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Milk Glass Home | Seasonal Slow Living

The fastest way to simplify your life 🌟

Published 4 months ago • 2 min read

Hey, there!

How's your first week of the year gone so far? I've been in a tidying whirlwind, working on decluttering anything that takes away my precious free time. I just feel better when there's no clutter!

One of the most important habits I recommend *everyone* develop is also one of the least glamorous - 🌟 meal planning.

Meal planning is a vital part of my slow lifestyle. Without it, the slow goes out the window!

When we don't meal plan...

Eating and cooking don't go away. We still have to buy groceries, figure out what to eat, and deal with the molding leftovers in the fridge.

Except you're asking yourself to do all of that in-the-moment, when you're already tired, frustrated, or hungry. That's the worst and most stressful time to make any decisions.

This is a recipe for stress, frustration, and eating anything you can get your hands on. You're also way more likely to order takeout and spend much more on groceries!

The real problem

Why do we do this? Well, I think a lot of us have an "I'll figure it out" mentality. We leave unpleasant or challenging tasks for our future selves because we're busy, tired, or we don't really know how to do it any other way.

Except, our future selves are dealing with all the stresses and challenges of the moment. We're too fatigued and strained to do our best.

10 Minutes to Change Your Life

Meal planning is one of the easiest ways to simplify your life because it has ripples across your whole life. It's one of the most actionable ways to stick to your budget and healthy eating every day.

Plus, it's fast! Once you're up and running, meal planning should only take 5-10 minutes per week. It might take a bit more at first, but eventually, it becomes an easy routine to follow.

What else can you do in just a few minutes with that much impact?

With just 5-10 minutes per week, you can:

  • Reduce your food waste
  • Stick to your healthy eating goals
  • Shrink your grocery budget
  • Stop stressing about what to eat and when
  • Add calm, clarity, and peace to your life

Personally, my life is a lot slower and less stressful when I already know what we're having for dinner, meat for tomorrow's dinner is thawing in the fridge, and I have leftovers I can reheat for lunch.

Getting started

Where to start? Well, I have a free meal planning template in the reource library below.

I'm a big fan of zero waste meal planning because it takes into account what you already have before you buy any more groceries. There are a bunch of tips and tricks for meal planning on the blog, too.

I also have a workbook called Makeover Your Meal Plan that will guide you through every step of the process. It's a very gentle approach that will help even beginning home cooks start cooking from scratch every day. It also includes the printable meal planning templates I use every week!

Whether you have a meal planning system or need one, consider this a gentle nudge to commit to it. Your peace, sanity, and health are worth it.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Milk Glass Home | Seasonal Slow Living

Rachael McKennon

Welcome to Milk Glass Home, your spot for sustainable slow living. Think food preservation projects, real food recipes, fun DIYs, and helpful tips so you can slow down and live with the seasons. Subscribe below to get all of my recipes, tips, and guides!

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