Looking for easy dinner ideas for family? You have come to the right place. These quick family meals make it easy to get a dinner on the table quickly that your whole family will love.

 

20 Plus Quick And Easy Dinner Ideas for Family

When you need quick meal idieas and easy dinner to put together, keep this collection of recipes handy. Here, you’ll find  easy family meals that can be made in about 30 minutes as well as those can be ready in as little as 10 minutes! Get inspired with savory and meaty meals of chicken, beef, turkey and pork as well as seafood meals of shrimp and salmon. You’ll also find meatless meals for delicious dinner options. One-pan skillet meals, sheet pan meals, as well as pressure cooker meals all help to make your cooking experience quick, easy and nutritious. From pizza and pasta to soup and hot dogs, you’ll find a variety simple dinner ideas for family  that will soon become family favorites while saving you time in the kitchen.

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Di you know that  80% of the time the thing holding women back from achieving their potential was themselves? This statistic really stuck with me. I have been struggling myself with how to get past my inner critic and find ways to visual remind myself to focus on what is important in my life.

In addition, I have been looking for ways to make my busy life more meaningful and help me achieve my goals.

I knew I wanted to try to find a way accomplish this myself and help you achieve your goals and simplify your life too!

I have found that I often get overwhelmed with the huge amount of items I want to achieve both in my personal life and with this website. I know that sometimes that I don’t focus on the most important things and I sometimes try to take on too much. I have been reading lots of articles on planning and achieving your goals and I took some of those ideas to create a weekly planner printable. You can download it for free too! I would love it if you would join me.

The planner has two columns. One for a daily plan and one to keep track of tasks and habits. In the daily side, there is room to put in your dinner plan for each night of the week. I cannot tell you how much stress and money you will save yourself my making a meal plan for the week. I usually go grocery shopping on Saturdays so I added plan meals for the week on my Friday task list. If you plan your meals, you can limit the number of times you need to go to the grocery store and get take out. This can really help you eat healthier too. Take the 15 minutes to plan your meals and save yourself from the What’s For Dinner issue every day. You will be amazed by how this can reduce your stress.

For each day, there are just 3 numbers. I call these the big three. (Shout out to my favorite  show This is Us for the name) Pick your must dos and put them here. It is easy for your inner critic to beat you up when you have a list of 20 things and don’t complete them. When I completed, my weekly plan I filled in some items for each day but left some open to add in the night before. My stress level decreased just be seeing how I much I could accomplish in a week by focusing on 3 things a day.

In this column, there is also a spot each day for “The Good”. This is a place for you to jot down one good thing that happened that day. There are tons of studies that show just focusing on the positive can help make you happier with your life. This is an easy way to remind yourself of the good in each day.

On the right-hand side, there are three sections. The first is “get it done quick.” Put tasks that take 10 minutes or less here and when you have just a little time in your day you can quickly get one done. I added things here like send an email or fill out a form or check on something simple. Once these are on paper, they are not taking up space in your brain anymore and you can quickly finish them when you have time.

The next section is “The Rest”. This is your brain dump spot. I added ideas for website posts and items I want to do around my home. If I get all three items done quickly one day, I can tackle one of these items if I want. Also, I check this when on filling out my big three for the day. I can add one of these if they are now a priority.

The last spot is for habits. I filled mine in with drinking enough water, 10,000 steps, and German lessons. These are items I want to concentrate on this month. I love being able to cross off the circle for the day when I meet my goal. You can put whatever habits you want in here. Maybe it is exercise or reading. The beauty is you choose what is important to you.

 

 

Is cleaning and organizing one of your resolutions for 2020? This declutter plan will help you have a clean and organized home.

 

A new year always makes us want to start every aspect of our lives off on the right foot. Diet, exercise, family time, and of course cleaning, organizing, and decluttering often top the list. To help you clean and get organized in 2020, we are having a fun challenge. We will be sharing a new list of tasks that can help you get on track each month this year. (We ran this same challenge in 2017 , 2018, and 2019 and people loved it!) 

How to keep your house clean and organized

One easy way is to sign up to get your free Cleaning and Organizing List for January  (or whatever month it is) If you happen to come to this post sometime else during the year, we will send you the correct month.

Instead of spending a month breaking your back getting it all done instead we will help break it up into smaller tasks over the entire year. We even have a printable checklist that you can laminate and hang on your refrigerator or slip into your planner. I will be sharing 365 simple tasks that can be done each day to help you get your house in order this year. Most tasks should take 15 – 30 minutes. If it works for you do each task on the corresponding date, if not just use it as a list of tasks, some days you may get more than one done. You may wish to take off the weekend and double up on weekdays or vice versa. I want you to be successful so do what works best for you.

Be sure to see the full list and helpful hints below the printable sign up!

 

 

 

Here are all the tasks we have included for January and some helpful tips.

Dust blinds, remove cobwebs from corners, and wipe off window sills–  Something like this blind duster makes quick work of this chore. A damp cloth with a bit of all- purpose cleaner is great for the sills.

Remove and rewash curtains in main living areas of the house, rehang– I occasionally dust my curtains but sometimes they need a good refreshing that only a wash and hang can give them. Some curtains can be washed and rehung while still slightly damp and you won’t need to iron them, otherwise for formal curtains you can send them off to the dry cleaners.

Scrub the oven, and toss out pots, pans, and baking sheets in rough shape- After this task, you should treat yourself to a nice new pan if you need one! I could not believe how bad some of my baking sheets looked!

Start a donation box, put at least 15 items in it immediately- Toys, clothes, extra kitchen items, whatever you come across that you consider clutter and needs a new home. This is essential for helping you feel more organized and overwhelmed. I wish I had stayed on top of this the last few years. It was a HUGE project when we moved to Germany and I could not believe the number of things we had in our home we no longer needed. I know even with the amount of items I got rid of it will still be easy to find 15 more items. 

Dust ceiling fans, light fixtures, replace burned out bulbs- This should take no more than 10-15 minutes to do and will make a big impact.

Replace ac/heating filter, dust vents, make service appointment to have it checked- Stock up on filters you will see this pop up every few months and keeping your filters changed regularly will keep your unit running better and longer.

Test and replace batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide alarms- This task takes just a few minutes but makes an important difference in your family safety!

Remove 1 pair of shoes, and 8 clothing items that you don’t love, add to donation box– Purging always feels good, dig into your closet or your kids and add to your donation box (if you want to add more, feel free). If you want to 

Reorganize pantry, toss out expired items including spices- Check dates and toss anything past expiration, take a few minutes to reorganize and add items to your shopping list if needed.

Dump out your junk drawer, rehome items that don’t belong, reorganize- Consider grabbing one of these drawer organizers to help keep your drawer from returning to its cluttered state.

Soak all shower heads in vinegar, clean and replace caulk where needed. Snake hair out of drains.- Slip rubber band over your shower head, then place a baggie filled with vinegar over it, secure with rubber band, leave in place for a couple hours then remove. This easy trick removes hard water buildup and mildew. If you are anything like me your hair sheds like crazy in the shower and they need a good snaking now and then.

Clean keyboard, delete unused apps and pics off phone– If you have done all of this recently find something else to do similar like moving computer photos to a zip drive, cd, or usb.

Flip mattress, clean out under bed, and replace bed pillows if needed- A good spring cleaning of areas like this is a good idea several times a year.

Sort through medicine cabinet, toss out expired medicines- Call your local pharmacy or hospital and see if they have a disposal program in place. I was able to take expired medicine to my local police department. 

Empty refrigerator, give it a good scrubbing, throw away nearly empty or expired containers- This one may take more than 15 minutes to do and can be broken up over a couple days if you like.

Create a family command center, add a few organizational pieces if necessary– Use a chalkboard or dry erase, hooks, and whatever else you need to streamline family life.

Wash fabric shower curtains, take out old towels and cut up for rags- If you have a vinyl curtain you can soak it in a tub with soap and a bit of bleach to sanitize.

Spend 15 minutes tackling an area that has been bugging you for awhile- Set a timer and attack that desk or tidy up the mudroom.

Go through your jewelry box, take items in for repair, get rid of single earrings, and unloved pieces.

Toss magazines older than 3 months, unsubscribe to virtual subscriptions you don’t use.

Rearrange furniture and pictures in the living room to give it a fresh new feel- Sometimes this is all you need to get out of a winter funk and freshen up your living space, and it’s free!

Vacuum and wash car, put air in tires, top off all fluids. Don’t forget to empty the trunk!

Sweep off front porch, put away any holiday decorations still out, add a new plant- Giving the front of the house a freshen up will make you smile every time you come home.

Find 5 more items to add to the donation box- Outgrown kids clothes, an extra toaster, unused rice cooker, etc… You can go over 5  of course but at least make it the minimum.

Replace ragged kitchen towels and potholders with new ones- Pass usable ones on to the garage in a rag bucket, throw away others.

Clean out dryer filter, toss mismatched socks, buy new laundry baskets if needed– I can not believe the number of mismatched socks in my home. Where do the matches go?!?

Go through PJ’s, socks, and underwear drawers– Toss or donate overly worn out items. Treat yourself to some scented drawer liners. 

Empty spam, delete emails and answer a few-feels good doesn’t it?

Dust the tops of high furniture pieces- Those places we forget like the top of the entertainment center, cupboards, and armoires need attention now and then.

Wipe down baseboards throughout house- If you are so inclined after giving them a swipe with cleaner you can go back over dry trim with a dryer sheet to help repel future dust.

Take your full donation box (or two) to a local thrift store or charity center- You can pat yourself on the back for cleaning out the house and doing good!

 

Do you say I Need help cleaning and organizing my house and need more tips and guides?

Learn Simple House Cleaning Tips here 

Check out how to be organized at home.

Need help getting everything done in a week?  Be sure to also grab our free weekly planner here. 

 

 

These tips will help you get personalized holiday cards made and mailed this holiday season. I partnered with Minted and they gave me some credit to make my own awesome holiday cards. I have bought them myself though in the past. I am a HUGE fan of Minted. Read more to find out why.  

I absolutely love receiving personalized holiday cards even in this age of Facebook and Instagram. It is so wonderful to receive an update from friends and family and pictures from their lives this year. Finding the perfect photo and card and addressing and mailing the cards can sometimes feel like just one more thing on the to-do list during the busy holiday season. There are a few things though that you can do now to make sure you save yourself some time and stress and help you send an amazing holiday card your friends and family will love.

1. Think About the Photo ASAP

Go through your pictures now if you like to use a snapshot from the year. If you like to have professional photos taken, make the appointment now. Here is some inspiration for coordinating outfits for the whole family for Holiday Photos.

We were lucky enough to have photos taken by the talented Evan Willingham of  Evan Willingham Photography before we left Germany. I used these photos for our holiday cards this year.  You don’t have to get family photos taken during the busy holiday season. Instead, schedule your photo season in the summer or fall or just use fun family photos from throughout the year. I put an individual photo of each of my daughters on the back on the card. My oldest is one of her senior photos taken last summer and my younger daughter is a photo from a color guard performance.

2.  Select Your Card

Once you find your favorite photo or photos Minted makes it easy to see what they would look like on each card. They have a “find it fast” feature that will show your photo on all the available cards. It was easy for me to see which cards would not work with our photo. You can filter by the type of card and the number of photos as well. I had just one main photo for the front of the card so I filtered the cards that had just one photo on the front.

 

Here is a picture of the front of the personalized holiday card I chose. I love the holly and gold. The card is absolutely beautiful. You can also see a portion of the back of our cards with the pictures of my daughters. I also wrote a quick update underneath the photos. I love to get a little update from friends about their lives every year. I wanted to share a little something on our card as well. I was able to add two pictures and a personal paragraph to the back of our card. I love this feature! They even include a few sample paragraphs to get you started.

 

Last but not least are the pre-addressed envelopes. This is such a time saver. Most of my addresses were already in my Minted account and I just had to update for those people who had moved and I added a few new people to my list.

3. Get Your Envelopes Addressed for Free

Minted will even address your envelopes for free and they even have cute fonts that match your card. This is a HUGE time saver. The first time I used Minted for my cards I was able to upload a spreadsheet with all my addresses which made the process super easy and now I just update it!

4. Impress Your Friends with Premium Quality & Craftmanship

The holiday cards at Minted are printed on high-quality paper. Without an extra fee, they are printed on a thick and luxurious stock in an off-white hue with a creamy cotton texture, usually reserved for fine stationery. There are also options for foil pressed and letter pressed cards. Many of the designs are by independent artists and are picked as part of design challenges. This makes it easy to find a card in a style you love. 

5. Get A Proof of Your Personalized Holiday Cards

Are you worried you might make a typo when you make your card? Each card is reviewed by a real person for mistakes and a proof is sent to you for review. If you are in a hurry, you can skip the proof, save $5 and receive your cards two days faster.

 

 

I hope that this post inspires you to send out holiday cards this year or next year. I promise that Minted will make it easy for you! It is getting a bit late to get your cards but you can also consider New Year’s cards as well.  Minted has a HUGE selection of New Year’s cards in addition to personalized holiday cards.

Now that you have your holiday cards all handled, let cross off everyone on your gift list. Check out unique gift ideas for everyone on your list here.