As a Mummy who works full time, any method that helps me stay organised and able to manage the demands of my personal and professional lives is always welcomed! I’ve been meal planning for a number of years and the method I use has evolved over time.

In the past I used to collapse onto the sofa after putting the kids to bed on a Friday night to be faced with the challenge of creating the menu plan for the forthcoming week and order the supermarket shopping online in readiness for my Saturday morning delivery. I hated it. Too tired to think and too exhausted to care, but I knew it had to get done before I fell asleep in front of the TV.

Now I’ve seen the light! At the beginning of the month I set aside some time to create this spread in my bullet journal. This forms my space to write tasks that I know are either date specific or those that need completing at some point during the month. I then write in an idea for our evening meal for every single day of the month.

On a Thursday evening I then sit with this sheet that I’ve created. During the preceding week the blank version of this sheet has been displayed on the fridge door and we’ve added items to the right hand side shopping lists as we’ve finished them. I then look at the schedule for the forthcoming week and transfer the meal ideas from the monthly spread into the menu on the left of the sheet. Some meals get moved around depending on what else is going on and how long I will be able to spend cooking. As I write the meals on the menu I add the ingredients to the shopping list.

At dinner time on Friday night I then adjust the shopping list as we do a quick inventory of the larder and fridge. The online shop is then much easier because I’m able to quickly add to my basket while I use the list.

I must spend more time overall in the process, but we’re eating a more varied and healthy diet and I’m wasting less food because I’ve bought it and it’s remained unused.

How do you use your bullet journal for meal planning?

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