I love this. I maintain a ridiculous number of lists--so many that I keep an index of lists. This combination is sheer genius. Now to find the right clipboard!
Oh wow, an INDEX of lists - that sounds amazing! And I love my clipboard - it's my second-favourite thing in the kitchen, and it hangs very close to my favourite thing - the kettle! A lot of dot tweaking happens whenever I'm making a cuppa....
Thanks so much! I never used to reclaim it, but actually it saves soooooo much space - I had no idea that the boxes were always so much bigger than the contents! Sometimes I remember to label the bags.... aaaaaaaand sometimes I don't!
Thank you! I have been trying to think how to do this digitally or with a small whiteboard. I never found a workable system. But I think this one hits the nail on the head... Or shall I say “clips the page on the clipboard.”? I will surprise my husband with a clipboard and printed pages under the tree.
Oooooh, a clipboard for Christmas, just like me! Brilliant! Hope it works for you both, Cathy!
I think the thing that had stymied me for ages was a way to keep track of how many of anything I've got without having to cross things out and rewrite them all the time. As a practised Bullet Journaller it suddenly dawned on me: it's all about DOTS!
Because I live by myself, my meal planning for the week is mostly to cook two big dishes on the weekend and use them through the week (I don’t like cooking on weekdays, that much). But when my partner and I move back in together, this seems like it would be really helpful for both of us! Thanks for sharing.
That is one heck of an elaborate system. Even when I could buy all that kind of food, I didn't have a system like that. Basically, it was just look in the fridge and decide what I needed. All of the meals sound very delicious.
Thanks, Matt. It works for us - it took some time for it to evolve, though. Thinking back I'm sure that despite my best efforts some food would be wasted every week, but now I keep track of it we literally use every scrap. I drained off the pot liquor from my barbecue chicken on Wednesday and saved it in a little tub - I added 'Barbecue juice' to the freezer section of my page, and when I get our chilli out of the freezer to thaw next Tuesday I'll grab that too and stir it through.
I love this post! Before we moved, we had an inventory of our freezer but it was just a list with numbers that was difficult to update. The dots are brilliant! Thanks for including the page for downloading. It's going to be one of my New Year's goals to get more organized in the kitchen and freezer. Great post, Rebecca! Thanks again!
Oh wow! My fridge is a mess and I always forget what I have stashed in the back of my fridge. I've often thought if I turned this into a note-taking project, I'd be more inclined to keep it going. This post might be the inspiration I need to get kitchen-organized.
wow! You are so organized! I'm impressed and super generous of you to share your kitchen page with us. I could absolutely use this. I love planning on meals for the week too (dinners) it makes my weeks so less stressful. Thanks again. :)
Thanks so much, Julie - I'll let you into a secret: I never used to be organised, and that's exactly why I needed to devise a system that works for me! I'm so glad you like it! 😃
Rebecca, this is organisational gold! I kind of do most of this, but in multiple places with less joined up thinking. So I'm pinching this.
The biggest problem I shall have is finding space to hang a clipboard in my postage stamp kitchen. In fact since the addition of barcodes to postage stamps that might be stretching it a bit.
Thanks, Jackie! Great to hear you're giving it a go - do let me know how you get on! You could always lean the clipboard on a shelf, or against the wall at the back of the worktop. I was going to suggest 'behind the toaster' but that would clearly be a fire risk. And perhaps you don't have a toaster (we don't!).
I love your 'postage stamp kitchen' description! And gosh, yes, barcodes on stamps - why are do they have to be so huge?! That'll teach me for buying such small-format Christmas cards...!
Such a timely post, Rebecca! I was just having a conversation with Sinù of Dash of Prosecco and Kiki of Come Como Kiki (highly recommend both) about meal planning and how we do it. I was telling them that my method (I just pick 2 recipes per week and buying all the ingredients, minus staples) has gotten a little stale 😅 I admire your organization!!
Thank you so much for the explanation and the PDF! Looking forward to trying it, will report back 🤓.
I do find meal planning for the week helpful - so much of the stress is the indecision - but this would elevate it. We don’t fix meals on certain dates per se, it’s more a discussion of best-by dates and evening schedules (does someone need to be run to a meeting, practice?)
That's the trick, isn't it, to check dates on the fresh stuff that comes in and consult diaries to identify when a certain option would make most sense (or not!)? We do that too. For instance, if one of us has an evening Zoom meeting we'll have something quick and easy before or after, or if Jim's got a long shoot out in the wilds tomorrow I'll make him something substantial for tonight. I can save so much time, too, with a bit of planning - if we're having two meals in a week that need mash or coleslaw or shredded cabbage or cauliflower rice on the side I'll schedule those meals no more than a couple of days apart so I can prepare TWICE the amount just ONCE!
Cool, thanks so much, CJ! ‘Smash and wrap’ - I LOVE THAT! 🤣
Blimey, I thought I was well-organised. This is brilliant, Rebecca, and so generous of you to share that pdf.
LOL, thanks so much, Terry!
Thank you for the PDF! Unlike Terry, I'm not nearly so organized. I will need to give this a try.
My pleasure, Nancy! Do let me know how you get on!
I love this. I maintain a ridiculous number of lists--so many that I keep an index of lists. This combination is sheer genius. Now to find the right clipboard!
Oh wow, an INDEX of lists - that sounds amazing! And I love my clipboard - it's my second-favourite thing in the kitchen, and it hangs very close to my favourite thing - the kettle! A lot of dot tweaking happens whenever I'm making a cuppa....
I envy your organizational skills! What a wonderful system :-) Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Jacquie!
Wow...this process is truly impressive and the tip about reclaiming the Tupperware is genius! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much! I never used to reclaim it, but actually it saves soooooo much space - I had no idea that the boxes were always so much bigger than the contents! Sometimes I remember to label the bags.... aaaaaaaand sometimes I don't!
Thank you! I have been trying to think how to do this digitally or with a small whiteboard. I never found a workable system. But I think this one hits the nail on the head... Or shall I say “clips the page on the clipboard.”? I will surprise my husband with a clipboard and printed pages under the tree.
Oooooh, a clipboard for Christmas, just like me! Brilliant! Hope it works for you both, Cathy!
I think the thing that had stymied me for ages was a way to keep track of how many of anything I've got without having to cross things out and rewrite them all the time. As a practised Bullet Journaller it suddenly dawned on me: it's all about DOTS!
Because I live by myself, my meal planning for the week is mostly to cook two big dishes on the weekend and use them through the week (I don’t like cooking on weekdays, that much). But when my partner and I move back in together, this seems like it would be really helpful for both of us! Thanks for sharing.
Hope it helps, Alison! Thanks so much!
That is one heck of an elaborate system. Even when I could buy all that kind of food, I didn't have a system like that. Basically, it was just look in the fridge and decide what I needed. All of the meals sound very delicious.
Thanks, Matt. It works for us - it took some time for it to evolve, though. Thinking back I'm sure that despite my best efforts some food would be wasted every week, but now I keep track of it we literally use every scrap. I drained off the pot liquor from my barbecue chicken on Wednesday and saved it in a little tub - I added 'Barbecue juice' to the freezer section of my page, and when I get our chilli out of the freezer to thaw next Tuesday I'll grab that too and stir it through.
I love this post! Before we moved, we had an inventory of our freezer but it was just a list with numbers that was difficult to update. The dots are brilliant! Thanks for including the page for downloading. It's going to be one of my New Year's goals to get more organized in the kitchen and freezer. Great post, Rebecca! Thanks again!
It's all about the dots, Erin - I was like 'oh YES!' when it dawned on me to try them! Hope it helps - do let me know how you get on!
Oh wow! My fridge is a mess and I always forget what I have stashed in the back of my fridge. I've often thought if I turned this into a note-taking project, I'd be more inclined to keep it going. This post might be the inspiration I need to get kitchen-organized.
‘Fridge notes’ - love it, Jillian! So glad to have inspired you! 😀
wow! You are so organized! I'm impressed and super generous of you to share your kitchen page with us. I could absolutely use this. I love planning on meals for the week too (dinners) it makes my weeks so less stressful. Thanks again. :)
Thanks so much, Julie - I'll let you into a secret: I never used to be organised, and that's exactly why I needed to devise a system that works for me! I'm so glad you like it! 😃
well, you're doing an amazing job! Thank you for the inspiration. :)
Impressive organization!
Thanks, Mark!
Rebecca, this is organisational gold! I kind of do most of this, but in multiple places with less joined up thinking. So I'm pinching this.
The biggest problem I shall have is finding space to hang a clipboard in my postage stamp kitchen. In fact since the addition of barcodes to postage stamps that might be stretching it a bit.
I do love a multifunctional list. 💚
Thanks, Jackie! Great to hear you're giving it a go - do let me know how you get on! You could always lean the clipboard on a shelf, or against the wall at the back of the worktop. I was going to suggest 'behind the toaster' but that would clearly be a fire risk. And perhaps you don't have a toaster (we don't!).
I love your 'postage stamp kitchen' description! And gosh, yes, barcodes on stamps - why are do they have to be so huge?! That'll teach me for buying such small-format Christmas cards...!
Such a timely post, Rebecca! I was just having a conversation with Sinù of Dash of Prosecco and Kiki of Come Como Kiki (highly recommend both) about meal planning and how we do it. I was telling them that my method (I just pick 2 recipes per week and buying all the ingredients, minus staples) has gotten a little stale 😅 I admire your organization!!
Thanks, Sam! Funny that this topic had cropped up with you, too - great minds think alike...! 😃
Thank you so much for the explanation and the PDF! Looking forward to trying it, will report back 🤓.
I do find meal planning for the week helpful - so much of the stress is the indecision - but this would elevate it. We don’t fix meals on certain dates per se, it’s more a discussion of best-by dates and evening schedules (does someone need to be run to a meeting, practice?)
Such a pleasure, Bryn!
That's the trick, isn't it, to check dates on the fresh stuff that comes in and consult diaries to identify when a certain option would make most sense (or not!)? We do that too. For instance, if one of us has an evening Zoom meeting we'll have something quick and easy before or after, or if Jim's got a long shoot out in the wilds tomorrow I'll make him something substantial for tonight. I can save so much time, too, with a bit of planning - if we're having two meals in a week that need mash or coleslaw or shredded cabbage or cauliflower rice on the side I'll schedule those meals no more than a couple of days apart so I can prepare TWICE the amount just ONCE!