Menu Organization

Over the weekend I worked on several organizational projects to help simplify life and eliminate all the wasted time searching for that missing item.

The first project I put together was our menu planning binder. I've been planning our menus monthly since the beginning of the year but each month it was a bit of a chore to put together. One of my goals with meal planning was not to repeat too much of what was done the previous month and also carry over any recipes that we might have skipped. Each month during meal planning this meant I was rummaging around gathering up all the previous menus and marking what we had or had not eaten. The process took way too long and I was worried I'd loose the menus. Plus during the month I occasionally would misplace the very recipe I needed that night! We just have too many papers and recipes floating around in a small space!

Menu binder=problem solved.

Currently I have the binder divided into 4 separate categories:

The first tab contains the monthly menus, ordered with the current menu on top and all the past months behind it for easy reference.


The second tab is our grocery lists. Each month I make up the grocery list while menu planning and then after we shop I fill in where we got each item and what the price was. This gives me a good idea of the general price point we're paying for items and who generally has the best deals for it. If I get it on sale or have a coupon deal, I make a note of it here. During the month, if I get any good coupons, I also stick those in this tab so that I won't forget them the following month while out shopping.




The third tab contains all the planned recipes to be cooked during the month-main courses and any sides, in order of the menu.


The fourth tab contains any "extra" recipes: desserts, muffins, appetizers and any other treats that I'm considering making and want to make sure I have ingredients on hand for.

And there you have it! Project #1 crossed off the list! Anyone else tackled this project?

Edited to add: Here is the link for everyone who has asked where the pretty calender pages are from. She also has a lovely birthday calender that you will see in one of my later projects!