When I was working full time in the corporate world, I struggled to get organized. Yes I was perfectly able to present at conferences, organize and manage national projects and run a team, but I would come home and just feel like I was in a constant mess. It was not that my home was messy, to the naked eye I seemed to have it all put together - I had a good job, a nice clean flat in central London, career prospects and a great quality of life. Oh how wrong they were. Behind the scenes I was never sure what food would be on the plate come dinner time, what I had in the freezer, what my weekends would look like (for example would I be tucked behind a laptop and unable to do more than a quick 20 minute walk to the shop for a frozen meal to heat up), was so busy that it was easier to buy than mend, I didn't have the time for so much as a quick chat with friends let alone volunteering or enjoying hobbies. I was exhausted, overwhelmed and stressed daily. Looking back, I was spending money purely because I couldn't get organized, I didn't have the time, energy or inclination. Eventually I knew I needed to make some changes, I knew the dream was to give up the corporate world and downshift, but I also knew I shouldn't and couldn't go on living the way I was until I was in the place for big changes. I thought I'd share some easy, small steps that really helped me get organized and become more frugal thereby making the dream of downshifting all the more possible!
1. Budgeting - However much I didn't want to address this, I knew I had to. I set up a realistic budget which allowed me to complete a good grocery shop, have healthy foods ready to eat when I returned from a 14 hour work day and thereby saving me a good $20 a week and giving me more energy. Please note, I started my grocery budget higher than it is now, I knew I needed to make small changes so I would increase my confidence and skills. £30 a week allowed me to buy good food and stop running to the take-away!
2.Meal Planning - I know I'm highly motivated by what I "feel like" and I'd always found that meal planning didn't work for me because I was often home later than anticipated, meaning starting to cook was the last thing on my mind. So I created a menu plan that worked for me - I would simply list 7 main meals that I had the ingredients for, they were a mix of easy meals such as homemade soup with a roll and veggie sticks to more complex meals like homemade kale & potato bake with homemade meatballs and peas. Having a small list of 7 meals to choose from made menu planning work for me.
3. Scheduling exercise - I love to exercise, I would say that it helps me eat healthy, feel less stress and keep a good emotional state. Only I would have all these ideas of hitting the gym, but end up running 4 hours late due to meetings which over-ran and missed trains and the gym would then be closed or I was simply too exhausted. I started by scheduling walking to work 2 mornings a week - the walk took 75 minutes, but I found there was less that could interfere and it was a plan I could work around. I could choose the mornings that fit into my work schedule and within a very short time frame I found it made a difference.
4. Baking & Food Prep Day - I began once a month spending 1/2 a day at the weekend making a few baked goods and several meals which helped, during the busy weekdays, keep my healthy eating on track! I started with small goals; I remember month one I made homemade soup (and froze it into 4 portions), homemade chili (which gave me 6 portions), cut up fruit & veggies to keep in the fridge for healthy snacks and finished off by making homemade biscuits and homemade rolls. Instantly I felt less stressed!
5. I gave myself a "general goals list" each weekend - This motivated me to find some time to learn something new, spend time budgeting, get some exercising in and yet still understanding the limitations in this season of my life! My general weekend list included:
Phone 1 friend to catch up
Get together with a friend for coffee or a drink or meal/walk/cinema
Laundry
Spend 1 hour doing paperwork or balancing checkbook
Grocery Shop
Plan 7 Meals
Get at least 2 hours exercise
Spend time enjoying a hobby (reading, knitting, photography)
Do something for someone else
This general list allowed me to prioritize things that were important to me, while still understanding that in this season of my life I was often working 5-7 hours each day at the weekend.
I have to say, as soon as I got organized and became more frugal, it gave me the confidence to really turn my life around, the skills to plan and the tools to get out of debt! Together these new found skills got me out of the corporate world and allowed me to really start living my life. I've never felt better and my frugal tools seem to increase daily!
I'd love to hear from you, what easy organizational skills do you use to help you make frugal choices? Have these impacted on your quality of life and lifestyle?
13 comments:
Yes organizing is crucial and having to organize your mind is part of the battle. I find I need to prioritize life activities, then break each one up for further details.
Preping food is how I survive! I never know how many are here for supper so I have all my vegies prepe in baggies in the freezer (if not canned). Easy to reach in for a handful of chopped onion or celery...I do the same with broths. Cleaning is a challange, going thru a winter clean out right now.
This is a great, clear post with some achievable goals.
It's a long time since I was in the single gal struggling to cook cycle but I remember it well. I remember the relief and power I would feel after a trip to the veg shop and cooking up a huge batch of ragu to be frozen in portions for that week (or month...) Jus the knowledge that there was something with vitamins for dinner was a great feeling.
Still loving this co-op blog and enjoying the new writers too.
Karen
My partner and I are both in college and work and so have little time. Our schedule is so varied that having a meal that can be ready when ever one of us is ready have been a challenge. I have started making soups, it takes two soups a week to cover all the extra meals and carry to work. I love saving the money but I also enjoy the culinary challenge of cooling new soups! Thanks for the good tips!
Your priorities rock.
Great tips! I'm loving this co-op so much!
Thank you so much for adding your own wisdom to this post! It is amazing how little changes add up!
Like an above commenter, my husband and I are both university students with jobs. I am currently on the beginning journey towards finding some organization that allows me to find some peace, quiet, and food.
This was a wonderful post and I was so glad to see it! I am trying to get on the food-prepping wagon but I always seem to miss something and end up completely lost at the end of the week.
...I tried to think of something positive to add, but I'm not there yet! :)
It's taken a LONG time and lots of work, but I'm at the point now that I'm doing all of these. Some with their own little twist...baking day is part of my weekend goals list, I bake bread and make two large meals for leftovers during the week.
Because I'm learning to eat out of my garden meal planning depends more on the season and what I've put up so it isn't as rigid anymore.
That last added was daily exercise and I agree it made a huge difference in my mood and energy level.
I love your weekend list. I get so scattered then I get flustered, then I get nothing done. I need to ddo something different!
I am most organized when it comes to finances. I have everything entered in an accounting program and I find that it's much easier to save when you know where all the money is going. It also makes me sit down several times a month and look at where the money is coming from & going to which is a great way to cut expenses before they get out of hand.
I also find that being organized in the kitchen helps with food waste. I no longer waste food now that I plan, make-up meals several times a week. These are free for all meals, eating anything in the fridge that needs eaten up before it goes bad. Sometimes we have some interesting combintations, but it saves us money and we don't waste food.
One thing I need to work on is getting rid of clutter, I keep my house fairly neat, but Mr Chiots has a hard time getting rid of stuff. All that stuff pretty much stays in the garage or the basement, but every now and then those areas need cleaned out. I'm hoping after this last cleaning to get better about not acquiring additional things and continually getting rid of things we don't use.
I love that your "weekend list" prioritized interpersonal relationships! I live off lists, and so rarely remember to put something like calling a friend or getting together with a friend that it slips my mind sometimes for weeks and weeks at a time! Also "doing something for someone else". Fabulous "list" idea.
I've started doing most of these things in the past year.
I was surprised how much I enjoy making a menu. I thought I would hate being "constrained" but really, it has made my life so much easier and I can still try out new recipes, I just plan for them! I actually plan all three of our meals and snacks each day. Since we both work long hours it makes grabbing breakfast and lunch in the morning a no-brainer. And when we come home from a long day I don't have to decide what's for dinner, I just get to it. As part of my menu planning I have a "prep for" area on my menu, so if I am going to need soaked beans the next night I see that and take a couple minutes to do that prep. I also have a "good intentions" list on my menu of things I want to restock with batch cooking when I have a block of open time. That is usually baked goods, soy milk, homemade seitan, etc. (If anyone thinks they might like my menu template you can check it out on my blog and if you like it email me, I'm happy to share).
My partner and I recently bought a house and I went back to school and stopped working full time, so budgeting has become extremely necessary. I love the envelope system, but hate having that much cash in the house, plus I do a lot of banking online, so I found a budgeting program that accommodates both of these preferences (mvelopes.com). The software could use an upgrade, but it is working really well for us.
I really need to start scheduling my exercise. I always feel better when I physically challenge myself regularly (more than just "life activities") but I need to make it more of a priority.
I would say that organization is key to being frugal. If you know what you have and where it is you'll save time, money, and a lot of headaches. We are still mostly in boxes (which is driving me nuts!) but "normally" there is a place for everything and everything has a place... and most of them are labeled :o)
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