January 8, 2024; Let’s get busy!

I woke up this morning with far too much to say. It was all in my head but it was only a matter of time before it travelled to my thumbs and found its way to this blog. I’m so excited about working my way through the Family Manager Book with you. I realize that not all of you will be participating but just maybe everyone will get something out of it. If you are a ninja master at family management then perhaps you’ll share some wisdom with the rest of us as we go along.

Since it is Monday, the sheets have been pulled off the bed and the laundry is sorted. The dishes are unloaded and reloaded as well. I did all of this while the Kuerig was working on my cup of coffee. Now, I’m not saying that YOU need to do this on Monday but it has become my routine and it works for me. I prefer to get all my chores done during the week so I can have my weekends free. You do you! Pick a day that makes sense for you to get chores done and still allows you an off day (or two). How can you swap a few things around to protect your free time? It’s so important to make sure you have time for things you enjoy doing. All work and no play…

Speaking of the dishes, Mama informed me that I have Grandma’s dish pan. I’ve decided to resurrect its previous purpose by sitting it on the side of the sink to collect the dirty dishes which will leave my sink empty and available. I have a little water and soap in the bottom for soaking off food while I finish up cooking. I prefer to make sure my dishwasher is empty and ready when I’m cooking but we all know there are occasions when the dishwasher is full and we start on a whole new pile. I like that this option keeps the drain boards clean and my sink empty. When I’m done cooking, I can drop this into the sink and wash up what’s in the bowl to set on the drain boards. Nostalgia wins out this time around with wisdom; empty sink equals happy girl! I do have a rubber drain mat under the bowl to prevent scuff marks on my white sink. Love that thing.

My sweet brother gave me a jar sealer for Christmas. Mama and I started sealing the beans in jars yesterday to free up this drawer I’ve been using. The vacuum sealer works amazing! THABK YOU BRYAN!!! I have plans to rearrange a few drawers in my kitchen to make things more convenient. Part of that means relocating certain items. With this vacuum sealer, the job is well begun and half done already. Just pour and seal any dry ingredients and you instantly have it safely ready to shelve for later. It works on wide mouth and small mouth jars. I Love it! Want one? Here’s a paid Amazon link for you:

https://amzn.to/48LsDHQ

This drawer was nearly impossible to open and shut. I hated this drawer. I had to dig around to find what I needed. Then, something spilt in the bottom of the drawer and I had to dump it out to clean it. No joke, I was worried I’d never get it all back in there but I was not to be out done. Turns out all I needed was a little organization. These drawer dividers gave me some sorting spaces and now all of my utensils are neatly stacked with room to spare. You could have knocked me over with a feather! I got these at Walmart. Totally worth it!

For those of you who are walking the manager journey with me our task today is fairly simple. Being in charge of a family means planning the food. As the old saying goes, all armies travel on their stomach. No matter if you are cooking for 1 or 20 you need a plan. I happen to stink at planning but I’m going to sit down today and make a list of assets. You can too. We need two pieces of paper (or an excel spread sheet). On one page I want to make columns for beef, chicken, fish, pork, sides, and deserts. If you are vegan you’ll need to adjust that. In each column write down a recipe you know how to make using that item. With this list as a reference we are going to plan out our meals for the week ahead. If you can do a month’s worth then go for it! On the second sheet of paper, use your meal plan to write down a list of the items you need to purchase create those meals. Try to plan using what you already have to save money. Ok family manager! We are taking charge of the meal plan today. Want to really save time and money? Stay out of the grocery store! Most grocery stores offer free pick up. Let the store pay someone to shop for you and avoid the marketing trap of buying what you do not need. Use a master shopping list to keep track of items as you run out of them to avoid running back to the store later. I keep my shopping list in my phone so I don’t lose it. AnyList app is my best friend and it’s free.

I’m off to start some bread dough, feed the animals, and get busy on my day. I hope you plan something fun for yourself today. My fun thing today will be to work on my hall bath and create a spa experience where I can relax. I already plan myself a wonderful bubble bath each night to decompress and soak my cares away, but I’ve decided to use what I have around here and make that room a little more spa like to enhance my experience. Lol I’m getting fancy! Remember, you have to take care of YOU too. Lots of love!

Y’all be sweet,

Bena ❤️🐝