Jan. 8, 2007 - Feeding the Family - Introduction
I had previously mentioned to traininghearts that the 2 most overwhelming tasks to me in the past 
were Feeding the Family and Laundry. I am not one to be satisfied with being overwhelmed but rather look for ways to gain some sense of control or routine over it. She asked me what I figured out on grocery shopping. I thought it might be fun to try to explain what system I have put in place to no longer be drowning in it. However, as I began to formulate in my head how best to explain my "system" I am now realizing that this will be no easy task. I definitely cannot do this in one short post. Maybe I will spend the week daily dishing out portions:
Part 1 - Planning the Menu
Part 2 - Grocery List / Coupons
Part 3 - The Shopping
Part 4 - Remaining Thoughts & Tips
I will also try to figure out how to post or link the forms that I have created for myself. If anyone has any ideas on how I can best show these forms to you, let me know. Should I just upload like a photo? What about sizing it? Can I somehow put a link to them? One is in Excel the other in Microsoft Works. The forms were created around my own needs and desires and have been tweeked over time but may give you an idea 
or 2 for yourself.
So, I will start with Part 1 on Tuesday and plan on finishing up with Part 4 on Friday. Then you can view just those posts in my Organization category in the sidebar. On the heels of "Feeding the Family" I will plan on sharing my Laundry System, which is marvelous but only if I am diligent to not stray from it (although, isn't every task pretty much that way!?!).
Along with this, let me put a plea out there for help in the area that I am currently trying to gain mastery over:
Storage of Games - We have a ton of them! We love them! But they take up soooooo much space. I get upset at the kids for never putting them back properly. But I understand why because they are so difficult to restack with all the different shapes and sizes!
Comments
Jan. 8, 2007 - Food saga
Posted by jenn4him
Hi Jill,
It will be fun to read your food saga this week. I did post pictures of my pantry and refrigerator last night. I don't know how best to post your forms. I have made some in excel too. I may have to ask my husband for ideas on how to share those.
Have a great day,
Jenn
Jan. 8, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Janne
I can't wait to see your system!
To answer your questions, yes, I hope to be able to complete the good life site at some point -- at least the shopping directory. I just haven't had the time to work on it lately. :
And as far as working out, it's a 3/4 mile walk to the mailbox (then another 3/4 mile back), so that helps me get some walking in. Then in the evenings, the plan is anyway, to work out at the gym for an hour after the kids are in bed. The gym is only one mile away, so that is helpful. (Just don't ask me how I did last week *sigh*).
Jan. 9, 2007 - Game storage
Posted by MamaDuke
I saw a TV show one time where a family was having the same problem with games. They had a family room in the house that the kids played in. So, the family "decorated" the room with the games. She put velcro on the back of the game boards and velcroed the boards to the wall. Then, all the pieces she put in ziploc bags in a basket on a side table next to the couch. When the kids wanted to play a game, they'd pull the board game off the wall and pull the corresponding game pieces in the bag out of the basket. Then, when it was time to clean up, they could put everything back where it went and there were no game boxes to stack/store. I thought it sounded like a pretty good idea.
Jan. 9, 2007 - Woo Hoo!
Posted by TrainingHearts
I can't wait for you to finish your thought process and show us how this works :)
As for games....we have a LOT of games also and we store them on the top shelf in the girls' closet. Yes, I have 4 girls in one room...so I totally can relate to using creative use of our space but thankfully it has worked so far. Being that the games are up high, it also requires permission and usually saves on any lost or mixed up pieces with other games. I've also heard of someone that put up a shelf above the closet door and organized games up on top.
