How I Track Recipes in My Bullet Journal

January 6, 2019 2 Comments

New Recipe Book? Here’s How I Track My Recipes.

I love recipe books, and I love getting them for Christmas or going on vacation and finding new local recipe books. My most favorite recipe books are compilation books, where everyone from church or school contributes their favorite recipe, they’re compiled in a book, then you buy them for fundraising or at cost.

Recipe books accumulate in my bookshelf, so I guess you could say that I am a recipe book collector. Recently, I bought three whole30 recipe books – no, I’m not an ambassador for the program, but I’ve been doing the program. I thought it was a great example to show you how I track the new books in my bullet journal.

Here are the books I bought:

Now I’m slowly making my way through the food creations, tracking and recording in my bullet journal.

Watch the Flip-Through on How I Track My Recipes:

The Process for a New Cook Book

When I get a new recipe book, Before I start adding the list to my journal, I mark the pages in the recipe books and then forget which recipes I wanted to try. I go through every single page and mark each page with a recipe I want to try with a sticky note tag. Then I write the page number and the name of the recipe in my bullet journal in a list. I know when I write things down, I tend to remember them better.

Selecting Recipes

If a recipe doesn’t look tasty to me, I don’t try it. Sometimes I’ll go back and revisit the book and try new ones. I can create a new list or add to my current list. When I try the recipe, I mark it with a key to show me which recipes I liked and which ones I didn’t like very much.

I prefer my color keys to be very different in color. If I did all green or all red tones, or varying intensities of any given color, I would get confused with the ones I loved and the ones I didn’t like, so my colors are always varied.

Color Code Key

Using Tombow Dual Brush Markers, I assigned a color Key to this set of recipes:

Yellow Gold 026: YUM! The whole family loves – the quickest way for a recipe to land in the regular rotation.
Coral 873: I love – but the family doesn’t. That means I won’t make it as often. If I develop a particular craving for a recipe in this category, sometimes I declare a ‘fend for yourself night’ and indulge myself.
Gray Green 228: No Go – something that didn’t work at all
Orchid 623: We liked the recipe, but it requires a change to something in the recipe – I love to do this for recipes and customize them.

There are some weeks that I want to try all the new recipes and feel ambitious in the kitchen. There are other weeks that I don’t feel like cooking at all. So it’s nice to have a reference for when I want to try something new, and I don’t have to flip through all the pages in every recipe book each time I want to try something new.

What Do I Do With All the Recipes I Love?

If a recipe wins our hearts (and stomachs) or I modify the recipe enough to fit our style, I add it to our online recipe manager. I use Pepperplate.com, but I know AllRecipes.com has a recipe manager as well and there are some other choices for apps and digital recipe managers out there too. But I’ve used PepperPlate for years – I can’t even tell you how long. If they had an ambassador program, I’d jump on that boat so fast. My husband and I both have the app and we can access the recipes and ingredients. I love their meal scheduler and shopping list creator. Plus you can import recipes from different sites.

Additional Layout idea

There are so many ways to track recipes. I would LOVE to make a recipe journal. Either write out the recipes by hand or create a visual diary of the recipe. One Thanksgiving I made a spread highlighting delicious food. It’s still one of my favorite spreads to date. Here’s the mouthwatering video:

How do you try new recipes from recipe books? Or do you find them from online? Do you have a special way to organize your favorite meals?

Supplies Used:

Scribbles That Matter A5 Dot-Grid Notebook: https://amzn.to/2Lm40Za
Papermate Flair Pens: https://amzn.to/2PDWHfy
Camera Paperclip: https://amzn.to/2EvqPJ5
Tombow Dual Brush Pens: https://amzn.to/2PDy7eN

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Life Changing Magic of Tidying – Experiment

April 22, 2018 7 Comments

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Experiment

Anything that promises true magic grabs my attention. Not the hocus pocus, you’re a frog kind of magic, but the kind that promises a more fulfilling, better life. I’ve avoided this book successfully for the past two years. I heard whisperings of it from several people I followed and chalked it up to mere hocus-pocus. It wasn’t until my home reached a breaking point of clutter did I consider reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Sometimes I wish I weren’t so headstrong and stubborn

Are this book’s methods too good to be true? I plan on finding out.

Decluttering by Category - Bullet Journal spread & tracker

Book Review

FYI – I don’t like book reviews. I don’t think it’s fair for someone to pour their heart out in book form, and then I leaf through it, reading it one time and calling it good or bad. Since I regularly read self-help books – conventional rating systems don’t work for me. I decided that my book reviews would have a qualification assigned to each ‘star.’

My Rating Qualifications:

Did I take notes?
Would I tell a friend about it?
Would I re-read it?
Did I buy the book? OR If I got it from the library, would I check it out more than once?
Did it motivate me to make a change?

I have to be honest – the fourth question needed qualification – I don’t know that I will be buying an extreme amount of books in the future after reading this book. So I had to add an extra part to the question – if I check out the book more than once from the library.

With those questions in mind:

My book review is 4 3/4 stars with this note: I’ve only checked out the book once from the library, but I did get the 2nd book by the author, a companion, expanded version of this one called Spark Joy and started reading that one too. I guess that I will probably check it out again in the future. (Read Amazon Reviews here – it looks like theirs is similar to mine)

Experimenting on the Word

Have you ever heard of experimenting on the word? Let me explain if you haven’t. After reading a book that claims to change your life – you can’t rely on just the words; you have to do the things that it tells you to find out if a book is life-changing or not. I’d like to see if this book changes my life as it proclaims. The best way for me to see if it does it to try out its methods and see if what it claims is true.

Current Living Arrangements

Let me tell you why I picked up the book in the first place. We live in a three-bedroom house, and I have three children. Their stuff is everywhere; my things are everywhere. The baby still sleeps in my room, despite being 14 months, there is just no room for him in his sibling’s rooms. His crib is in the nook in my bedroom (thankfully we have that alcove). My husband and I took over the dining room with our desks. (In a house this small, is a separate dining room essential? We have an eating area already.)

I am not going to debate opinions on sleeping arrangements with children – that’s not what this blog is about, and there are lots of different viewpoints out there. Let it suffice to say that the stuff in our house reached a breaking point. Either our house would break or I would. We want to move to a new home soon with other options like a fenced in backyard, or even one with just a backyard at all. We are not at the point yet where we can move. It’s coming, but not yet.

It Called to Me From Way Over There

My goodness, there’s lots of background story with this one. Anyway, when I took the kids to the library the other day, I wandered around the library and finally had to ask a librarian to find this book. FYI, it was in the parenting section. I brought it home and looked at it for a couple of days. Then I started reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. At first, I thought I was going to take notes. I’m a terrible note-taker when reading, I try to write only the important things. Well, I end up recording everything, and I end up with incomprehensible notes or pages and pages filled with sloppy word-for-word sentences that have no significant meaning.

Book notes - the life changing magic of tidying up - The KonMarie Method of decluttering

Reading the Book

I started with this method of note-taking and soon filled a spread in my bullet journal. I didn’t want to fill more pages, so I decided to go back and re-read it if I felt so inspired and take the notes that are important. So I set down my pen and paper and started reading the book. The book took me about two hours (ish) to complete. I brought it to the park while the kids were playing and then couldn’t get my nose out of it long enough to fix dinner.

Perhaps this book wouldn’t appeal to all, but I LOVE organizing. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is more than organizing. It’s a way of life. In the past two years of avoiding this book, I read silly memes referencing this book and tossing things they didn’t love (like bills, their husband, the noisy dog, etc.) but they were still stuck with all their stuff. I desired some way to get rid of stuff and a lot of it. If we are moving sometime soon, I don’t want to pack it all and take it with me.

It’s Appeal

I’ve glanced sideways at a minimal lifestyle. You know, toured Ikea’s 240 square foot house and briefly thought about living that type of lifestyle and had no idea how even to start. I’m not saying that is the goal by any means, but willingly getting rid of the unnecessary stuff in my life taking up space and keeping only what I love is exceptionally appealing.

After finishing that book promising magic, I wanted more. Not more stuff, but more of her words. But I let it sit for a while, days, so I could spend some time thinking about what I read and if I was ready to jump in with two feet. This method of life-cleansing is not one you dance around. It is one that you jump in both feet and submerge yourself.

Did I Undo the Effects Before I Started?

Before starting on my closet containing years of memories and clothes I used to love or thought I liked, I went on a fun girl’s day shopping trip with my friend. Sounds counter-productive, doesn’t it? I felt so too. But before I knew it, my cart quickly filled with finds, and I had more than 20 pieces to try on plus a new purse. In the dressing rooms, I thought about what I read. Instead of taking home half of my cart, I thought about each item and if I loved it. I ended up buying three things, and I was very excited to wear them. Already different from previous shopping trips.

My Husband Says It Makes Sense(?!) Economically

I talked to my husband about the book and described to him some of the methods used in the book. Like saying thank-you to your clothing for being there or teaching you valuable lessons of personal fashion (some clothes just aren’t for you!). The act of thanking them allows you to let them go. When I presented the concept to my husband, his economics degree supported this concept.

He said, “it makes sense that it is hard to let something go because of ‘sunk cost’ or that you have spent so much time and energy and money on that one thing that you keep it just for that reason.” So many people have held to businesses long after they should have, kept dusty memorabilia in their homes from trips taken or not able to let go of those gorgeous shoes that they wore once because they spent money on whatever artifact is now occupying their home. My husband suggested that saying ‘thank you’ was breaking the psychology of keeping that item because it was a ‘sunk cost.’ I tried it, and it worked.

The Wait, the Anticipation

Due to schedules and appointments, I waited another couple of days before I could sort out my clothing. I have to admit that I was getting more and more excited to go through it though. So finally one day after work, I came straight home and started on my ‘little project.’

Marie Kondo suggested that it would take six months of your life to sort through your whole house. I don’t doubt it. This morning, hubby made the bed (thanks hubby!), so I could start efficiently on the project and pile all my clothes and sort them there. Pretending like Marie was there asking me if I loved an item, and thinking hard about not what I was getting rid of, but instead what I was keeping, the donation bags grew fuller and fuller.

KonMarie Method - decluttering and sorting through all the stuff - real life experiment

No Before, but a During and an After

Like many things I start doing, I forget to take ‘before’ pictures and realize after I start the project. I cleaned out my closet. Gathered every article of clothing I possessed, each handbag, every pair of shoes and all the socks I owned. From just my closet, I stuffed three 45-gallon bags, and I threw out a big box of trash.

Two hours passed, more like flew by. I ended up with 20 shirts and about ten pairs of pants and shorts, and I was happy. I kept only things that gave me joy. There were items in the back of my closet that made me feel sad because of experiences in past jobs. I liked the feel of the fabric against my skin, but my heart was heavy every time I saw it hanging in my closet, and what’s more, I could never bear to wear it again. I can’t say how good it felt to say thank you and goodbye.

It Just Might Be Magic Afterall

I cannot wait to start another category. I do feel like I kept too many socks. What can I say? I love me some fuzzy socks.

The goal is to keep it up for six months and see where I am at that time. Is anyone else willing to go on a binge house-cleaning/organizing spree with me? I’d love to have some friends.

I created this layout before reading the book, thinking to do a little at a time. Now I know that it is not the most accurate way to track progress with the KonMari method. But I like crossing things off, so I’ll use it anyway and make perhaps some other trackers as well.

Results:

I reduced my closet to 1/4 its size, I love finding pairs of socks. I don’t miss any of the clothes I never wore anyway. The shoes that hurt my feet? Gone. The worn out handbag? Gone too.

Total Number of bags taken for donation: 4

Number of Trash/Recycled Bags: 3

In the coming weeks, I’ll share progress and reports of how this little experiment is going. Even if it doesn’t last, I’ll be glad to get rid of stuff. But I’m hoping that it produces the magic that it promises.

Will you join me? I’d love some friends along this journey. Do you have any advice? I’d love to hear about your experience. I created a couple of printables you can print, complete, and hang up or add to your bullet journal or planner. Click on the image below to view it in the shop.

What I Need Help With – and What I am Going to Do

October 14, 2017 4 Comments

There’s a question that I glaze over just like a tasty doughnut. I know I have done it and not just once. No, not glazed a doughnut, but ignoring things that I really want to work on or admit what I need help with or “things to work on”. However, one day this last week, I was reading over the #planwithmechallenge prompts for October and this question jumped out.

Since I have started bullet journaling I have seen so many improvements in my life. So I decided to take this question on. I could list dozens of things that I want to improve. But I tend to shy away from making a laundry list of all the things I need to work on. Overwhelm takes over and I already have a tendency to beat myself up about the things I need to do.

This time I decided to think of the first four things that I needed help with. I limited myself to just four. If you are doing this exercise, decide to limit yourself – it will help to keep you from being overwhelmed more than you realize. These were things I could do for myself, I didn’t have to rely on someone else’s commitment. I chose four ideas for my habit tracker, goals, or personal development.

My Things to Work on:

Read or listen to more books
Idea Implementation
Time-block
Confidence

I didn’t just list the things I needed to work on and close this dotted A5 companion of mine. I listed a little blurb about what I meant and defined it further.

Things to work on... Free Printable Exercise deciding what you need help with and what you are going to do about it.

YouTube Video Walk-Through

This prompt was the inspiration for my weekly bullet journal spread – I decided to create a time-blocking spread to help achieve some of these goals. You can read the post here.

I created a video of my set up for time-blocking and the process behind it with an overview of the month’s layouts so far. Watch the video below or on my YouTube Channel here. Don’t forget to like and subscribe for future videos. The first part of the video is my “things to work on”.

For instance:

Idea Implementation – I have so many ideas! I need to streamline ideas. Focus on one at a time instead of trying to do them all. I need to finish projects instead of starting a new one before I complete a project.

Give yourself a why:

Why in the world do these things matter to you? Only you can know that. I want to read more books. Well, because I miss it and like many things I have allowed life to consume all my time. I want those words back in my life. My other why? I love to learn. I want to continue learning. All the things.

Ask: What is holding you back?

I find it is good for me to identify my excuses or my obstacles. For instance – I don’t want to buy more books because, well, we have a problem with clutter in my house as it is. I don’t need more. I don’t like reading on my phone as much. Time is an issue for sitting down and reading. Audiobooks are so expensive!

The biggie: What are you going to do about it?

Sign up at the library already for their free resources to books and audiobooks. They have so many resources. This takes the monetary issue out, I don’t collect clutter, I can listen to the books while getting ready or driving since I download them to my phone.

Measure it! When can you count it done?

So in the case of reading or listening to more books – I will measure in quantity. If I read or listen to just one book per month, it will be an increase in what I am doing. I’ll track for 3 months (a random number I chose) then reassess and see if I need to increase it or if it is working. Maybe I will find another source for books or decide to try audible or read one on kindle.

Notes:

Chances are if you haven’t done something already, there are reasons. Maybe they are just excuses, maybe there is something bigger preventing you from doing what you want. Don’t ignore a concern. Address it. Make a note, figure out what it means to you or what you need to do about it. This is a way to help you be happier with you. There are no judgments – let yourself be you. It’s ok.

I am not sure how I will track “Confidence” as I wrote down in my bullet journal. So I’ll do some research so I can define it and measure it.

Random Thoughts and Great Ideas Collection | Bullet Journal Brain Dump

September 5, 2017 3 Comments

If you are like me, there are a lot of thoughts bouncing around inside your head all day long.

Some of them are pretty creative. Few are deep. Some are reflections of the past or regrets. Others are just random, funny thoughts. I wouldn’t mind keeping those around once in a while to distract from the crazy of life.

Most thoughts are fleeting, but others I would like to develop and see if something bigger will come of these individual thought nuggets. I had never organized these golden idea droplets into a common space, they were all haphazardly written in various places or lost in the abyss of the day-to-day.

I felt that this collection of thoughts was not just a ‘brain dump page’. If you are not familiar with the term, brain dump can also be known as a ‘mental download’ or a variety of other terms. I’ve called it a ‘brain dump’ because I imagine my brain’s contents being spilled on a page by a dump truck. No organization, no common themes, just all the thoughts being dumped on the page for sorting later – or not.

A brain dump is great for when there are just too many thoughts to process.

I use a brain dump page for when I can’t sleep at night because the thoughts are running in every direction and won’t slow down. In this case, I record every thought that comes into my head until I cannot find another thought to think and my brain is able to {finally} rest.

Why this collection is not a brain-dump:

To be honest, I rarely revisit a brain dump page because its contents are mostly worries and irrational, unfounded thoughts that I can’t seem to let go usually as I am trying to calm my mind down before I go to sleep or when I am trying to work on a project and I am completely distracted. I want to keep my best ideas here. These ideas are more than fleeting. These ideas are pure inspiration that just need more coaxing to become valuable pearls.

The Random Thoughts & Great Ideas Page is not a brain dump. It’s themed with specifically chosen ideas to enhance future creativity and brainstorming.

I wanted a collective place to store these great ideas so I could expand or explore it further when I had more time or could find a connection between other thoughts.

Instead of all the thoughts jumbled together from one session, I am compiling all my great thoughts on this page. I may pull ideas from my braindumps, but it will be selected ideas jotted in this collection instead of all thoughts thrown together.

Make Pretty Designs & Use Them Too

After creating this page I had the initial fear of writing on it. I liked the artwork! This fear was quickly overcome as I have learned in the past: I value the page far more for the content AND the creative backdrop than I value just the creative background. Reviewing my past journals, I enjoy the drawings, doodles, and painting. But when I couple those with relevant feelings or thoughts, the recollection and overall meaning of the drawing meant more than just the artwork by itself.

Reviewing my past journals, I enjoy the drawings, doodles, and painting. But when I couple those with relevant feelings or thoughts, the page meant more than just the artwork by itself.

I cannot wait to see what comes of this page when I fill it with my Random Thoughts and Great Ideas. I may just find ‘my next big thing’ ascribed to its dotted page.

How do you track your ideas and random thoughts? Leave me a comment below.

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How I created the page

I outlined the light bulb lightly with a pencil. Using Tombow dual brush pens #055 (yellow) I filled in heavily around the outside. The gray area (you could call it gray matter if you like) I used a Papermate flair to create the outline. Using a water brush pen, I blended the colors outward until achieving the desired effect. Water brush pens are (similar to a paintbrush, but it holds water inside the pen instead of dipping in a cup of water – if you don’t have these, you can just as easily use a paintbrush and water).

I found that using the Tombow Markers with the water pens did not make the page wrinkle as much as when I used watercolor paint on the page. A nice perk.

Find other Idea Organization Spreads here!

Want to know what supplies I used? I’ll tell you.