Welcome to Jamie's Weekly Clutter Challenge

Want to lose 10 pounds of paper in 10 days?

Lose your paper piles starting today!

I've teamed up with NBC's iVillage for this simple challenge to see who can lose the piles of paper this week, I hope you'll join us.

Meal Planning Made Easy, really!

Meal Planning Made Easy

¤ Do you forget to defrost meat in time to cook dinner?

¤ Are you tired of cooking the same meal every week?

¤ Do you wish you could save more money by not ordering out so
much?

¤ Want to eat healthier by making fewer trips to the drive
thru?

Here is a stress free way to plan meals, no kidding.

Getting Started

· First, gather ideas. Grab a pen and paper then survey family members, read take out menus, flip through cookbooks and search online. At this point don’t worry about whether or not you can make it easily or if you even have the ingredients, just write down the ideas.

Note: Family members will be more likely to eat the meal they suggest, so take their comments into account.

· Next, check your list to see which main dishes use similar ingredients, For example, tacos with ground meat one day and spaghetti with meat sauce the next day. Then get creative about how you can make the meals easier. Maybe instead of cooking lasagna noodles you opt for the no cook version.

· Create a two-week shopping list for the 10-12 meals you plan to cook, give yourself a break 2-4 of the days. Don’t forget to add the basics of a well-stocked pantry to your shopping list. printable pantry list

· Lastly check your fridge, freezer and pantry to see what ingredients you already have so you can cross it off your shopping list. Then go shopping or log onto an online shopping site and have some or all of the items delivered.

· IMPORTANT: save this list, it is a two week meal plan and shopping list, make one or two more then simply rotate them!
More quick and easy meal planning ideas
Now that you've got the meal plan, here are some other tips that can help make your life simpler:

· Look ahead for extra-busy days and plan something quick for them: cold cut subs, pita pizzas, chicken sandwich, omelets, soup and grilled quesadillas.

· Make twice as much of whatever you are cooking and freeze half. It doesn’t take much more time or energy to make two batches of lasagna, a bigger pot of chili, or a huge pan of tuna casserole and later, all you'll have to do is thaw, heat, and serve.

· In addition to cooking double try these tips:

o Browning ground beef for dinner? Do extra, to use in tacos later in the week.

o Baking chicken breasts? Cook two more, and then cut up later for stir-fry with vegetables and brown rice.

o Cook extra rice, put into a container, and refrigerate or freeze. On a busy night, microwave it, stirring occasionally, until
heated through, then use as you would fresh.

o Chop a whole onion, even if you only need part of it right now. Store the rest for another meal.

o Grate extra cheese and store it in a zippered plastic bag in the freezer

Lastly, keep in mind that you are not the only one who can cook, set the table and clean up. Have your children make a chart of who helps which days, then making helping worth their while, maybe the helper gets more desert.

And at a certain age children can cook a meal themselves for the family, It gives them such confidence! Even English muffin pizzas can taste like a gourmet meal when prepared with love.

If you still feel like it is your job to do it all may I gently remind you that at some point your children will have to do this for themselves and their family, learning it now makes it much easier. If they don’t gain this life skill then they too will struggle.

So that’s it! Now that you have a meal plan life is less stressful. I hope you have a clutter-free week, Jamie

Click here to view past products of the month

The first month of the New Year is the perfect time to start a new check register and start a new system for bills and receipts. A 13 slot accordion file allows you to label one slot per month. Use that pocket to place all the stuff from that month. At the end of the year write the date on the outside and store it away with your tax return.

13 Pocket Expanding Folder

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Jamie Novak
Scotch Plains, NJ 07076
Los Angeles, CA 93550