Learn to Cook for the Week Ahead and Save Both Time and Money

Okay, so you’ve worked hard to get your home organized and you’ve developed some strong skills to use at the office as well.  You might be thinking you have it all covered at home since your pantry is organized immaculately and everything in your kitchen has its place.  It doesn’t change the fact that you’re still busy working all day and driving kids to practice, running errands or taking care of your household in the evenings.  Another thing you can learn to do to simplify your life is to plan your meals and cook in advance.

Meal planning and bulk cooking are both wonderful techniques you can utilize and modify to fit your families needs. The idea behind this is simple. The principle is that you cook and or prepare your meals ahead of time and then preserve them by either freezing refrigerating them. It can also help stretch your food budget dollar further, since you can cook one large meal and get two or three other meals from it with the proper planning.

Start by writing down a list of your favorite meals and plan on preparing a grocery list that will coincide with your menu. Since you’re learning to cook in bulk, your shopping list will have to change accordingly so you’re sure to have enough ingredients on hand when the time comes to do the cooking.

The most important tool in meal planning and bulk cooking is your freezer. Freezer bags are a great space saver if you have a small freezer.  You can fit many in the same space of a few storage containers.  Be sure to incorporate lots of quick and easy meals that your family can warm up and serve themselves in the event you’re not able to be at home for dinner or you just need to grab something that’s quick.

You’ll also learn to love your slow cooker.  Experiment with different recipes and variations on your favorites.  They also make easy work of cooking whole chickens or roasts which can be frozen or refrigerated for later use very easily.

You’re only limited by your own imagination when cooking in bulk for the week ahead.  Factor in the time you save by not having to do a lot of after dinner cleanup or dishes, and you’ll be glad you took the time to master this important organizational skill.

How To Save Time While Running Errands

Running just a few errands a day can take up a big chunk of time.  Probably more time than most people realize.  It takes time to drive to the bank, post office or dry cleaners, stand in line, and drive back home.  The time you spend on all those little trips can really add up! Here are some ways to save time when running errands:

* If possible, try to run all of your errands one or two days per week.  You’ll spend less time on your errands by taking an hour or two and getting them all done in one block of time.

* Take advantage of having your paychecks deposited directly into your account, rather than receiving paper checks that you have to wait in line at the bank to cash.

* Many banks offer an online bill paying service.  You simply log into your bank account online, enter the name and address of the company you want to send money to along with your account number for the company, and enter the payment amount. Once you have entered in your information, you hit the “send” button and your bank will send the company your payment.  This is very convenient and you’ll no longer have to spend time buying stamps or mailing paper bills.

* If you send a lot of packages, as in an eBay business, consider using an electronic service such as Stamps.com.  You can print your postage at home with your printer, affix it to your package and schedule a time for your mail carrier to pick it up.

* If you have several errands to run in many locations around town, complete the ones that are farthest from your house first.  Then, work your way back home, stopping at your errand locations along the way.

* Avoid running your errands during office lunch hours and closing times, such as from 12pm – 1pm from 5pm – 6pm. These are times of the day when there are a lot of cars on the road and traffic can easily get congested.

* Ask others for help with the errands.  Perhaps your spouse can pick up the dry cleaning on the way to work or drop the rental movies off at the video store on their way home from work.  If you live within walking distance of the post office, ask your middle school aged child to walk over and buy the stamps.

* If you are very busy and cannot seem to find time to run your errands, consider paying a high school or college student to do them for you. If, on average, you earn $20 per hour, it makes more sense to pay a student $8 an hour to run your errands for you.  You may only have to use their service for two or three hours per week.  Your errands will get done, and the student will be happy to earn some spending money.