Manage Your Time; Make Double Batches!

What family these days isn't busy? With children being involved in extracurricular activities and parents working, it is very easy to just pick up take out or fast food for dinner on your way home from work! However, if you want a healthy alternative that will save you time and money, make double batches of dinners and FREEZE them! It is easy to take out something from the freezer to thaw before you go to work or to take it out to thaw when you get home. My mom used to have me take out the meat out of the freezer when I got home from school. That way it was thawed when she got home from work. As I got older, I would do much of prep work in preparing the dinners making it even easier for her when she got home.

How much would it take to make a double batch of your family's favorite dinners? My answer...very little! If you are making it already, it would only take a few extra minutes of prep work and a few minutes to place into freezer bags, label, and freeze! I keep freezer bags of different sizes and a Sharpie marker stocked in my kitchen to make it easy. Be sure to label what is in the bag, it may not be recognizable after it is frozen, and the date!

Here are some ideas of foods that I make double batches of and freeze:

• soups (cream based and broth based)
• stews
• chili
• chicken pot pie filling (use a prepared frozen pie crust to finish)
• manicotti pasta stuffing
• lasagna
• mashed potatoes (they make excellent potato pancakes or hashbrowns for breakfast)
• bean dishes
• squash dishes
• casseroles
• spaghetti sauce
• meatloaf
• meatballs
• homemade hamburger patties

Make and freeze your family's favorites. It will make your life easier on those busy nights while giving your family a healthy meal!

Choosing a Planner or Calendar

As the new year begins, the task of finding a new calendar and/or planner can be daunting. My advice is to not just pick one, but really look at your options. Find one that is suited to your needs.

When I was teaching and maintaining a household, I personally liked one with a month-at-a-glance, week-at-a-glance, and plenty of space to write down events and appointments. I would also choose one with a plastic or heavier cover if you tend to bring yours with you as I did. Some may want to keep their work and personal calendars and/or planners separate; however, I found that maintaining two was too much work. I generally combined mine into one planner/calendar. It went to work with me everyday and home every night.

Now that I am a stay-at-home mom and a small business owner, I use a large desk calendar to write down events, appointments, and schedules. Again, I like plenty of space to write things down.

Whatever calendar or planner you choose, take your time picking one out! Afterall, you will be with it for the entire year! Having a planner/calendar is an essential way to keep yourself organized and managing your time!