Organi-what?!

O-R-G-A-N-I-Z-E-D...yes, it's a word I'm very familiar with...but the concept?! Hmm...let's just say it's something I've tried for years and still can't seem to get down.

(Yep, that's the plan!)

Well as I mentioned in my last blog I am looking to make a lot of changes and since I posted my last blog GUESS WHAT!?!?? I've actually taken a step in that direction.

I'm the kind of person (like probably a lot of people out there) who gets so excited about a concept that I swear I'm going to change my whole entire life and start abiding by this fun new idea...give me a week (or less) and I'm over that and on to the next thing. But, ever since I moved into my new house I've noticed that I've made a lot of changes with myself.

1) I do my laundry every week, and always immediately fold and put my clothes away.
2) Every single morning I make my bed and make sure everything is picked up before I leave. (My room hasn't been messy ONCE since I've lived here--super rare for me!)

The only thing I've really needed to begin learning is truly how to save, which means no more eating out for this girl!

My friend Jen e-mailed me last week after she read my blog about wanting to get craftier and start experimenting with recipes and told me about this AMAZING website (Yes, I know it's been around forever, but I've never had any interest in it at all...until last week when Jenay-nay told me to check it out) www.stumbleupon.com, it is seriously AWESOME! You just go to the site, register, check off all of your "interests" and the site randomly "stumbles" to different websites that might interest you. I've been so INSPIRED...and the good thing is when I get bored I can stumble to the next web site and immediately my interest is peeked again. I have learned so many new things and have a thousand new projects that I can't wait to try out.

Which brings me to yesterday...I was hungry, it was lunchtime, I went to the fridge to find something to eat. In the bottom drawer of the fridge I saw asparagus and apples, so I opened the drawer and to my surprise it was ALL rotten...and juicy...and GROSS...I was so disgusted, I immediately grabbed a trash bag and started throwing away all the old food and cleaned up the mess. What a waste!!! I immediately went to the internet and googled "How to Meal Plan" and found this awesome template that I have started using:

http://unclutterer.com/2008/02/20/creating-a-weekly-meal-plan/

I went through EVERYTHING in my fridge and pantry and decided right then and there: I will NOT go to the grocery store until I have eaten every single thing that I have already purchased. This challenges me in many ways, 1) I LOVE going out to eat, but I want to be a good money saver so planning my meals in advance leaves me with no choice but to cook what I have and 2) It will force me to get in the kitchen and start learning how to cook. 

So, basically I have planned out my meals for the entire next week using every thing that I have in the fridge, freezer and pantry. Just last week I looked in there and thought "I just went grocery shopping but I have NOTHING to eat" and now just a couple days later I have an entire weeks worth of meals planned and ready to go. I even have a section on what to prep the night before so I don't stress out about it the day of and have no reason not to stick to it.

Here is my lunch that I took to work today and my weekly meal plan all filled out and ready for action!! (Note: sorry the pictures are so blurry, I took them with my cell phone and the lighting wasn't too great)

And tonight, I made "red beans" and rice, kind of...I didn't have any red beans but I had black eyed peas (haha!)

The recipe was super easy, only 4 ingredients really (5-6 if you count seasoning and salt and pepper that I used).

I cut up the sausage and seasoned it with my favorite hot sauce for about 30 minutes, cooked white rice and added some butter to it. Cooked the sausage and once those had been cooking for a while added the black eyed peas and some extra hot sauce, seasoned with nature's seasoning and covered for about 5 minutes. In less then 30 minutes I had a delicious meal! The only thing missing was some fresh cilantro (but it wasn't in the house so that's a no go!).

Once I've cooked all the food I have, I will start meal planning for the week in advance, create a shopping list and stick to it when I go to the store. That way, I am learning new recipes and saving myself some money!

It's been great and fun and exciting and challenging! Next on my list: something crafty and decorative...I just need to find the perfect project!!

So this has been my inspiration for the week, now it's time to find YOURS!!!!!!!! Let me know if you need any help ;)