Meal Planning Tips ~ Taco Tuesday

I have been planning on meal planning for quite some time now.  It's on my bucket list of things I want to accomplish this year on my journey to SuperMomdom.  I've tried it a couple times here and there and I was amazed at the money I saved while shopping.  
Not to mention my sanity in trying to come up with something for dinner with a hodge-podge of ingredients.  

Weekly Calendar

In my very first post back in March I showcased my dry-erasable Weekly Calendar made from picture frames and talked about meal planning then!  I even showed the Pin which inspired me and incorporated it into my Calendar.  I still haven't finished it.  But I do have a designated place to write my menu so I'm halfway there.

Menu Board 

So why the go on meal planning again?  Well I have to give all the credit to Mary Organizes and her 91 Day DeClutter Challenge that I accepted.  In Week 1 I cleaned out my Pantry which really got me excited to once again always know what's for dinner and have all my ingredients on hand!  And not just on hand but organized.  I thought why not keep each meals dry ingredients together for an easier prep and faster cook?  

  I simply used 7 plastic buckets, cotton rope and made up a quick batch of diy Chalkboard Labels.  Remember to season new labels by rubbing on chalk, then erase and they are ready to go!  I would really like to find some pretty baskets to use but I had the buckets on hand so they will work for now.  Learn how to make your own labels here:

DIY Label Tutorial

I wrote a letter to it's corresponding day on each label then tied it onto the bucket.  They happened to fit just perfect across the back counter in my pantry.

The next day was shopping day and it was a little weird feeling excited about filling up my dinner buckets when I got home.  As I put away the groceries I added what would be used to prepare that nights dinner into each bucket.  Besides anything that needed to be refrigerated of course.  

This also helped to free up space on the shelves and keep them organized too.  Now I can use my Weekly Calendar (which happens to be hung right outside the Pantry door) and write what we are having for dinner on the yellow menu frame.  Even less thinking.  I like it.  There are even some great printables for Meal Planning to help with grocery shopping too!  You can find several great ones on my Free Printables Pinterest Board.

  Now I just need to stick to it for just a little while and it will become a habit.  A habit that will save me time, energy and money.  I love it.  Oh, by the way, we're having spaghetti on Wednesday  =)  Happy Meal Planning!

Do you want to DeClutter your home?  You can follow along with me & view my (gasp) before & after pictures, and join in too if you'd like!

Do you meal plan?  Have you found you save money and time?  Any tips to share?  Please leave a comment below  =)