Household notebooks

[Castle On A Cloud]

Is there a specific type or brand of dividers that stick out past page protectors?

[Forsynthianicki]

yea! Finally got the pics to work!



Just a regular binder with a piece of paper from my scrapbooking stash



Front page with a favorite poem

[TrinMama]

Originally Posted by rjruiz_415

Is there a specific type or brand of dividers that stick out past page protectors?

not sure...but you could just hole-punch your paper, and then it will not stick out past or even to your dividers.

[marigold]

Why not just make your own dividers on the page protector. I think if you put a little paper fot the label inside some clear packing tape that is also stuck to the page protector that could work well.

[TraceMama]

Originally Posted by rjruiz_415

Is there a specific type or brand of dividers that stick out past page protectors?

I think you can get wide dividers at most office-supply stores. I know I found them easily when I was teaching and used them to divide all of my page-protected lesson plans. I'm pretty sure Avery makes them.

---------- Post added at 03:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:08 PM ----------

I'm looking for a week at a glance or a daily planning page to use in my calendar section. I've scoured all the linked websites posted, but can't seem to find one. Any suggestions?

What I have isn't really picture worthy! But I picked up an 8 1/2 by 11" Monthly Planner book (not one of those smallish ones) from Big Lots ($2 ). I like that it has an annual at-a-glance and then each month covers two sheets. Nice sized blocks for each day that has lines.

also, I have a binder where I have the bills, stamps, daily to-dos (including a daily sheet from KatieMae , customized for me).

I have quite a few pages saved on my computer that I'll add over time, but meal planning is my next project.

[peacefulveganmom]

Originally Posted by MtnMama

I have quite a few pages saved on my computer that I'll add over time, but meal planning is my next project.

This is what I'm currently working on, too. Trying to conquer a month-long list. It's tough...but gonna be SO worth it. (Especially with a new baby coming here in a few weeks.)


So...anyone have good tips to share in regard to menu planning, grocery shopping, freezer meals, etc.? Would love to hear how others do it. I need some inspiration!!

[LadybugSam]

How do i do weekly meal planning? It sit down at the table and try to think of things that we like to eat. Some of them are things that are very inexpensive and i make sure to have at least 2 of those on the list (even if they aren't very healthy) 1 incredibly healthy diner, and the rest is in between. I try to write down 6 meals for a week (we always have at least one night of leftovers or eating out of the house)

I try to re-use ingredients. Like i wanted beef stroganoff for diner last week but knew i'd have leftover cream cheese, so on another night we had baked potatoes (to use up the rest of the cream cheese) and that used up the potatoes i still had from last week

I write all that down on the right hand side of the paper. Then i start on the left hand side and think of all the ingredients to make all those meals, one at a time, until the list is done. then i check my cabinets to see if i already have some of the stuff, and if i do, i cross it off the list

I'm going to start typing out my lists when i'm done and keep them in my binder.

[TrinMama]

My trick to meal planning has been to have something that is recurrent every week. Some people have a certain theme day, like Mexican on Mondays. I do chicken on Mondays, vegetarian on Tuesdays, beef on Wednesdays, leftovers on Thursdays, fish or veggie again on Fridays, wild card on Saturdays, and crockpot on Sundays.

I also try to reuse ingredients so I'm not left with wasted food. Often, chicken will stretch between two meals. Say, I'll put a whole chicken in the crockpot and use some of it for soup, and some for pot pie. That kind of thing.

[Naxi]

Dividers - Marbig do extra wide ones...

Another meal planning tip: If you think of bonus ideas, keep these on a seperate list. Then when you are looking for ideas next week, use those.

Also, check your fridge first for anything you want to use up and think of a meal that uses them.

Um... Oh, I also keep a "what we ate" list - it gives me ideas for meals (sometimes I don't stick to the plan )

Freezer meals... lots of things freeze well and you can just make extra when you are cooking them so you have another meal for another time - think casseroles, soups, mexican (the meat and veg bits...)

Finally please can someone tell me how to get my pictures up?

[Tuesdayschild]

Pictures: upload them into a photobucket account, and then post them across from there. PB gives you the codes The only reason I have a PB account is so I can occasionally post pics on GCM

Meal planning:

I got blank paper, folded it in half, and made a mini-booklet. Top of each page has a general category, like Chicken, Pasta, Soups, Snacks, Beef etc. I then brainstormed all the recipes I could think of that I can make fairly easily / that I know we like into the categories, and then I went through my cookbooks to add any I'd forgotten or others we hadn't tried yet but I felt showed promise. Now I never have to try to think of something to cook

On a weekly basis i sit down and on a piece of paper write the days of the week, then I think about what's happening those days (for example, on Tuesdays the biggies have Dutch classes and they get back pretty late, so I plan a hot lunch and a really easy supper). I use my meal idea booklet to get a range of different foods over the week, some old faves, some more adventurous; I have my pantry pretty much 'in my head' so I'm using that info too

As i do each day I write what ingredients I still need to buy in the space at the bottom of the page. Then I add the other shopping items (toilet paper, whatever), tear that off and take it with me to the supermarket. The menu plan I pin up or stick in my cookbook stand and Bob's your Uncle!

To do it for a month I would simply save 4-6 weeks worth (weekly planning is much easier), and then adapt the best bits to make a 30 day cycle.

I'm trying to get back in the habit of making double or triple quantities and freezing the excess.

[Codi]

I do my meal planning about the same as above.

I sit down on grocery day and just think of 6 meals. I try not to assign days because I never feel like having it if I planned for it. So I usually pick each day what will be for dinner that night out of what I planned for.

But Im in SUCH a rut for cooking right now. I need NEW IDEAS! I got a few for this week though. So that is good.

[Tuesdayschild]

Try the brainstorm recipe book thing. It really helped me out of my rut

[Codi]

Ive been meaning to make something like that forever. Why dont I just do it?! TOMORROW!

[Earthmummy07]

I've been lurking on this thread, gathering ideas and slowly working on it since it started, so I thought I should finally post pics of the fruits of my efforts. I'm the most unorganised person in the world, constantly messy and can never remember anything, and having my binder is making my life so much easier! So, thankyou everyone

http://www.facebook.com/#/album.php?...1&id=711889587

hoping the link works now

Izzi x