Today I wanted to share with you an idea that might just make you time in the kitchen and maybe even your time in the supermarket just that little bit easier. Hooray for that!
Since coming back to Australia, I’ve been writing up a weekly menu for dinners and then writing down a shopping list. It seemed really silly at first, but what I found was that we no longer lost for ideas come dinner time, we stopped eating so much takeaway because we just couldn’t be bothered to think of something, and we were throwing away less veges that we just never got around to eating. Awesome on all counts!
It’s made the shopping list smaller and dinner is now a matter of looking at what’s on the menu. The only thing that has been missing is an easy way to see the menu for the week as I’ve been writing it on scraps of paper and on a message board that really isn’t up to the task. I’ll have to show you it one day, it’s pretty funny.
I had this idea that I’d love a whiteboard for it, and I remembered that glass can be used in the same way a white board can, so the idea of a weekly menu planner was born!
What you’ll need:
- A glass photo frame – I used one that has metal clips rather than a big frame, but any photo frame will do. Mine was just a bit smaller than A3.
- Paper & pens or a printer – I made up two A4 pages in Photoshop with the words that I wanted and printed them. Word or Pages would work just as well or pens if you’re great with handlettering
- Washi Tape (optional) – I wanted some way of breaking up what was on the menu for each day, so I added some bright washi tape in between each day – in Photoshop I left a 2cm gap between each day of the week to allow for the 1.5cm washi to fit nicely
- Whiteboard markers – These are not too expensive and work great on the glass. I got a four pack from Officeworks a couple of years ago
- Whiteboard eraser – I got mine in a pack with some whiteboard markers at the supermarket a while back, but you can also just use a damp cloth or even a (dry) tissue on the glass
- and your usual Mini Makeover Essentials
I like to know what week I’m planning for so I included ‘week of’ on mine, but you could add whatever works for you. I also like to know if there’s any extra things that we might be planning to cook for the week. Sometimes I like to cook a big batch of bolognese sauce or pumpkin soup to freeze for busy weeks or I have a party that I need to bring a plate for, so I included a section for ‘extra meals’ just to remind me. I’m not the best cook, but having a menu is giving me a chance to think about what I want to cook before it’s a mad rush to get dinner on the table. It’s taking a lot of the stress out of it.
What I love about this is that you can design it any way you like, and if you get bored with it or find you need it to say something different it’s not expensive to change the inside at all. Just slip out the paper insert that you made and create a new one! I chose a bigger glass frame, but you could pick one in any size that you think could work for you. I think you could even get 8 small ones for each day of the week if you’d rather it look like a gallery.
Our homes all run a little bit differently and you might want to include lunches or breakfasts too or even who is the cook for the evening! It’s also great for those (who can read) who ask ‘what’s for dinner’ as you can point it out to them!
I’m really happy with how mine turned out. The washi tape give it that extra bit of colour and makes it easy for me to see the different days when I’m in a hurry! It took me around 30 minutes to design it on the computer, print it out, add the washi tape and frame it.
If you have your menu planning covered, you could make a write erase board with sweet messages for your family or even an encouraging word of the week for your home office to keep you on track. The possibilities are endless!!
I can’t wait to start using mine. It’s going to be awesome! Do you have a method for menu planning? How is it done at your place? I’d love to hear!
If you do try this, I’d love to see a photo or hear about how it went! Tweet me your pics at: @danniellecresp or instagram me at: @dannielle with the hashtag: #styleaminimakeover
I love my meal planning system, but it’s not as pretty as yours! I cut up all the random magnets for businesses we don’t need into the same size pieces and stuck paper on top and wrote out all our favourite meals, then wrote the days of the week on the fridge with marker, so we can move them around and plan the week. The we have the shopping list on a magnet next to it. It’s super handy, but I think maybe I should type up the meals and make it a bit prettier!
Oh wow! That sounds awesome, Zoe! and so fun! What a clever idea! :)