The "What To Wear" List and the "Menu Planning" List

I am a list maker.  I have a list for just about everything.  I can't keep all that stuff in my brain, so I let the lists do the work for me.  I make a CVS list, Food Lion list, daily to do list,   There's a list of sewing projects.  If company's coming for a meal, there's a list of each item of food and what needs to be done to it.

I guess I inherited this list making tendency because I have found dozens of scraps of paper at my mother's house with grocery lists, Christmas lists, recipe lists, what to cook for dinner lists, etc. on them.

My favorite lists in recent times are my "Menu Planning" list and my "What To Wear" list. 

A favorite "go to" outfit for summer.

I don't have that many clothes, but I mix and match things to make several outfits for work or church.  I don't want to have to think about this too much.  So I wrote down what I wore each day for a couple of weeks on a list which is on the shelf in the closet. 

Now all I have to do is see what's next on the list.  Its kind of the same idea as the menu planning list.  I just wrote down everything that was available and then choose from that each day.  Its just one less thing to think about in the morning. 

If only all those pants still fit.....

This means I can get ready for work in a flash, if I have spent too much time sewing or blogging!

The menu planning list is working and I finally feel like a success at menu planning!  Its just a list of available foods or dishes.  I bought some cheese, so on the list went "grilled cheese sandwiches".  Over abundance of tomatoes equals:  pasta salad, green salad, tomato sandwiches, BLTs.

I did a quick inventory of the freezer, pantry and fridge.  I add to it as new foods come in the house and mark off those that have been eaten.  Some foods stay on the list indefinitely because we keep them on hand and eat them regularly, such as hamburgers, chicken, pork chops, etc.

Here are our menus for this week, thanks to the list: 

Sunday:  Sauteed chicken breast, peas, corn on the cob

Monday:  Chef's salad

Tuesday:  BLTs, (Almost free turkey bacon from Walgreens, tomatoes from garden) corn on the cob (gift). 

Wednesday:  Veggie burgers (freezer), boiled and fried new potatoes (from the garden), field peas seasoned with country ham (gift), peeled and sliced cucumbers in vinegar (garden) 

Thursday:  Grilled cheese sandwiches, butterbeans cooked with turkey smoked sausage.

Friday:  Spaghetti, salad

Next week's plan will include the BBQed or roasted chicken that I froze a couple of weeks ago, some of the frozen sausage and all the fresh vegetables that are coming into the house faster than we can eat them.