Household Management Goals 2011 (Big Hairy Audacious Goals!!)

It's that time of year again, time to assess how the last year went, what worked and what didn't.

I have some ideas on how to get this next year working better.  After assessing my spending in 2010 and finding out that we had spent over $2500 on fast food I have decided that we definitely need to make some changes in how our household is run.

For me it seems that kitchen chores really hold up preparing food at home and a lack of preparation means that meals are not well thought out.  Also the time of the year that was worst in my assessment is when the weather begins to warm up and  my sinus allergies kick in.  Those days are so foggy.

So on to the solutions:

- My children will all be participating in kitchen chores in a timely manner, as in do the dinner dishes after dinner, not after breakfast or even lunch the following day.  I have routine cards for each of them and hopefully it will become second nature to follow them even when I am foggy.

- I will make a menu plan and follow it by using a checklist that reminds me what to defrost when and what may need preparation earlier in the day before the evening bustle happens

- I will grocery shop in a different manner.

• I will go one evening a week to the large supermarket to pick up the weekly specials that suit my family and to pick up any marked down meat for variety.  
• I will shop fortnightly at my local chicken processing plant, buying in bulk to save money, and keep a good variety in my freezer.  
• I will shop at the local Asian run fresh produce store once or twice a week after dropping my dh to work and only buy exactly the number of carrots or potatoes or whatever that I need.  Often fresh produce is not fresh by the time I get to using it when I buy in the bulk packs the supermarket sells.
• I will continue to buy what products I can in bulk eg sugar, flour and spices. 

- I will be preparing some family meals for the freezer eg tray of meatballs, cooked chicken pieces, cooked mince and keeping things in a separate storage location that will make the items in the freezer into a meal.  I am thinking of bagging up the tin/s or jars and rice/pasta/corn chips in large containers in my bulk storage shelves.  When we need an "emergency" meal all the bits required will be there, labeled with the meat required from the freezer and the instructions for cooking so that my 12 year old can do this if necessary.

- I will package up or buy suitable snacks that can be stored in the car under a seat in a sealed container to cover those trips that last just a bit longer than expected and I find I have cranky hungry babies and big kids.  We always grab water bottles so that is a good idea to continue.

I am hoping that at the end of 2011 we will find ourselves in a much better financial situation.  I want to pay off our credit card debt fully and also have available funds for a big family holiday to the Gold Coast in September.

Here's to BHAGs.

Best wishes
Jen