Last month I wrote about not waiting until the New Year to improve your life. Even small changes, like always pairing your socks before putting them away, can actually make your life tremendously better.

It’s a new month and it’s time for a new month’s resolution. Don’t worry about last month (unless you want to continue a new good habit).

August is the month I prep for school. I’ve tons of things on my to-do list from ordering textbooks to organizing the school day, from updating my daily routine for housework to going through fall clothes so my school year doesn’t come to a complete halt the day the temps don’t get above 70 degress (will this heat ever really stop though?).

But my new month’s resolution is this:

• Plan my dinner menu for the month of September
• Purchase all the non-fresh ingredients for the menu for the entire month (I have the freezer and pantry space)
• Prepare and freeze food for at least 8 days (2 meals per week)
• Make a grocery list for each week for all the fresh ingredients required for the menu.

The planning of the menu and the grocery lists won’t take very long to do. I’ll do the shopping as an extra trip next week when Bill is on leave.

Even the prep time for the 8 meals won’t be that bad. One meal that we have once a week (most weeks) is tacos, since everybody likes them. I’ll spend a few hours browning and seasoning about 6 pounds of ground meat which I’ll freeze in 1 1/2 pound batches – that’s 4 meals. Ten minutes in the microwave while I chop or shred tomatoes, lettuce and cheese, and dinner will be served with little cleanup required. And if the meat is thawed, the toppings prepared earlier in the day, and soft tortillas used, dinner can be on the table before the crowd even finishes washing their hands. This is a meal I plan for days when we have sports or some other activity either right before or right after dinner.

So, what’s your new month’s resolution?