A tribute to "my Dad"

 This post is written for my “Dad”. He was an awesome guy. God didn’t make me his daughter from the beginning although he was my dad for more years then my natural born father was. Both died from cancer. Both loved me and showed me in the blessings they gave to me. I was thinking how tight my second Dad would hug everyone. He squeezed his love into you. It was full. Not that light wrapping around and a slight pat, no it would take you off your feet. I can still feel how tight he would wrap his arms around you. You were going nowhere. He had you. He made sure you got the fullness of his hug. How could you not feel important and special?

   As I thought about Dad he was a clear representation of Christ in many ways and he spoiled me. He had five natural children but him and his wife who became like a second mom just took me in. I was that ugly wet kitten in a box on the side of the road. I was like number six. Over the years I would bite off more than I could chew. Make a mess. Get into something I could never get out of myself. Dad was there. He would fix, reverse, straighten and love me out of the mess I made. I think his natural children were jealous at times. I know he would do things for them but he always kept a close eye on me. I don’t know why? Did he know no one else would do the same for me? I don’t think I did anything better than his kids. In fact I am sure I made bigger and way worse messes than they did.

   I look and see in Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  Dad was not my natural dad but he was there. Like Joseph and Jesus. Jesus however was an easy child. I on the other hand was a train wreck. Anyone can tell you. I can see in Genesis 3 how Adam and Eve fall. I was right there doing the same, but I noticed even in the mess Father God is cleaning up the mess. Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. Dad would be right there cleaning it up. I would have to ask but immediately he would dig in. He would wait patiently on the side lines let me stretch the disasters as far as I could take them.

   Is that not exactly what God does? Let us go in the mire, making it so bad. But God has a plan. He had a plan from before we got in our mess. He knows how bad it will be but nothing will ever be too much. Dad was a clear example for me. I never knew how deep his relationship was in Christ. I can only pray because of his unending patience for me was a representation of Dad’s understanding of Jesus wanting us to serve and love each other.

     When people die it is a good time to evaluate our own life and relationship to Christ. Are we serving others because we are going to get something in return? Dad did things for me I could never ever repay. We all have made messes. Some we can clean up or sweep under the rug. Like a broken plate it will never be fully the same even if you glue it together. Our broken plates are evidence of our sinful nature. God knew. He had a plan. He fixed the mess with Christ. Do we know Him? Not just His name and what He did, but like I knew Dad and he knew me. He could see the mess and make a plan to fix it. I knew his love, his dependability, his ability to fix it, and I know Christ like I know Dad. Christ is there. He has a plan. Are you ready to get out of the mire? I pray I become like my Dad, living like he did so my kids know that when they mess it up there is hope. Our hope is Christ. He has a plan. He will fix everything in His time. I love you Dad and have hope we are to be together again in His time.

Can one be a Facebook busy body?

        I love social media! I am a people person and being home with kids keeps me in the loop with friends and current events. It lets people know what we do on the farm. You can see the power when I have a new litter of puppies. All the likes, comments, and shares on Facebook. I love pictures of my friends doing fun things with their families. I liked several pages about large families, Christian home life, farm families, and crochet pages. These are a wealth of information. It helps me to do something I have never done like crochet stitches or perhaps encouragement from another homeschool mama who has a struggling child who can’t grasp a math concept. It is a good place to show my Christian values or how I am really a sinner who is not following Gods word.

James 1:19 Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

      Facebook can be a two edge sword. As much as I love social media it wastes my time. It really does. There is too many good things to read, rabbit trails to run, and too many damaging words and pictures forever on the internet for all to see. How often we over look or turn a blind eye. If you are a Christian like myself you have to really analyze how much time you should be on social media and how you will use it. I have had to being to limit my use (and still need to pare down more!) When should I comment and when should I let it pass through the feed?

      How thankful we can go to God's word and find that answer. An easy place to start is Proverbs 31 where it gives clear instructions on expected behavior of a woman. We should be building our home. 

Facebook and Pinterest have fantastic ideas to decorate, skills to learn, recipes, activities for kids and homeschool ideas. You can find encouragement on blogging pages or Bible study methods and reading plans. Here's a list of great resources available in one place!  BUT are we pinning items that we may truly try or things we wish we had? (coveting) Are we just reading about someone’s struggle to feel better about ourselves? The temptation is there and is in pretty packaging. We as Christians have to make an effort to be using the internet for the best uses and have our guard up as we use it.

     How many times I can read something and then get into a lengthy post of my opinion? It may have God's truth in it, but to a world of sin I believe it falls on deaf ears or contentious hearts. How I could have been wiser passed it by and worked on an area of clutter in my home, planned my garden for the spring, done more reading with the littles (there is never too much of that). God wants me to pour that truth into my children who have open hearts to receive it and ears willing to hear.

      What Does God expect? Should I never get on social media? No. I believe we can encourage others, add beauty and organization to our home using the internet. WE are able to bring things to our home from “afar,” make wonderful meals we never would have otherwise, found parenting advice from a place of struggle. We can gain useful wisdom and also pass it along.

      One of the first things that convicts me is "she does not eat the bread of idleness" Prov 31:27 His words clearly state I should not be idle. To be hours on end on the computer is idleness no matter how many good things we pin, comment, or see on the internet. There are areas of our home that are troublesome. The junk drawer, the pile of papers to be filed, grading of homeschool paperwork, extra time with our kids (the season is sooo short). Time flies on its own but internet seems to help it slip away faster. Things left "undone" in our family and home while we chose another pleasurable activity is idleness. The key is there are things needing to be done and we chose unwisely to do the computer vs the activity our homes are waiting for us to do!

Are we not running off into others home/lives? How easy to be nosey Reading others comments, especially those who happily blurt out their family problems. Comparing ourselves to them, their families, and circumstances is not being humble. Christ asks us to put others above ourselves. We cannot put our husband’s and children’s needs ahead when we are checking out the neighbor’s personal difficulties. 1 Timothy 5:13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

       I am guilty, guilty, and guilty of this. (Raise my hand way high) I do want to encourage others with the thing I am finding helpful to change these bad habits. I use my phone. How does a smart phone help? It helps not to scroll through Facebook, spend hours pinning, check my emails as often because the computer doesn’t have to be on. People can message me on my phone through Facebook or text. That is usually quicker the chatting on the phone. I can answer and continue on with the task at hand. I also learned about airplane mode! Thank You Busy Mom. She recommends tuning it on during school hours. (It is found in the settings of a smart phone for anyone as challenged as I) The phone can still be used for timer (great for speed drills and reading speeds) and she also recommends not turning on the computer until all the tasks you need to complete are finished. Set a timer so time doesn’t fly off and then the stress and frustration of children having been unattended need to be dealt with. (and the messes which now add to more wasted time)

Moms that stay at home can easily become addicted to social media. It is really easy. Look at how hard it is for children having to get off the electronics and we are just as guilty. As Christian moms we have the power of the Holy Spirit to guide our choices and the power to overcome the draw of electronics.

I encourage you to keep track of your time, a good indication you are on too much is when your kids are pulling or poking at you for attention. (Again my hand is high) This year I am working toward a healthy balance of electronics. It is a new issue as I was never a TV watcher and find myself on my computer way too much. I used it during the time I was nursing twins. It is exhaustive tiring and I was so glad to find other moms on the internet willing to commiserate. Eventually it was a very bad habit. I feel it is just as bad as gambling but instead of losing money you are losing time that can never be replaced.

    This was something on my heart as I was reading through the Proverbs 31. I have done the study and many things came back and reminded and as I pondered this post formed. I was inspired to write it as God through His word showed me I need to continue to be diligent and apply (OBEY) what I know I need to be doing. This didn’t happen overnight. I have to walk it out daily sometimes struggling to do but His mercies are new every day! I hope if you struggle as I do it encourages you too!

There are Rabbits in the Laundry Room!

    In any house it seems like laundry "breeds" like rabbits. You just feel like you have it caught up to find someone hid the other half of it under the bed. I have tried a number of ways other moms of many have said they handle laundry. I am all for kids learning to do their own laundry. I found my kids forget to check the pockets of their pants. This has caused on a number of occasions to have to rip apart the washer to remove a screw, a nail, more than once a lego or two, and a baby sock from the pump. The water mess and finally a new washer caused me to do it mostly myself.
Here's is some of the ways I have tried.
-Each child over 5 yrs old does their own laundry on a certain day. (a younger child clearly needs  supervision)
-The older children have a day assigned to help do the laundry.
-Baskets are assigned to each child and they are responsible to bring laundry on a certain day and take back their items to their rooms and put away.
-family closet

      Family closet was new to me 5 yrs ago. After having twins and bringing the tally of 7 kids 10yrs old and under I knew I needed a better way.  I found the best I could do while nursing infant twins was wash, dry, and get laundry into baskets and then it sat in the laundry area until needed. Following through on children putting clothes away and getting them to the washer was over the top for me. By the next baby two years later we had decided and started a family closet. We use dressers in bedrooms for extra blankets and sheets for beds. I like to have a few extra sets for when the stomach bug comes though and takes the pressure off of keeping up with the daily 4 loads normally and then then the extra sheets to run through the wash that day and get them back on the bed in 12 hrs. I often forget the towels and clothes that also seem to get added during a sickness too!
      We have a basement we were (are still) attempting to finish so this is where the idea and the space for the closet came in. We have a wood stove in our basement, so in the winter I hang dry clothes. Things dry fast and the kids clothes can be left to hang and be considered put away. I do hang each child's clothes together and try to use a certain color hanger for each child. Only my husband and my clothes go into our closet. I made counter to get clean laundry baskets off the floor as young children seem to love to dump clean laundry! Each child's good pants and shirts are hung. Pjs, socks, and underware are in bins under one of the counters. The younger three have play clothes in the bins as well. This saves a lot of time as everything gets put away quickly. No carting to rooms, following though it gets put away, and it seems the dirty gets to the wash area easier bc nothing is in the kids rooms except beds and dressers with sheets.
     The hardest thing for a large family is space. I am ridiculously blessed for space. If your are thinking about a family closet this is the list I would start planning with
      -you must figure out a space.
        -How will you store clothes?
        -Is everyone able to access their clothes easily?
        - who is responsible for the laundry? (me mostly, my daughter takes care of kitchen, the older       boys towels and linens for upstairs bathroom)
        -how will people change clothes? (we have a powder room near the washer)
        -how will things flow through the space? (we have a lot no available to everyone)
        - is the area the best space or is there a better area?
        -how do you deal with hand me downs?

   This is why the basement became the best solution for us. Our washer and dry was in an upstairs  small entrance room as we came in the side door. It was also where coats boots and extras were dropped on entering. Trying to get clean laundry out of the dryer and not have muddy boots interfere really helped push the idea. We do have to run a dehumidifier in the summer because in a rainy summer it can get damp even though our basement was suppose to be "Dry Loc" sealed. It has improved the use of spaces as we now have this good size mud room big enough for boots and coats when we come in. We save time and energy on clothes and the space is bright and lots of room to put things away. Under the added counter space is room for bins for hand me down clothes. Easy access to put away outgrown clothes or pull out needed items.

The kids bins are under this counter. The kitchen laundry is sitting in these baskets on top as well as the jeans I pulled out to fix or use for sewing projects.

 I need to get more tile board to completely hide the totes I use for hand me downs. You can see how we store extra clothes and keep them close access for easy storage and retrieval. The shelf above is boots and shoes in bins for hand me down use.

I washed our laundry yesterday and it is dry. I need to just take up to my closet and hang it. From the lime green shirt (over the dryer) is kids clothes. We have two washers and a dryer. It helps keep ahead. I do on average 4-5 loads a day. I could probably get away with one washer but on days I don't get to laundry 10 loads is a lot on a washer the next day. the baskets next to the washer is for different laundry. Kitchen and downstairs powder room . The upper is suppose to be whites (notice the red hankie) and we have darks on the floor and you can't see it. As you can see we have a full load of rabbits breeding in the laundry area. I am glad we do have it contained to this area of our home!

Bittersweet Life on a Farm

In September of 2014 we decided to break out the checkbook and buy some market pigs. Our 11 year old wanted to try raising a pig. His older brother was only half enthused. So an hour and a half drive in our 15 passenger 8 kids and a dog crate we came to the farm. We asked questions about what to feed how to raise and ended up with 3 piglets 8 wks old. We named them Mary, Paul and Sally. Oh those piglets were fun. Squealing when you scratched their little backs and running like crazy around the 12x12 pen. They were very easy to keep the water and food in one corner and a bed in another with hay and they found the corner across from the stall door to be the "bathroom" for them. This was easier then our cows, horses, and goats that would sometimes mess in their hay! Before we realized they were ready to go. It had been so much fun. So we decided to keep Sally. I loved Sally. She would away grunt and "talk to you." She would see me and call me. I would say "Hey Sally how are you?' and she would oink at the pen's edge hoping I would come over and give her a back scratch. As I would scratch her back she'd grunt in delight. She kept growing and was coming regular into heat and we could tell she would stand to be bred. We were told it would be hard to AI (artificial insemination) but she took the first time!! We were so excited we would have baby piglets!! However about 6 weeks into her pregnancy she got very ill. We ended up giving her small spoonfuls of applesauce and apple juice I had canned for us to get her to eat after she expelled the babies. We had the vet come a few times. We tried medicines and shots.The vet wasn't even sure she would recover. He felt that it was feed that contained mold. It will make a mama pig deathly ill and the piglets almost always die. Thankfully Sally came around and became her normal self but she would not go into a standing heat. Month after month we waited. We finally thought she was close and order semen again, but this time she was in heat but would not stand. We tried one more time. She again would not stand. We knew then what had to be done. It was the heartbreaking decision as we knew we could not keep a 400lb pet pig. She would have to be sent for processing like we originally had planned. I loved her like I do my dog. 
There is a bright side to the story. When Sally got sick we decide to get a registered breeding pig. While raising the 3 piglets my older son actually got quite fond of them. He chose the breed he wanted to start with. We bought a Register Duroc from the original farm we had bought Sally (who was a Yorkshire cross). The second time Sally would not stand we bred Missy the Duroc. The babies won't be registered but at least we didn't waste the second AI. Missy is very big now ready for babies Feb 13th.We took Sally to Warsaw Packing yesterday and this morning got a weight. She was a very healthy 274 lb hanging weight. I will miss her. I should have taken a good bye picture. Everyone else can't wait for bacon. This is the bitter sweet life on a farm.

The top picture was not long after we got Sally, Mary and Paul. The next is Missy this summer and this is Missy now. I plan to tell the next chapter of life in winter with baby pigs!!

Holiday Rush

I have been trying to wean myself from the workplace. I say that and laugh because I create more work here at home then at work! I did craft shows for the first time ever this year. I still need to decide if I am going to be able to do this(aka make the same amount of money) with farming and raising puppies as my "job" or give in and go back to work as a nurse. I want to homeschool and be home. There is always an over load of things to do without walking out the door to a job. I still can't see a way to save extra and pay the hiccups like car repairs and birthday items on a one pay check household. So I am inventing new ways to double up and stress ones self out. Not the plan I was exactly going for.
    I have found a good market and many others continue to encourage me to do the crafting. I started with crochet and fleece hats. I am trying to move them though Facebook shares and my page. I wanted to share here some of the items I found I could do while giving spelling tests, reading aloud with littles, or watching a history show on tv.
   I find with the internet and youtube, others blogs, pinterest, and facebook you can learn a lot of new skills and ideas. I can usually figure out a design by seeing a picture. I rarely follow a pattern. I may pull out my yarn if I don't like what I am doing and start over. I want to master the things I do find the best and yet efficient ways to do things. I am thinking of being able to do this year round with dog sweaters, baby items, season craft items, and then the winter hats and mittens later in the year.
     I found I need to be as frugal on supplies too. Supplies are very expensive and people are looking for quality hand made items but not too expensive. The fleece has to be bought on sale or I cant even do the hats. Even my hubby got in on the sales. He found bright yellow yarn on clearance and picked it up knowing how I was whipping up minion hats. I even sold 5 at his job!
    Many financial advisors will tell you make your hobby a part time job. Well this has been a full time job this Christmas season. I have been up late at night finishing orders. I am currently a week from Christmas and have two baby bibs almost finished, two mittens (that are a thorn at the moment), three fleece hats, and two pillows that go on Tuesday before Christmas. I did 5 crocheted hats and two pillows last week so I haven't been slacking on getting orders and getting them out. I also have two comforters to do and pjs for my 8 kids at home before Christmas arrives!
      I also homeschooled during this time. We have done speed drills daily in math, Mad Libs for quick grammar, reading, science, and book reports. We also are watching Christmas videos, doing some Christmas devotions, crafts, baking cookies, and caroling, so I am not keeping up on housework and hope to recover what has been lost between Christmas and New Years. I would advise anyone wanting to be home to find a hobby and make it work for you.

 I did these last year for a woman my husband works with. She sold them for me in November and they all sold!

 I did these this year. My kids have no idea who these guys are because we have no cable TV. The hats and the pillow below sold pretty well this season. The picture is actually an unfinished panel to one of three I have sold in a week! 

 I made this for my step grandson. His mom likes owls so I thought it would be perfect.

 One of 30 hats I sold this year. Minions are popular and I can whip one up in an evening once the kids go to bed.

 My daughter's friend likes the Disgust character. It's a Christmas gift.

 Both are cows I made for littles at  Halloween.

 I made this chicken hat for a baby girl and she has already out grown!

 A slouch hat. I found the pattern tutorial on youtube. Her pattern was less slouchy than mine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysm3RnvCsdU

 Bootie for a new baby at our church

 Again these super popular hats helped me make the Christmas list easier

 These are not hard to make and never go out of style

 My favorite and only daughter modeling the bags I made. 

Processing Day for the Old Hens and Turkeys

Processing Day came and "it was windy" would be an understatement. We had 40 mph winds while processing outside on the deck and I felt the wind should have blown the feathers off the birds. The plucker my husband made worked great for the 18 old hens and a couple young roosters (who snuck into the pullet box of chicks this spring). We also had 3 turkeys that soon proved to be a challenge. They were over 20 lbs each, I think closer to 30 lbs and the plucker would not do it's job for these big guys. Hand plucking was now the name of the game. Once I got all the birds fully processed, the turkeys were halved and into the freezer.
   The chickens were another story. We left them from "Windy Wednesday" until Monday the following week in the fridge in freezer paper to avoid drying of the skin/meat. I found this idea at The Prairie Homestead  http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/. Jill is awesome with having a good readership and she often shares her own experience, good ideas, and tips for farming.
      I got my courage up a couple years ago and started using a pressure cooker on her advice through the blog. I found it easy and can confidently pressure can everything now! I will warn the new glass top stoves are not compatible for pressure canning. We have propane so I find it very easy to adjust temp quickly when canning.
     The reason the birds were left so long was to allow the bacteria in the meat to tenderize it, it really helps! Without this step the chicken becomes hard like rubber when it begins to cook in a stock pot especially the roosters. I took the chickens out of the fridge and placed as many as I could into the pressure canner with about a gallon of water. At 10 lbs of pressure (once the rocker is going) I gave it about an hour and the birds were so cooked!  I had to do about 4 separate batches but because there is no jars I could just take the rocker off and quick release the pressure So it moved along in a morning.

 You can see the meat was falling off the bones. I strained the water with cheese cloth and picked the meat from the bones.

 I then tossed the bones into a stock pot and filled to the top with water again. I cooked it a couple more hours on low after bringing to a boil for broth.

 This is chicken soup. I put in carrots, onions, homegrown celery from my neighbor, spices,chicken and 1/2 tsp canning salt. Total when finished I had 14 qts of soup. Perfect for when everyone including mama is too sick to cook.

 In the end I got 33 qts of broth plus the 14 qts of soup. I also canned 16 pints of chicken for sandwiches quick meals and salads. This was twenty old hens and roosters! When I did the broth it was only in 25 mins at 10lbs pressure in the canner. When I did soups and the whole meat they needed to be in the canner 1hour and 40 mins for qts a little less for pints.  I will say be careful to let the canner cool. Unlike a bath canner the pressure must come down and with glass jars it requires patience. I found about 30-40 minutes from shutting off the heat to the seals releasing to allow for the lid to be removed for the broth. This is why it took two days to can and clean up.

      I love grabbing a jar of broth to make my rice or start casseroles. For years I was afraid of pressure canning, but the time saved and amount that can be put away in the fraction of the time is so worth the leap into pressure cooking/canning.

Meal Planning

I decided to write this post as a friend posted on how little she spent o groceries and how little time she had spent on the shopping. My friend's facebook post quickly filled with comments and questions on how she did this bi weekly trip of groceries for 4 on less than $200. She began saying she meal planned. She is a stay at home mom who runs her family's hobby farm. They do their own meat and have eggs from chickens she keeps. She has sold eggs and helped off set the cost of the feed. She started by saying she meal plans. When she goes to the store she makes one trip. She knows what she is going to need for two weeks and sticks to her list.  I find I am on the same page.
      We live in WNY in the hills of the Finger Lakes and I try hard not to do loads of shopping trips. The closest grocery is 12 miles and is the most expensive. The next option is 23 mi and I have 3 stores to chose from. The third option is 34 mi and I have many options available to me in a small distance. The price of gas has gone way down since my twins were babies and gas was $4.08/ gallon! With a 15 passenger van and going from a family of seven to ten I really began to see how I needed to been organized and save every place I could. I started with meal planning and limiting my grocery trips. MONEY SAVED right off the bat! Who doesn't like extra money?
   First just because the plan is in place does not mean we actually eat what is on the menu that day. Sometimes I put the food in the crockpot and oops it didn't get turned on. or I turned it to high came back at dinner time and it was unplugged the whole time! So sometimes we switch up another nights meal so that we can eat quick and save the evening. I am writing this knowing what's for dinner until Saturday. I just couldn't find anything for the crockpot I thought would work yet. I have a craft sale on Saturday and so I will google some items I have in the freezer and come up with something. I often theme my meals to the day of the week. My kids can be a bit oh, it's soup night... or hurray it's pizza night! I do my meals like this. Monday is soup day. Tuesday is Mexican and Friday is Pizza. Other nights are a blend of quick, crockpot, or big homemade depending on our activities. On Mondays I make bread/rolls and a soup. Sometimes I will take left over bread and make croutons to add to the soup. I try to not do the same soup in a 2 month span.  We had Clam Chowder (a favorite), Minestrone, Sausage Kale, Broccoli, Potato Corn Chowder, Salmon Chowder, Taco Soup, Chicken Noodle and tonight was Vegtable Beef. I know next week is Clam Chowder because it is a holiday week and we do special meals up to Thanksgiving. Of course with Thanksgiving comes turkey. So I will plan turkey soup for the following Monday. So I only have to find what soups will go on which Monday. I can also plan to do soups that look interesting to try and plan it into the next month then when I go shopping I will get anything I don't have I need for the recipe. See how easy that is! Every Monday I know what we are doing!
   Now I am amazed when working moms say I don't have time to do this. I do work away from home doing nursing now and again. I prefer not to because I can easily fall behind in housework and keeping up with grading school work my kids do. Meal planning has saved my hide when I was working. I was able to chose meals that my older kids could finish and get to the table because I was not home to do it. (2014 I worked Thurs so we did pizza. I made crust ahead, the oldest did the prep and baking) On nights that we had 4H or another outside activity I planned the meal to suite our needs.
    AND I own 5-6 crockpots. Yes I have a large family but I also freezer meal plan. Without these crockpots I would never get the things I want put away for those quick meals. I find I can roast a few chickens in a couple crockpots and make a side for dinner. Now I can have chicken, vegatable, or rice done for a meal in a couple crockpots. Before dinner or after me or my daughter will pick the extra chicken meat, or scoop out the extra rice and put either in ziplock bags or freezer containers. With precooked meat I can always make a skillet casserole in a hurry with rice and a veggie in about 30 minutes. What mom wouldn't want that? A working mom can do this and I found it is easier than the all day cook and freeze meal planning on the one day I could do something fun.
     I always try to make three times what I need. Three times you say what are you thinking? Well I feed hungry men. My boys eat more then their father! They are out with me working the farm. My oldest does the large animal chores and all my kids do firewood. They get hungry. I always try to make most meals be the next days lunch. Even my hubby has the same lunch. I also like to put away extra rice meat cooked dry beans for a day when the oops the crockpot didn't get turned on! There is my three times. Now I don't do this every meal but a few times week and before long I have a bit of backup stash to even plan regular meals. I make dry beans in my crockpots. Some for diner. Some for lunch. Some for another night.  I don't throw away those menu plans come the next year I can come up with ideas for meals we haven't had or old favorites.
   When I shop I also buy in bulk. I rarely if every buy processed or pre-made meals. One reason is my kids have major food allergies. No soy and no food coloring. It makes for a whole food diet and that is not really a bad thing. I buy large amounts of beans, flour,oatmeal, sugar, rice, pasta and only veggies frozen in extra large bags. Not sauced or spiced. I don't buy box cereal, pasta with seasonings or sauces. I don't buy frozen meals or store bake goods or lunch meats. This type or buying drives up the bill. We also raise our own meat so that saves money. I find if I have to buy a meat because it ran out before the next animal was ready I buy bulk. I also add to meats with dry beans. You never really notice in Mexican meals or sloppy joes or casseroles. Bulk last. I find spending a little on containers or even picking up frosting containers at the grocery store helps me keep items without bugs and rodents coming and getting into them. Once you learn to cook with basic whole foods mixing and matching with spices you can plan so many meals with what you have on hand. Example Tues is Mexican. We love it. We don't have tacos every Tuesday. In the summer we do taco salads a lot because I gaden and we have loads of lettuce. We love burritos so that is most often what we have but I will make mexican lasagna with the burrito shells, tomorrow I thought we would try taco bread. It is taco filling in crescent bread dough. I always have ground beef, corn, dry beans, cumin, chili powder, onions and flour on hand for mexican meals. Think though take out the spices and what other meals can be made? I hope some of what I wrote will be useful or give you ideas that help you gain time in you everyday life.
 The first step is to start even if it is one week The relief of knowing what is for dinner, planning easier meals for late days and busy evenings. Crockpots help to start the night before so less stress the next morning or evening. You won't believe how much time you will gain to put to another area once this becomes habit!