Lesson 4: Easy Access to Your Recipes

I know, only true organizational geeks catalog anything, right?  I beg to differ, especially when I'm hungry!

Reasons to catalog your recipes:
1) When you make a great recipe, you will remember to use it later.
2) When you remember a great recipe, you will know where to find it.
3) Making a menu becomes as easy as opening a folder.  You no longer have to search through cook book after cook book trying to solve the weekly mystery of "What's for dinner?". Though the initial organization takes some time, it is fairly easy to maintain, and it saves me about thirty minutes each week in menu planning. (see Lesson 3)
4) If you catalog online, evil military movers cannot lose your cookbooks!

Now, for HOW to organize those recipes.

Lesson 3: Fast, Delicious Meals at Home

I feel a need for a break from the moving theme.  I arrived home last night from a mini-vacation to an empty fridge and pantry, with very little time for grocery shopping today. Fortunately, I had the tools to make my trip to the commissary (military grocery store) very quick and painless!  I had my menu made and my grocery list done in 15 minutes. Then, I shopped and checked out in 45 minutes, which included a decent amount of time browsing the ice-cream aisle.  I honestly could not believe how much time cataloging recipes and using a grocery list form really does save until I tried it myself.

Lesson 2: Resources for Housing Decisions

Part of my moving checklist (see Lesson 1) is to research housing in our new town.  That is a very broad directive, so I want to share my process for doing this.

Lesson 1: Moving Checklist

Moving To-Do List
This is a checklist that I have used for my last two military moves.  I do not expect it to include all of your needs, but I hope it is a good starting point! I will decode all acronyms at the bottom, for my civilian friends.

Warm-up: Write an Introduction

     As stated in my "About Me" portion of the page, I am a military wife.  I have been made aware, by my loving friends, family, and neighbors, that my affinity for organizing and planning is... unusual. I was the kid who was drawn to the aisle of notebooks, folders, and color-coded note cards.  I am now the young housewife who coordinates social events, plans my yearly move across the country (compliments of the USAF), and creates lists and schedules for fun.  Yes, that's right.  I said fun!

     I hope to use this blog as a space to share the lessons that I have learned, and will learn, as a (military) wife.  I put military in parenthesis because most of this information can be used by anyone. I do not particularly like to write, so this blog is unlikely to turn into my personal diary. Instead, I plan to use it as a record of useful organizational information.

    I am going to PCS (Permanent Change of Station, which is a move to a different military base) in six weeks.   Due to that, the next few posts will most likely have to do with moving.