Minimalist Meal Planning

We often think that if we can just find the right meal planning system, app or printable, THEN we'll be able to stick with it. But what if there is no magic solution out there? Today let's talk about how we can highly simplify meal planning to finally be successful with cooking at home, saving money and not wasting food.

LOOKING FOR MORE SUPPORT?

We have a few ways that we can come alongside you:

1) PRIVATE DECLUTTERING GROUP:

This takes place in a private Facebook group. Here's what you can expect:
- 5-10 minute videos each weekday with guided decluttering tasks
- monthly themes, weekly challenges
- 1 hour live guided decluttering sessions each week for accountability
- encouragement & support from other members
- cost is $11/month

This is ideal if you're looking for more motivation & accountability.

2) DECLUTTER YOUR HOME IN 15 MINUTES A DAY WORKBOOK:

This workbook is designed to walk you through decluttering each area of your home in 15 minute lessons.

- 168 full color pages
- easy to follow lessons designed for limited time & energy
- our key concepts (like inventory, the silent to-do list, the endowment effect & more) are spread throughout the book, too

Ideal for those looking for a self-paced guidebook to declutter their home quickly & efficiently.

The workbooks are $20 (digital or spiral bound).
Shipping: $4 flat rate domestic US

Find more details here

3) DECLUTTER YOUR HOME IN 15 MINUTES A DAY COURSE:

In the Declutter Your Home in 15 Minutes a Day course we go through the workbook, breaking down specific areas of your home in detail to be able to declutter faster and with more confidence. If you want to know specifics (like how many of each thing to keep) this course is for you.
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:: DECLUTTERING PLAYLISTS ::

Thank you for your support!

:: C U R R E N T L Y R E A D I N G ::

:: M O S T P O P U L A R O N O U R B L O G R I G H T N O W ::

#minimalism #familyminimalism #minimalist

:: M O S T P O P U L A R V I D E O S R I G H T N O W ::

**AFFILIATE LINKS! THANK YOU!!!**

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[TheMinimalMom]

Thank you so much for watching! Looking forward to hearing your meal planning tips, too!! You can find the link for the printable in the video description :) have a great day!! Dawn

[carolwhitaker]

When my children lived at home, I made a list of 31 meals. They were pretty simple because I had picky eaters. I just cooked through the list each day based on the date matching the number on the list. When we got to the first of the month, I started over on the list. I don’t think anyone ever caught on that they were eating the same thing on the same date of the month. I alternated the veggies sometimes based on when the foods were in season or which frozen vegetables were on sale at the grocery that week.

[jujube]

Making what I call a "meal matrix" has made my life so much easier! Decision fatigue is gone! Meatless monday(pasta with red or white sauce or Mac and cheese) taco Tuesday (one of like 3 Mexican dishes) instantpot wed( hunk of meat and random marinade) leftover Thurs, pizza party friday(we make home made pizza and watch a movie or play board games together... smoking Saturday is grill or smoked food and family time...Sunday is either leftovers or "fancy pinterest recipe" soooo much easier for me!

[anitas]

We grew up eating the same things regularly. No one thought that was a problem. We overcomplicate things. Make the stuff you like and know how to make (as Dawn said). Also, cook extra and make friends with leftovers.

[susanjones]

My husband has been around when I’m watching The Minimal Mom, he likes the idea for sure. We just returned from a long-weekend trip to MI. Whenever I would see a souvenir or ANYTHING I was thinking of getting, my husband would say, “uhhh, Dawn wouldn’t like that.” Surprisingly it worked, we didn’t bring any clutter back home from our trip!

[Marsolan]

As someone who cooks 3 meals a day for the last 40 + years I could not agree more that for this to be a success, one must have bullet proof memorized load of recipes. I can make 30-40 by heart and I enjoy it. Does this mean that I never try new recipes, of course not. But I do it when I have time and desire and some new recipes will became part of my arsenal. If you know only one recipe, start there and learn one more, repeat, memorize and add another one later. And so on. Great video,

[chelsear]

Biggest game changer for cooking at home was saving each months meal plan in a binder. Then I can look back to get ideas when I have burnout. In the binder I also keep a paper with each family members top 3 meals and I update that every so often. Then if one person had a hard week or I want to celebrate them I can easily look at their fave meals instead of taking up more space in my head.

[LindaASJ]

I didn’t realize it when I was growing up, but my mom was a semi meal rotator. Every Sunday was a crockpot meal. When we got home from church, we set the table and ate the crockpot meal. Most Sundays meant roast. We always had homemade pizza Saturday night. So many meals I can remember and she even switched up when the seasons changed. It was simple, smart and super star mom category

[tracietrim]

It feels really nice to be given "permission" to be just normal. I think social media and the internet has put us into this mode of thinking that we have to have gourmet meals and be crafty have a magazine perfect home. But watching your videos has made me realize how much time and energy I waste just THINKING these things....I don't even get around to doing them! But I don't have to and I appreciate you telling me this. :)

[TravelingwithJenny]

I invested about 3 hrs into finding out my family’s favorite AND easy meals and made a list of 18 and doubled each (so I only have to cook every other day) of them. I made a list with the ones with fresh items to be used first. I now have a “menu” and only have to go to the store every 4 weeks and it is AMAZING! I made a set grocery list to accomplish this and I have had so much less thinking necessary, we have saved money, had our favorite meals, and I have saved about 3-4 hours a week! We have not eaten out for 5 weeks!

[jackimanley]

Oh girl I love Leslie and her walk walk walk!! I don't go to gyms, have 4 kids 10 and under, stay home and homeschool. The ONLY time I can exercise is first thing the morning while kids finish breakfast with dad before he leaves for work as a pastor. We have a good groove going and I've come far on our minimalist journey. In fact, my husband just bought himself four identical shirts because loved your uniform idea, no deciding what to wear, it's all the same! I was proud of him 🤣

[paolaantieri]

I've been struggling so much lately with motivation in everything, especially meal planning, not long ago I considered my self a pro. But with all it's happening here in Australia (again) and the food shortages I've lost my mojo and I feel empty all the time... thank you for reminding me that is nothing wrong with me, that everyone goes through different seasons and it's ok not to be ok sometimes ❤

[dlarsen]

I always felt guilty just getting the same snack produce with apples, Bananas and carrots. Yet that is what my family ate! I would try things like mangos, pineapples etc, but found no one ate them and I wasted so much money. Thanks to you I feel normal keep my snack produce simple!

[debranorton]

This is what I did when we had a house full of kids. I had a sheet of paper that I divided up into a grid of about 24 squares, giving me 24 meal ideas. The meals ranged from simple to more time and labor consuming. In each square I put the name of the recipe and the main ingredients. When I made my menu I also made my shopping list, it was so quick and easy because I had all the information right there in front of me. I usually made a two week menu and something would go into the freezer for the following week or a month later, giving me a quick and easy dinner for a busy day. When I made the menu I would write, "thaw chicken" or buy avocadoes, or freeze half, or cook extra beef for spaghetti for another day. When I made my grocery list I would do a quick pantry and freezer check to see what I needed to buy. I didn't plan by day, I planned by number, usually 12-14 meals, and then every morning I would check the menu to see what fit best that day. I was able to shop every two weeks, with a few trips for fresh fruits and veggies or something that wouldn't last until needed. This was way back before computers, I still have that meal sheet in the back of my recipe box, and it has grown to two sheets.

[kimhr]

I do something that may help someone. I know a lot of people meal prep, but I INGREDIENT prep. As an example, ground beef is less expensive if you buy several pounds at once. I have sooo many recipes that start: "Take a pound of ground beef and brown it..." 😁 so I will brown a lot of beef at one time and freeze it in one pound packages. One pound is about 2 cups cooked. Then when I need beef for tacos, or sloppy joes, or chili, etc., I just thaw it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. I save time and save having to make that mess again. This also works for so many items...pre-chopped onion, cooked & shredded chicken, even diced tomatoes that I use in chili and tacos. I really hope someone can benefit from this. Thank you for the great video and your inspiration. ♥️

[JoVo]

Dear Dawn,
Hello unexpected friend!
Quick question for you…
Do you ever go back and watch one of your videos when YOU need to ‘recharge your motivator’?
As your new friend, I would suggest that you do. Your videos inspire me to not JUST purge and declutter, but to simply ‘do better’ in general. When life is challenging you to an arm wrestle, poke it in the belly and pull up a 5 minute organize your life video by yourself and you’ll be back to making these therapeutic videos for those of us who (now) count on them.
Also, thank you for staying the SAME!
You’ve been at this for a few years now and you are still the same genuine ‘neighbor’ that you were in the beginning. Most successful YouTubers start morphing into a fake, ego-driven version of themselves and I PRAY that never happens with you.

[brendamaun]

A very helpful thing I did a few months ago was to take an inventory of what foods we already had in our 3 (yes... three) freezer areas (upright and two fridges.) It's just my hubby and me but I shopped sales and stocked up on meats and more all the time then forgot it was there or to take it out to thaw in time for a meal. I had categories for sides, veggies, desserts, etc. I didn't care if it was perfect, just knew it was better than not knowing.
Now when I need to choose something on the fly I hand the list to him and he reads it like a restaurant menu to order what he'd like. It works best if we talk about it mid-afternoon (we're both retired!) so I can pull a freezer item out in time.

I've stopped looking at the weekly grocery ads and only shop big every couple weeks, except for things like milk & eggs.

Major life changer and stress reliever for us. No more trying to rattle off things I think I remember we have when he asks, "What's for dinner." And when he picks, I know in which freezer to look for it!!

[neahughes]

Most days each week I pick a meat and a veggie and I just… cook them! Chicken tenderloins cooked in a cast iron pan is delicious. I roast the veggies in my oven or air fryer. It’s not a recipe at all! It takes 10 minutes. So easy and delicious!

[tinahood]

I like your list Dawn! It really helps reduce the "What's for dinner?" decision fatigue. Having a theme for each night helps me add variety even if I repeat the same favorites weekly.

Mexican Monday
Italian Tuesday
Don't Waste it Wednesday*
Breakfast Thursday
Copycat Fast Food Friday
Soup, Steak or Seafood Saturday
Southern Cooking Sunday

*clean out the fridge

I also made my chore list match with the days of the week to help reduce decision fatigue about "What do I need to clean today?" I set my timer for 15 minutes once a day to get my weekly cleaning done.

Mopping & Microwave Monday
Trash & Toilets Tuesday
Windexing Wednesday
Refrigerator Thursday
Floors & Finances Fridays
Stainless, Showers & Sheets Saturday
Hotspot Sunday

[SimplySusan]

I didn’t even know that most folks eat out until this video! 🤣😂 My family and I literally eat every meal at home - we don’t even do drive-thrus or get take-out. While we have meal planning down… I would really appreciate seeing some simple minimal cooking/meal videos from you! I have made your pumpkin Bundt cake AND chocolate chip cookie cake recipes, like, a bujillion times!!! Can you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE share some more super easy and yummy recipe/cooking videos??? That would be SO AWESOME 🤩. ❎🅾️ Susan