It’s easy to get bogged down by all of your responsibilities. However, there are things you can do to help simplify your life, starting in the kitchen.
- Declutter and get organized. Go through your pantry and cupboards. Get rid of anything that you’ll never use (consider donating to a local charity). Trash expired foods. And move any foods that are soon-to-be-expired to the front of your pantry (do this with your freezer and fridge as well). Organize any “clutter” that remains.
- Choose easy recipes. If you’re looking for simplicity, go with super easy recipes. Especially, ones that require less ingredients. And keep them readily available. Save the complicated recipes for the days when you have more time.
- Cook and prep ahead. You can create a meal plan for the week or even the month. For example, figure out what you want to cook, then take time on Sunday to cook everything for the following week. You can freeze your meals (with the recipe name and date) to thaw out when needed. Or, you can save the foods with a longer shelf life for the end of the week. Prepping your ingredients ahead of schedule can also make cook time quicker.
- Recruit help. It can be easy for some of us to “take on the world.” We set our minds to what we want accomplish, and feel like it’s all up to us. However, it’s ok to ask for help and in most cases, it’s actually a good thing (makes life easier and reduces stress).
- Get out the slow cooker. This is a great way to save yourself some hassle. The slow cooker is easy. Just follow the directions, and put your ingredients in it, then let it go. You’ll have a delicious meal ready when you are.
- Order your groceries online. Do you really want to make things easy? Here’s a great time saver! Order your groceries online. You can order from Amazon, or a local grocery store. Plenty of places offer pickup or delivery services. It makes grocery shopping incredibly convenient (plus, if you have kids, you don’t have to take them with you to the store).
If you want another quick-cooking option, these Instant Pot recipes can also help keep weeknight meals simple.
If you also like finding practical ways to use what you already have, these beauty tips from the kitchen may give you a few more ideas.
