Old Mother Hubbard the Update...........

Last week I set myself the challenge of using up the contents of our bulging food cupboard and freezer and so far so good!

Remember this?

Well here it is now.....

Much better, out of date items gone, like with like and most important, I know what is there!

After checking the freezer and fridge I compiled a menu for the week and the following shopping list:

Butternut Squash

Broccoli
Mushrooms

Tuna in spring water

Cheese sauce

Garlic bread

Orange juice

Sunday

Fish cakes with mini jackets and broccoli

Monday

Lamb, roasties and roast vine tomatoes, there was enough meat left to make Sophie 3 portions of her fave lamb casserole too!

Tuesday

Chicken katsu curry (and yes I made the curry sauce myself!)

I also turned this....

Into this......

 Wednesday

Beef chili with grated cheese and potato wedges

Thursday

Gnocchi with tomato sauce (served this with garlic bread but forgot to cook it so we ate it after!)

So there you go a whole weeks meals and there is still enough for more meals!
The challenge continues!

Lots of Love xxxx

Old Mother Hubbard...........

You know the nursery rhyme right?  

Well if her cupboard is bare our food cupboard is completely the opposite!

Are you ready? 

(cringe!!! I had to resist the urge to have a tidy before I took this photo, but I want to share the truth!)

I know one might not naturally think of food as clutter (after all we need it don't we?) but when you don't use your 'store cupboard' foods (or can't because they are so far out of date!) that is exactly what it is!

James and I don't shop regularly, we work shifts so aren't always around to do a proper food shop.  We usually buy a few days meals at a time depending on who is at home.  This never works out, of course, as we will forget what was intended to go with what and end up not using everything we have bought.  

These unused foods either sit forgotten of get thrown away, out of date, when the next lot of badly planned shopping gets put away.

As part of my decluttering challenge I have decided to take control of the situation and set myself the task of taking stock and using up the food we have stored in our larder and freezer.  

Obviously I will have to buy a few fresh ingredients and the odd item needed to complete a meal but I intend to use mainly ingredients we already have.

I will, of course, share my endeavours with you next week!

How long do you think it will all last!

Lots of Love xxxx

The Plan.....

 

I thought about buying a book about decluttering and then remembered I already have several cluttering up on my bookshelf!  I know what I need to do and that I need to do it my way and fit it in with my life or, as previous attempts have proved, I just won't achieve my goal!

Thinking about my past dalliances with household organisation I can identify several obstacles that seem to get me every time:

Time:  Not giving myself enough time to get the whole job done, or attempting too much in the time  available means I end up shoving the leftover mess somewhere to 'deal with later'.  Obviously this doesn't happen and the disorganisation grow from there!

Boredom:  After pulling out the entire contents of any given room with much enthusiasm after a few hours it's not so exciting!

Scale: Sometimes when a job seems too big/daunting I can put myself off!

In order to save myself from, erm well, myself I will follow theses 3 rules:

1. One room at a time.

2. One cupboard/drawer/area at a time.

3. Never try to do more than can be done in the time available

Deep breaths.................lets get started!

Lots of Love xxxx