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Do you want to eat at home more often to save money, eat better, and quit eating out so much? In this post, I’m sharing tips for how to get organized for dinner time, so you can get dinner on the table quicker, easier, and cheaper.
Eating at home can save you so much money. And it doesn’t have to be stressful or take a lot of time.
A simple, organized system of planning meals and keeping your kitchen organized will help make eating at home so much easier.
How to Get Organized for Dinner and Eat at Home More
So, what do you need to do to get organized for dinner? Just a few things!
1. Organize your pantry, fridge, and freezer.
First, you need to know what you have on hand already. What do you have that needs to be eaten soon? Do you have things that need to be tossed?
Empty out your pantry, fridge, and freezer one at a time. Go through all of the food and toss out anything that is out of date. If there are foods you won’t eat, make a donation box.
Organize your food by type and use bins in your pantry or deep freezer if space allows. For a chest style deep freezer, I find that reusable grocery bags work great to hold different types of meat or like items, so everything doesn’t get lost at the bottom.
2. Make a list of meals your family loves.
Create a master list of meal ideas that you know your family loves. Categorize them by type of meat or type of meal.
When you get ready to make a meal plan, it will make it so much quicker to use this list, and you’ll know what meals you can make with the meat you have on hand.
Our Frugal Living Starter Pack has an awesome Family’s Favorite Meals PDF packet you can use for this.
3. Pick a day to make a meal plan and grocery shop.
Choose one day to make your meal plan for the week and buy your groceries. You don’t have to do both in the same day, but it helps make it a habit to always make your meal plan on the same day and always buy your groceries on the same day of the week.
I like to meal plan on Sundays for the week ahead, and buy my groceries on Wednesday when a new sale ad comes out.
Only grocery shop once a week to avoid extra purchases and spending too much.
4. Create a grocery inventory list.
If you find you are always forgetting something at the grocery store, consider making a grocery inventory list of all of the items you buy on a regular basis.
When you make your grocery list, quickly review this list to make sure you have everything you need.
You can find a grocery inventory list printable in our Frugal Living Starter Pack.
5. Make a weekly meal plan.
Each week, set aside just a few minutes to make a meal plan for the week. Use the list of favorite meals you created for inspiration, and look in your fridge, freezer, and pantry to see what you have on hand to use for meals.
Keep the meals simple to help you stick to your meal plan. And keep your meal plan in plain sight in the kitchen. You can use a chalkboard, the weekly meal planner printable from our Frugal Living Starter Pack, or a magnetic notepad on the fridge.
6. Make freezer meals.
Make ahead freezer meals can help save you so much time and energy. You can make several freezer meals at once, or make a double batch of dinner, and freeze one for another meal.
Try some of these freezer meals: 19 Make Ahead Freezer Meals to Save Time and Money
7. Prepare for tomorrow’s dinner tonight.
When you make dinner at night, look at your weekly meal plan, and get ready for tomorrow’s dinner. Do you have any meat that needs to thaw in the fridge overnight? Go ahead and pull that out and put it in the fridge.
Could you go ahead and chop up some veggies for tomorrow’s dinner while you wait on dinner to be ready?
Do what you can to get ahead and you’ll be so glad you did!
Making meals and eating at home can save you so much money. I love eating at home to save money, but also to enjoy more relaxing time with my family. And we eat healthier, too!
Now you know how to get organized for dinner so you can eat at home more often, too. Once you get into the habit and routine of cooking and eating meals at home, it becomes second nature and you’ll find you can quickly and easily plan and make meals.
Get your family involved as well, and get help making the meal plan, keeping the pantry organized, cooking dinner, and doing dishes.
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