The last thing I want to do at the end of a long day is figure out what we’re having for dinner. To help keep my mind at ease I pre-plan all of our meals. At first, this may seem overwhelming or a little too structured by deciding what your house is going to eat everyday. But I swear by this! It has made my grocery shopping much more efficient and our dinner routine so much smoother. Here are a few easy tips to help you get started!

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Make a note with three sections: The first for a grocery list, the second for recipes, and the third for days of the week. I use either my notes on my phone with three separate notes or I handwrite three separate lists.
Start searching for recipes: Go with easy meals you know by heart or use Pinterest for go-to ideas and. And, of course, cookbooks are always useful and still some of my favorite.
Write it down: As you decide on meals be sure to write this them down or type them out. Don’t go straight to the days of the week…come up with the meals first and spread them out accordingly from there.
Plan it out day by day: After you decide on recipes, pick the days of the week you’ll make each meal. I try to think about how my week is going to play out – for instance, if I know it’s going to be a crazy night I will go for a meal that will be simple to make! I now copy and paste my meals under each day.
Time to make your grocery list: Look through each recipe and write down the ingredients you’ll need to purchase. This list helps me stick to my budget and stay on my meal plan! Don’t worry, we always have additions to our grocery lists such as staple items for the week, or whatever the boys find in the store that they absolutely must have ?
Display your menu: I love displaying our menu for everyone to see. This way we can feel prepared for what’s to come each day. Plus, it allows us to change meals around from day to day if we need to, or just don’t feel like having what was planned for that night.

We’ve had chalkboards in the last 3 houses and I have been obsessed with all three. Our first chalkboard we made out of contact paper we bought and installed to the side of our cabinet in our old condo. The letters were made from circle stickers that Michael cut out by hand. For our next place we purchased and hung a rustic framed chalkboard on the wall. And we currently have a chalkboard we bought, painted and attached flush to a kitchen wall to make it appear like a built in chalkboard.