Getting Organized: Menu Planning with SayMmm.com and OrgJunkie.com

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Please note this ended in 2011.

Heather says:

We’ve all done it, you know, the 5:30 stare. You walk to the refrigerator, open the door and hope for dinner to leap into your arms and say, “Cook me! I’m the meal you want!” Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen, so you stare past the eggs and the milk, and you notice the leftovers that should have been tossed, but they’ll linger for at least another day or two. Sometimes you’ll close the door and wander away, only to return a few minutes later, hoping something new has appeared. It hasn’t.

You know the solution is simple, right? Menu planning.

But, it sounds so structured, constricting, and dull. Eating another peanut butter sandwich over the sink doesn’t sound scintillating.

Meal planning doesn’t have to be a monumental task.

Over the last few months, many of you may have noticed I have begun providing a full, printable shopping list to go along with the weekly menu plan. I create the shopping list using the free tool SayMmm.com. I was pretty skeptical at first. Most of the menu planning sites I have played with in the past restrict users to a set selection of recipes or stores. SayMmm is different; it lets users easily create menus and shopping lists from their own favorite recipes. Bloggers will love that they can link to their own sites and create printable, sharable shopping lists to share with their readers.

As with any project this personal in nature -and it’s hard to get more personal than your diet- there’s a little customization to be done in the beginning. I’ve worked with the site creator, Brian Hutchins, to add over two hundred recipes from Home Ec 101 to the SayMmm website. Each of those recipes now has its own shopping list and links back to the original. SayMmm.com understands that people work hard to find and curate their own trusted recipe collections. I’m a huge fan of SayMmm.com because the site respects the work I’ve already done.

Menu planning with SayMmm isn’t a huge project. Just open the menu plan and list your recipes by day and meal. If a recipe you want isn’t already in the database, just add the recipe to the database.  Don’t worry, if any of this sounds confusing, there are video tutorials that walk you through the process.

Here are six menu plans to get you started. That’s a month and a half of not having to think about what’s for dinner. Isn’t the Internet a wonderful place?

It gets better.

SayMmm.com and my friend Laura from I’m an Organizing Junkie have teamed up with a few other bloggers and myself to put together a great giveaway to help you get started on your organizing resolutions. Yes, I know it’s February, but we already established that you’re not organized, right? Stay with me here.

If you hadn’t heard, Laura has a book out, and SayMmm is giving away 40 signed copies of Clutter Rehab.

Head over to Organizing Junkie for full contest details.

Here on Home Ec 101, I’m giving away 4 copies of Clutter Rehab, 2 free six month subscriptions to SayMmm Plus, and 3 copies of Do the Funky Kitchen, an ebook from Heavenly Homemakers.

*Whew* that’s a lot stuff going on.

How does it work?

First, go check out SayMmm. Create an account and see how easy it is to create your own meal plan and printable shopping list -did you know you can view it right on your phone? That’s great for those, crud I left the list at home moments. Oh, and then there is the whole, save a tree aspect.

Then come back here and leave a comment. (That’s entry #1)

If you want a second chance, tweet about this giveaway on Twitter, and leave a second comment with the url of your tweet. (Just right click the timestamp and click copy link to get the url).

And for a third and final chance to enter, post about this giveaway either on Facebook or your own blog, then paste the url in a third comment. (Or second if you skipped the tweeting bit).

This giveaway will run through 10 pm EST on February 10, 2011. Any comments with a later timestamp will not be eligible. (Sometimes, I go to bed early, raising minions is NOT for the faint of heart or night owls).

That’s not all,  that’s not all! You still have several more chances to win. Each of these fine bloggers is also giving away copies of Laura’s book, so be sure to visit them, too:

Organizing My Kitchen {and Yours Too!} from Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Breakfast Organization from Heavenly Homemakers

Say Goodbye to Disorganized Meal Planning from Once a Month Mom

Organize With Less from The Happy Housewife

Help Getting Organized from Say Mmm

Good luck!

Again please note this giveaway is closed

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92 thoughts on “Getting Organized: Menu Planning with SayMmm.com and OrgJunkie.com”

  1. I hadn't heard about saymmm before. Now I've already added my first recipies. We normally just hang our plan on the fridge but I sometimes forget which items I need for the different recipies so the shopping list part will be a big help!
    My recent post Madplan uge 5

    Reply
  2. I adore saymmm.com. I signed up a couple of weeks ago when I saw you mention it. Not only have I started whittling down the stuff in my freezer, I'm also spending less at the grocery. I've actually been an avid menu planner for a couple of years, but saymmm makes it even easier. I'm still adding recipes (and links to recipes!) but I've got a pretty big list so far.

    Reply
  3. I have just started using SayMmm but I am not finding an easy way to add some of the recipes I found on the internet. Say if I like a Heavenly Homemakers recipe but don't seem to find it listed on the SayMmm site do I have to enter the recipe in by hand?

    Reply
    • Hi Deanna. If the recipe has a printable shopping list, like many of the ones on Heavenly Homemakers do, you can save the shopping list and it will automatically save the recipe for you as well (or combine multiple recipes into one shopping list and save them all at once). For other sites, you would need to type in the name and copy and paste the URL to the recipe.

      Reply
  4. I signed up for Say Mmmm a couple of weeks ago, but have yet started using it. I feel like I never find time. I really need to though!! It seems so helpful!

    Reply
  5. Yes, I’ve done the hoping for the fridge magic dance many a night. Sigh. Maybe I can figure out a way to start the menu planning. Say Mmm looks very cool, I signed up and would love to be entered in the contest, thanks!

    Reply
  6. It’s a great site! I had never heard of it, but I love the idea of storing your recipes and getting grocery shopping lists from them. How easy! Thanks for letting us know about SayMmmm… And for the awesome giveaways.

    Reply
  7. I've always made out menu's and the shopping list, but this will sure help. I like to plan meals, but sometimes something comes up and the whole menu gets changed. No problem though, I just do a switch days out with another. I always make sure I have plenty of items on hand, just in case plans change.

    Reply
  8. My biggest source of disorganization is my bedroom and my bathroom! It only seems to stay clean for a few days at a time then clutter creeps slowly back in until it’s completely disorganized…HELP!

    Reply
  9. SayMMM looks like a great tool! I've been looking for menu planning resources so I was excited to stumble across your blog. Great giveaway.

    Reply
  10. I'm sure I'm going to love it. I have it bookmarked to explore a little bit later, but I'm so tired from sledding today, that I can't do much more. Meal planning has saved me more than once. I'm looking forward to the new ideas I'm sure to get. Thank you.

    Reply
  11. ur site is the best…i love how you cover so many topics! i have started following ur cleaning schedule, which has worked wonders for me…ur recipes are just has great…they are what i consider normal meals. thanks

    Reply
  12. Signed up right now… looks like a really helpful site. Thanks for the link. Also liking the ideas on your site – thanks for sharing.

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  13. I just signed up for saymmm.com, thanks for the link! I am working hard on getting organized and this will definitely help. So far, I am struggling with the menu planning.

    Reply
  14. Hi!
    I signed up for Say Mmm…
    Thanks so much for the opportunity to win in this giveaway!
    ~Mippy 🙂
    bunnysmip at yahoo dot com

    Reply
  15. Hi!
    I shared this on FB
    Thanks so much for the opportunity to win in this giveaway!
    ~Mippy 🙂
    bunnysmip at yahoo dot com

    Reply
  16. I'm finding good comments on Say Mmm. Might have to check it out. Right now I just write down my menu and grocery list at the same time which has been working. But I love to check out new ideas.

    Reply
  17. Just signed up for saymmm.com. never used menu planning before so i looking forward to seeing what i can do with it. thanks for the great giveaways!

    Reply
  18. Just signed up for saymmm and getting used to it. I have been looking for a menu planning style that suits me and this just might be it. I am always learning alot from all of you bloggers. Thanks.

    Reply
  19. I'd signed up for saymmm but hadn't really had time to sit down and put any recipes in it so haven't played with it much. Having 6 menu plans in there that I can easily use is a great start for me. thanks so much for sharing

    Reply
  20. I just LOVE http://www.SayMmm.com! It is awesome! I even got the plus package for 3 months along with the 2 weeks free that they give.This is the system that I have been needing to coordinate my recipes and menu planning! I am on a limited budget as to how much i can spend every two weeks. This program is going to help me be able to stay within that budget!
    katy
    My recent post Pets everywhere

    Reply
  21. Hi! I posted the giveaway on Facebook! what's that up above? CPR? Only CPR I know is Cardio-pulmonary rescusitation! I am an instructor! bahahahaha. Okay, I will have to look above me here and see what that means. my curiosity is piqued!

    Frankie

    Reply
  22. I did visit "Say Mmmm." It is a great site. the recipes are wonderful and now to have six weeks of menu planning done by each of you wonderful women is terrific!

    Reply
  23. I checked out Say MMM and I have spent t he better part of 3 evenings importing all of my recipes! This is EXACTLY the sort of site I've been wanting! Thank you so much for the recommendation~

    Reply
  24. Wow, I had no idea these resources existed. I signed up for Say MMM and look forward to attempting a more consistent meal plan. Thanks for the giveaway.

    Reply
  25. I just found this website and I'm glad that I did. You have so much useful information here. I've been searching for any trying out meal planning websites for months now, but I had never come across Saymmm.com before. Just created an account – looking forward to trying it out. 🙂

    Reply

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