Organized Grocery Shopping

Back in June or July I decided that I could save a lot of money by only going to the store once every two weeks. But in order to do that I needed to be super organized so I could remember to get everything we would need for 2 weeks.

Organization is a hobby for me so this was just fun! I ended up with 2 excel documents(Click on them to see them bigger). One for my menu: and this one for my shopping list:I don't mind going to multiple stores for the best deal so I have my 3 most shopped at stores on my list plus a spot for any other stores I want to hit. I have my most purchased items typed in and I just highlight it if I need it then I have space to write in whatever else I need. I like having items already typed in because it reminds me to check and see if I need it.

I like having my list in excel format because it is always changing depending on my family's needs. For instance, my baby no longer drinks formula so I'm taking that off the list. And I now make my own laundry soap so I can take off the list as well.

I was going to be all fancy and link my excel documents for anyone who wants them, but I can't figure out how to do that and my fussing baby prohibits me taking time to figure it out. So if you want them, let me know and I'll email them to you.

Leftover List

This is not some cute craft idea, just something I just started doing that hopefully will save some money. Heck, maybe everyone already does this and I'm just slow.

DH loves leftovers (lucky me!) but he's always forgetting what we have. He got the idea to keep a running list of what we have in the fridge for leftovers. I thought it was a great idea since the day before I threw out a bunch of old food.

So here's what I came up with:

I got this board at JoAnn's in their little $1 - $2.5o section a long time ago.

So I wrote down everything we have for leftovers and to the side I wrote the date it was made and a "I" or "O" indicating whether it's in the fridge in the kitchen or the "outside" fridge (it's not really outside. It's in the pantry)

DH is really good about finding something to eat when he's hungry and it's not meal time. He usually goes for Ramen, but with this I'm hoping he'll eat up all the leftovers and I won't have to throw away old food.

Rolled Turkey and Stuffing

My dad used to make this and we all loved it. DH and I are going to be on our own for Christmas and I thought this would make for a good Christmas dinner. I decided to try it out for Sunday dinner.

I found a 4 1/2 lb. bone-in turkey breast. After thawing it all night I woke up and boned it. I've never boned poultry before, I just tried to stick as close to the bone as possible. It was quite fun, I felt like I was back in the Operating Room.

Anyway, after I boned the turkey I laid it out flat. I made 2 batches of Stove Top stuffing and cooked up some loose sausage and mixed the two together.

I spread out the stuffing/sausage on the turkey and then rolled it up, securing it with thread.

I baked it in a roasting pan and served it with mashed potatoes and pan gravy.

MMMMMMMMM GOOD!

It definitely doesn't need 2 batches of stuffing, but DH LOVES stuffing and only likes turkey.

Another Wall folder

I couldn't help myself. I made another one last night!

No more ugly white boards

Problem: White boards are very useful but they're white and boring.
Solution: Fabric underneath the glass and write on the glass!

It's so simple! I found a $3 frame at DI, fabric for $1.50/yard at Walmart and voila! A message board with some style.

I had planned on paining the frame black, but the wood matches the wood in our kitchen so with a little Old English to fill in the scratches (isn't Old English amazing!?), here's a message board in less than 10 minutes!

Wall Storage Folder

I saw this on a blog and set out to do my own right away. This is a super cute way to store all those pesky loose papers that add up so fast.



All you need is an old book that you're willing to sacrifice, some scrapbook paper or fabric, and some ribbon.

I'm not so good at taking step by step pictures you can look at the step by step tutorial that I used here.

Here's my brief tutorial:
I couldn't find any books in the house that I wanted to sacrifice so I went to DI in search of big (larger than a piece of paper) hard cover books. The only problem is that I kept finding the perfect size book but it would be a great recipe book and I didn't want to tear it apart.
Anyway, I finally found 3 books for only $1 each.

I decided to cover mine in fabric so after I cut the pages out of the book and had only the cover left I plugged in my hot glue gun and set to work covering the outside of the book. Then I used some scrapbook paper for the inside of the book, because some of it will be seen.

I followed the tutorial when I made my holes for the thread. I used embroidery thread and coordinating buttons , but you can use anything.

I know my tutorial is very vague but if you follow the link, it tells you everything you need to know.

This takes less than an hour to make and you may already have everything in the house to make it.

Hair Bow & Clippy Holder re-do

I wasn't very pleased with the first hair bow holder I made. The black and hot pink just didn't fit in DD's room. So I started again and I am much happier this time.