does his fair share too, if not, then give him a kick

good luck and if you need any more info about the meals just let me know

newlywed

mrsiwannabefree wrote: »

Then i'll have a go at menu planning, that should free up a bit of time in the evening to do a bit of housework while it's cooking or being heated up, it should be easier as I'll know what I'm doing when I get home instead of trying to find something!

I work full time and now find it easier as I look at my typed up menu plan (usually with scribbles on as I amend it in the week) and get the stuff out of the freezer to put in the fridge to defrost before I go to bed.

Then when I get home from work I don't even sit down, just get straight on with cooking - if I sat down I wouldn't want to get up again :rotfl:

When I prepare my menu plan I put notes on it too against each day so I am reminded if we are eating out, having people over, only have 20 minutes for dinner etc, then I plan an appropriate meal.

Also helps with the shopping lists as you look at your plan, look in the cupboard and work out what's missing that you'll need.

I also try to make double of some meals, curry chilli, lasagna, s/pie etc and will freeze one and work it into my meal plan so that at least once a week I get an easy day of bung it in the oven and cook some frozen veg - that's been a lifesave and helps you keep going the other days.

taplady

Hi mrsiwannabefree!

theres lots of good advice above! I'm sure we're not all as organised as you might think!:rolleyes: The meal planning is the best one thing I think you can do to save time and money:j start by making a plan for a week using as much as you can of whats in your cupboard and then just check the menu the night before to see if anything needs defrosting! plus your family can make a start on it if they're home first(hopefully;) ) make extra large amounts if poss and then freeze some for busy nights - saves loads of time:D plus alsways use a shopping list and stick to it!

With the housework etc just set small targets for each day such and get an evening and morning routine organised for packed lunches etc and putting the washing on.

Rope the family in as much as possible then you can all enjoy time together at the weekends without you running round like a headless chicken trying to do everything!

Good luck and remember to take it one step at a time!:D

mrsiwannabefree

Hi everyone
I think I gave the wrong impression of the family! They do help, they will start dinner if they know what I want them to do, they will help with the housework also. I put the dishwasher on in the morning as I leave for work and they will empty it when they come home, same with the washing machine.
But I just seem to see all the jobs that "men" don't see - like washing paintwork down, cleaning skirtings etc. etc.
I also think if I was more organised and they knew in advance what we were eating they would help with the cooking more.

Thanks to everyone for their advice, will make a "small step" this weekend by listing what food we have, and organising what meals can be made from the list

bluemoon_3

mrsiwannabefree wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for their advice, will make a "small step" this weekend by listing what food we have, and organising what meals can be made from the list

Yes, this is definitely the best thing to do. Babysteps, babysteps, babysteps.

This christmas, my MIL commented that she wanted to be as organised as me. I was stunned! I don't see myself as organised. I need routines and systems because I'm so scatterbrained. Also, because of fluctuating medical conditions and family issues, it's important that I can be flexible and plan ahead.

I told her I use the principle of "fake it 'til you make it" : I pretend to be organised (and forgive myself when I'm not). The effect of this is that I can pretend so well that other people start to believe I actually know what I'm doing, lol.

Slowly build routines and systems that work for you (this may take some trial and error) and deliberately build them into your life (I'm a big fan of lists - I have a notebook that I write my to-do lists in each day and weekly menu-plans, plus a seperate notebook for gardening lists and plans, but this is a system that suits me and has evolved over a couple of years). Every so often you look up and realise that a lot of those earlier routines have become so ingrained you don't even have to think about them anymore.

The Flylady timer principle is wonderful - I used it all the time when I decided to start getting things under control about 3 years ago, and still use it when things seem overwhelming.

Keep visiting the OS board - perhaps put aside an hour or two to browse the Flylady site (it has a lot of information) and OrganizedHome. Gradually, you'll find ideas that you can use and discard the rest. A lot of it is about mental attitude, I think - being comfortable with slow and steady. Flylady is, IMHO, a brilliant place to start.

Solwaykid

I'm fairly new to this too but have been lurking on the board for a few months. It does take a while to get into the habbits but meal planning is the best thing ever. Some folks do a whole months worth some a week at time, it depends on how you like to shop but it does save you just mooching round the supermarket being tempted..hit the list and run!

I tried the Flylady site too but got overwhelmed (especially as I daftly signed up for daily e-mails). There is a forum on here that sticks to the principles of Flying which is much more useful (for me in any case) with lots of encouragement from them and a daily list that you can jump in to when you have time. This is the link for this week.. if I've done it correctly..
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=404457
I wish you luck!

DawnW

I have looked at Flylady too, but was put off by the sink cleaning:) and only the SECOND step being to get dressed including your shoes! Not sure how that would go down workwise! Or perhaps I have been looking in the wrong place?

stefejb

mrsiwannabefree wrote: »

You all seem so organised, with housework and meal planning.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Meal planning is the number one as far as I'm concerned - that way you can start off dinner in the quiet bits of the evening - throw stuff into the slow cooker, make sure that meat's defrosting in the fridge and write out a list of what you need to buy.

The best thing for me though was reducing my hours - you can work it out on https://www.entitledto.com. Basically after a pay rise it worked out that I would more or less lose the same amount in tax credits as I would gain in extra pay. I therefore asked my employer (civil service) if they could reduce my hours to 30 (that way you're still full time as far as child tax credit is concerned). They agreed and i now work four days of 7 hours 30 for pretty mcuh the same money altogether as if I was working proper full time. It may not quite work out for you as I am a single parent but it could gain you some extra time for big jobs (or just for you-time)

Also my dd gets nowt for nowt - she has a list of jobs that she has to do for herself like sorting out her uniform for the next day and then she can do paid jobs. I pay her 50p for half an hour of helping me out. She is 10 and can work the washing machine, hang washing, wash up, peel and chop veggies, wash floors - all sorts really. she tends to follow me round, helping and chatting and so its quite good quality time.

As for hubby - well I've never been able to tame one of that species and i've had two tries which is probably why I'm a single parent

Mariel

It's not just men that don't see those jobs mrsiwannabefree - that's why I have a cleaner! Best thing I've ever done actually, I am 100% less stressed now, well maybe not 100% but you get the picture.