HOMEschooling, HOMEmaking part 1

The thing about homeschooling is that, ideally, you do it at home. Which means that you (and your children) are dirtying the floors, adding to the laundry, using dishes, and generally cluttering your house all day. Pretty much every day.

It can be a real drag.

Sure, there are seasons where mom feels all Holly Hobbie and keeping things tidy is just Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!

Had I not experienced these odd, cozy stirrings myself, I'd swear they didn't exist. But they do. There really are times when nothing satisfies the soul quite as much as a stack of freshly laundered cloth diapers and the scent of Pine-Sol on the floors.

Of course, the rest of the time, we're all just trying to keep our heads above water. By necessity, school comes first. There will always be dirty dishes ... but the times when your 7 year-old longs to feel your arm around his shoulder while you re-read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe ... sacred stuff, that.

To that end, I try to be (semi)organized in my housekeeping duties. This frees me up for my first love: educating my kids. I have a schedule for doing household tasks, the kids have a chore routine and, all things being equal, we keep the place in decent shape. I subscribe fully (and enthusiastically) to the "many hands make light work" concept, so any given day might find Atticus corralling all of the little one's board books back into the proper basket, Logan dragging the trash to the curb, Oliver and Manolin taking turns helping me load the clothes dryer, and Jo browning ground turkey at the stove.

Now, even with all of this "all for one, one for all," planned-out full-court press, no one has ever walked into my house and declared, "You homeschool? Why--this place is so spotless, I never would have known! How do you do it?"

You know what gets people's attention? No joke--it's my meal plan.

Of all things, people really dig my meal plan. Whether they've heard me mention it or have spotted a two week-menu on my fridge, people ask a lot of questions about my meal plan. So you know what? I'm going to post about it here. And that way, the next time someone wants to know more, I can just give them my blog's address. How's that for killing two birds with one stone?:-)

So here it goes. My big secret to meal planning, shared for those who want to embark on the journey to organized meal planning. Ready?

Master list.

Yep--that's it.

I started with a master list of meals that my family loves, loves, loves. I literally pulled out a sheet of notebook paper and a pencil, and started jotting down meals as they came to mind. Just entrees, mainly. A nice, long numbered list that I added to over the course of several days. Whenever I had an idea spring into my mind, I'd jot it down. When I had the chance to flip through some of my favorite cookbooks, I'd write down our favorites from them, too.

Then, I culled the list. There were a couple that, for one reason or the other, just didn't stay on the main list. A couple were so heavily "dairy-ed" that they had to be removed for the sake of our dairy-free eaters. A few others were just too pricey when adjusted to serve a crowd rather than a small-ish family. (We have a strict grocery budget.) And others were just not universally loved enough to crop up in a regular rotation. (They went onto a separate list that I'll mention in another post.)

In the end, my Master List has 46 meals. I'll share my list (with a few recipe links) here to give you an idea of what I'm talking about in case you're ready to start compiling your own:

Mary Grace's Master Meal List

1. Bean Pilaf
2. Lasagna
3. Three Bean Stew
4. Turkey Meatloaf
5. Corn Flake Chicken
6. Chicken and Noodles
7. Potato & Carrot Stew
8. Chicken and Dumplings
9. Pot Roast
10. Taco Soup
11. Swedish Meatballs
12. Spaghetti
13. Black Bean Tortilla Stack-ups
14. Arroz con Pollo
15. Fried Rice
16. Stir Fry
17. Orzo and Chick Peas
18. Turkey Casserole
19. Chicken & stuffing casserole
20. Homemade Pizza
21. Black Beans and rice
22. Lentil Soup
23. Tacos
24. Black Bean Burritos
25. Kidney Bean & Macaroni Casserole
    
26. Chili over Spaghetti
27. White Chicken Chili
28. Mostacelli
29. Roast Chicken
30. Chicken-fried chicken
31. Chili-Spaghetti Casserole
32. Grilled Salmon
33. Salmon patties
34. Mexican Veggie Pasta Bake
    
35. Chicken Tortilla Soup
36. Open-Faced Turkey Sandwiches
37. Lentils and rice
38. Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
39. Quesadillas
40. Turkey Stroganoff
41. Tuna Casserole
42. Fried Fish (tuna, cod, whatever)
43. Broccoli & baked potatoes with cheese
44. Chili Dogs
45. Boca burgers
46. Sloppy Joes

Your homework--should you choose to accept it? Make your own master list. And meet me back here tomorrow, when I tell you what in the world to do with it. :-)