Organize + Energize: 4 Reasons to Start Planning and Preparing Meals

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Kristin MacRae, GoLocalWorcester Organizing Expert

Set yourself up for success. Living an organized lifestyle just doesn’t mean having a physically organized space. Another aspect of living this lifestyle is being able to plan and prepare.

How many times have you arrived home late from work and were so hungry that you just grabbed the first thing that caught your eye in the refrigerator? Are you trying to lose weight, but are working in a chaotic kitchen? Are you wasting money at the supermarket on impulse purchases?

Here are 4 reasons you should plan and prepare meals for the week:

Lose weight. Plan and prepare your meals for the week ahead and you will lose weight. Take 15-30 minutes the day before you head to the market and map out your meals for the week ahead. Take a look at your calendar and see what your schedule looks like for the week and plan your meals based on your schedule. Once home from the market, take it one step further and portion your meals in containers so you can grab and go during the week. Having a solid plan in place with healthy options and pre-portioned servings is going to set you up for weight loss and a success story!

Save time. Preparing your meals ahead will allow you to have more free time in the morning before work and will give you more free time in the evening. Take time on a Sunday to prepare your food for the week ahead. Taking an hour on a Sunday will free up time each morning to spend with your kids or just taking time to relax before the day begins. At night, you’ll be able to come home and pop your portions in the oven or microwave, leaving time for you to relax and unwind.

Save money. By making lists and planning and preparing, you’ll save money by not purchasing those impulse items. Do you ever notice that those impulse items are usually not the healthiest and usually sabotage your weight loss? If you have an organized food pantry, take your food list to the pantry and cross off everything that you already have. You’ll never waste money on food again if you plan and make your food list from your organized food pantry. How much expired food have you thrown away? Food thrown away equals money wasted.

Clear the mental clutter. You’ll never have to worry during the week about what you’re cooking for dinner. You won’t have to worry if you’ll be tempted at work with snacks. Clear the mental clutter and plan and prepare your meals and your mind will be free for more important tasks to think about. Imagine not having to think about what you are going to eat every day that week.

Before you can begin to plan and prepare, I advise you to have an organized kitchen. Make a plan to declutter, and re-organize your kitchen and create working organizing systems. It will be much easier to plan and prepare if you are working in an organized space.

When you begin to live an organized lifestyle, you’ll start to realize that you want to tweak your routines to become more efficient and productive. Adding this piece to your lifestyle will get you one step closer to leading an efficient, organized, and productive lifestyle.

Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, the founder and owner of Organizing in RI, has always enjoyed finding creative ways to streamline the environment around her. She has appeared on air on Patricia Raskin's Positive Business Radio and her articles have been published in the Rhode Island Small Business Journal and New England Home Life. Kristin's CD, Organizing Basics, is a 1-hour guide for the person who wants to get organized but doesn't know where to start. She is also available for organizing workshops. Tune into her weekly radio show, Organize, Energize! on talkstreamradio.com.

Related Slideshow: 10 Minute Organizing Projects

Declutter and Organize

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Spices

As you take all of the spices out of the cabinet, check for expiration dates and smell for potency. Categorize and itemize your spices to how you utilize them. Contain them in a spice rack that fits the space where they are kept. Don’t purchase a spice rack until you are finished organizing. You want to measure the space and make sure the rack fits and holds all of your spices. There are a variety of spice racks out there. Choose the one that best suits what you need it to hold.

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Makeup

How many items do you touch in the morning to find what you need? You want to be as efficient as possible in the morning and having your makeup organized will be a big time saver. Do you have difficulty deciding what to keep or toss? When is it time to throw away makeup? Aline Sarkis, a Providence, RI-based makeup artist, states lipstick can be used for 2 years or until it starts to smell like a crayon. Mascara is good for 2-3 months. Eye shadow is good for 2 years and foundation is good for 1-2 years. Aline also states that some makeup and skincare will be marked with an expiration date of 6-12 months. Begin counting once you start using the product

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Women: Purse

Depending on the size of your purse, and what you keep in your purse, this may take you a little longer than 10 minutes. Empty the entire contents of the purse on a table. Declutter, categorize, and itemize the contents. Break this process down and take it one category at a time. Develop a system going forward so the inside of your purse doesn’t look like a cyclone hit it. Contain receipts, gift cards, money, and makeup.

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Men: Wallet

It’s time to empty all of the receipts out of your wallet. Do you also store receipts and random items in your car? While you are tackling this project, head over to your vehicle and declutter the center console and glove compartment.

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Underwear drawer

If you aren’t using drawer organizers, you should start now. They are very inexpensive and will maximize the space in the drawer. How many of you wear the same item over and over again? With drawer organizers in place, you will be able to see everything you own and can categorize and itemize. Nothing will ever get pushed to the bottom of the drawer again.

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Under the bathroom sink

If you haven’t taken everything out of this area in awhile, you may find some scary items under the sink. Empty the contents, itemize, and categorize. Throw away anything that you can’t recognize. Contain items in containers that fit the space like a puzzle. Once again, utilizing containers will maximize the space and allow you to store more items. Develop a simple system where you can locate items and locate them quickly.

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Pets

Ninety percent of my clients have a pet. It’s time to organize their belongings. Medicine, leashes, bandanas, clothes, dishes, food, etc. Take this time to also organize any paper work related to your pet. Set up a filing system for your pet. Keep their medical records, rabies and vaccination information categorized in these files.

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Junk drawer

Nobody says you can’t have a junk drawer. Junk drawers can be organized. You just have to think about if you need everything in this drawer and if there is a better place to store the items. Remember, store like items together. If you have tools in the junk drawer, maybe you should keep them with the tools in the basement.

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Office supply drawer

So many people have office supply drawers that are out of control. Money is wasted on purchasing duplicate office supplies. It’s very difficult to figure out what you need to purchase if items are scattered all over the office and are disorganized.

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Top of your office desk

If you can’t see the top of your desk, take this time to focus on this area and categorize and itemize what is there. Do you have a working filing system in place? If so, once your desk is cleared, make a habit of filing once a day or a couple of times a week. If your system isn’t working for you, it may be time for you to re-evaluate your system and make it work for the way you function.