While we were still living the old house our fridge died.
One day at the end of November I walked out into the kitchen to find some water sittin
g o
n the floor. I blamed it on Jesse spilling while getting a glass of water. But when I opened the freezer and saw the ice melting every where, we knew the truth. The freezer contents went into the deep-freeze in the basement. The contents of the fridge where dolle
d out between a cooler on the deck and a small dorm-sized fridge we kept in our living room.
I had been dabbling in meal planning on and off for a couple of months, but when my fridge took a crap I learned the importance of planning out my meals for the week. I made my list before heading out the grocery store and then would promptly through it out the window and buying whatever looked good to me that day.
I am sure you already know what $200 of groceries does not fit in a mini-fridge.
I had to sit down each week and carefully plan out what we are going to have for supper each now. I planned out the meals to the extent of using up or having no leftovers: if I roasted a chicken on Monday, I used the leftover cooked chicken in a casserole or tacos later on in the week. I went on this way, successfully, for the better part of a month.
Things have changed since the fridge-less times. I am living in a different home, with a working fridge and lots more pantry space. The meal planning has stuck with me, when I go a week with putting it all down on paper I feel a bit lost. I have saved myself around $60 a week, and a whole lot of heart ache when throwing away wasted food.
Next week I will share how I get my meal plans worked out and stick with it.
