We are almost a year into parenthood and finally nailing out a system that works for us. Up until about a week ago, our house was in constant disarray. Clutter everywhere. Clean laundry piled high and waiting to be folded. Produce spoiling before we had a chance to eat it. Rushing to pick out clothes, pack lunch, school and work bags just moments before needing to leave the house. Not only is that not the environment I want to live and love in, but it was adding stress and tension to our marriage.
I am not a fan of reinventing the wheel so I browsed the beloved Pinterest for some home organizing ideas. Enter stage right, the Lowe Family Calendar. Dusting off my scrapbooking arsenal, I assembled this beauty. Space to fill in appointments, reminders, etc. during the week, a menu and a love note section. Colored dry erase markers allow me to put in writing what exactly my husband needs to help with. So no more "Well I just don't know what you need me to do..." shenanigan. In a separate frame, is a chore list with things that need to be done daily, weekly and monthly. Each person will have a few things to finish before bed time to keep the house running without getting to an overwhelming state of chaos. 
So how is this saving us money you ask? Previously when I did my grocery shopping on Sundays, I put anything in the cart I thought we might need for the week. Then, each afternoon I would think of something to make and rummage through the fridge and pantry trying to assemble dinner. We were wasting a lot of fresh produce this way because we couldn't eat it all before it went bad. I was overbuying pretty much everything. The average grocery bill was between $150-200. By creating a menu and only buying exactly the items needed for those 6-7 meals, and by taking regular inventory of the pantry, I can minimize the grocery bill drastically. My trip to the store this past Sunday was only $87. This is a pretty significant savings!
Another way is using the calendar for reminders. We always forget to change the A/C filter until we notice the house is warmer than it should be for the setting we have it on. When we check, of course the filter is clogged and the AC is cranking away and we're still sweating. This causes your electric bill to be much higher than it needs to be if you just change your filter regularly. Add reminders to pay bills by the deadline, return Redbox rentals, cancel subscriptions, etc. so you never get charged late fees for silly things. I couldn't put a dollar amount on this kind of savings but it's obvious this system will prevent us from wasting food, energy and money in the long run.
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