If you’re responsible for preparing nutritious and satisfying family meals, you know how challenging it can be to plan, shop, and ensure everything gets on the table on time. But there’s help available!
By creating a detailed monthly meal plan, you can transform chaotic mealtimes into stress-free moments. And with a household assistant by your side, family dinners become even more seamless and satisfying for everyone.
Benefits of a Monthly Meal Plan
Creating a family meal plan is generally better than coming up with something to make and eat on the fly. But if the idea of developing a detailed plan for your family’s meals seems daunting, just know there are many available resources to help you. You can create your own template or use family meal planner templates and weekly meal plan printables. Sites such as Canva and 101Planners offer free, downloadable meal prep templates.
With a meal plan in place, you can realize the following benefits:
Save time.
Planning meals in advance gives you more time to cook and enjoy meals with your family. You already know the day’s meals, so you can get right to defrosting, cutting vegetables, and preheating the oven instead of taking time debating meal options.
Make mealtime less stressful.
With a set meal plan, you don’t need to plan on the fly, feel rushed, or work under pressure. You can take your time and ensure meals come out as you envisioned.
You may eat healthier.
A recent study found that American families spend about 20 percent more on restaurant food than they spend on groceries. Meal planning reduces the odds of throwing your hands up and deciding to go out or order a quicker—but potentially less healthy—meal.
You could save money.
Planning your family menu makes grocery shopping more efficient. You can buy in bulk where it’s practical and purchase produce items when they’re in season or on sale. One mom says she cuts down on food waste and saves $500/month by meal planning.
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Three Game-Changing Family Meal Planning Ideas
If you would like to simplify daily meal prep and give monthly meal planning a try, here’s how you can get started:
1. Build your family menu plan template.
An editable monthly template allows you to avoid starting from scratch every month. Some elements to include in your template are:
A list of potential meals
All the ingredients you’ll need for each meal
A list of items you’ll need to replenish routinely versus staples you always have on hand
To stay consistent, pick a time each month or week to create and update your meal plan. If you have a household assistant to help, they can match your shopping list with what’s already in your fridge and pantry, do the shopping, and handle the daily meal prep for you.
2. Consider meal choices that mesh with your schedule.
Since each day is different, it’s a good idea to determine which meals are better for busy days and which are more appropriate for days you anticipate having more time to pull meals together.
For example, you may decide to have designated days for cooking, ordering in, and going out. You can also have days when you’ll prepare meals from a food delivery service such as Blue Apron or HelloFresh. And don’t forget leftovers! They can be great for those days when you have no time to cook, order in, or go out.
3. Incorporate a variety of food.
Planning 30 days of meals allows you to build variety into your plan. You can categorize meals by:
Cooking time
Cooking method: Hands-on versus slow cooker and one-pot meals
Complexity level: Meals your partner or older children can handle and those you’ll need to prepare
Cuisine: A mix of Italian, Indian, or whatever you choose reduces the chance of hearing “Not chicken again!” from the family
Meal type: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and desserts
As your monthly meal plan comes together, it may be beneficial to post it for everyone in the family to see. If you’re running late or busy at mealtime, someone else can cook or at least get the meal started before you arrive.
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How a Pepper’s Household Assistant Can Help
Pepper’s household assistants are quick learners capable of executing your monthly meal plan, so you don’t have to do everything yourself. They’re well-trained and work independently, saving you time and money without sacrificing quality.
In addition to all the other household chores a Pepper’s household assistant can perform, your assistant can also take on these tasks:
Planning meals based on your input and direction
Shopping for groceries (including at the faraway shops you usually don’t have time to visit)
Organizing your refrigerator and pantry
Keeping a list of your preferred food brands, stores, and other preferences, such as organic, non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free, and so forth
Performing meal prep
All you have to do is come in and cook. Alternatively, if you need an assistant who cooks, Pepper’s can help you with that, too!
Simplify Your Life with a Household Assistant
Meal planning is just one of the many time-consuming tasks a household assistant can manage to make your household run smoother and give you more time for the things that matter most in your life. To learn more, download our guide, What Your Life Could Look Like With a Household Assistant.
If you’ve decided you need household help but aren’t sure you have enough for a household assistant to do, think again. Besides doing laundry, tackling meal prep, and handling other everyday chores, a skilled household assistant can organize your home inside and out and help you tackle the dream projects you always hoped would be possible.
Everything a Household Assistant Can Do
Chances are, if you’ve considered a household assistant, it’s because you’ve felt the pressure many busy professionals and overwhelmed moms feel—your to-do list keeps getting longer, and it seems there’s never enough time in the day. All the behind-the-scenes planning and anticipating you do often leaves you little time for yourself and the things you love.
But there’s hope. Even if you thought household assistants were just for celebrities or that you didn’t have enough for an assistant to do, there are several ways an assistant can organize your home and give you your time back. In fact, in all the homes Pepper’s assistants have worked in over the last 12-plus years, they’ve never had a problem finding enough to do!
At Pepper’s, we have a team of more than 30 highly skilled personal assistants ready to help you tackle a broad array of household tasks and projects. Upon entering your home, your assistant will look for opportunities to make improvements, organize household chores, and create a system for completing them efficiently. You’ll have a household guide that outlines everything from your favorite grocery store to the location of your water shut-off valve.
You can rely on your household assistant to handle tasks such as:
Planning travel (including packing and unpacking)
Decorating for holidays
Doing laundry (including making dry cleaning runs)
Planning and managing home parties
Shopping for groceries and running errands
Preparing food
Taking out trash and recycling
Scheduling and supervising on-site vendors
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Your household assistant can also take your home organization and special project ideas and make them a reality. Examples include creating a home art space, transforming outdoor areas to be more enjoyable, and finding home service contractors for maintenance and repair jobs.
The support you receive from a Pepper’s household assistant isn’t one-size-fits-all; it’s flexible to adapt to your specific needs. And if we don’t have a household assistant that fits the criteria you seek, we’ll find one. So, if you need an assistant who cooks, we’ll find someone who can cook your preferred cuisine. And if you need an assistant that’s great with pets, no problem! Our goal is to help you build a collaborative, stress-free relationship that meets your immediate and ongoing needs.
Steps You Can Take to Determine Your Household Help Needs
It’s not always easy to visualize what a household assistant can do for you day to day. That’s why Pepper’s assistants are trained to work with you at your pace, offering support and suggestions to ensure a smooth transition of chores from you to your assistant.
A great way to create a clearer picture of what your life could look like with a household assistant is to start with a list. Itemize all the things that you would love to never do again that someone could do for you. It might be doing laundry, standing in line at Costco, decluttering countertops, or making Amazon returns. Whatever it is, add it to your list.
As you continue this process, you’ll begin to see you’re probably spending more time on household chores than you realized. One study found that unpaid household chores took an average of 21.5 hours per week—three hours a day!
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Tackle Household Chores and Much More
Imagine what you could do with three more hours in your day. You could spend more time with family and friends, reconnect with an old hobby, or even find a new one.
These are the kinds of benefits Libby Wagner enjoyed once she began working with her Pepper’s household assistant. In a case study of Libby’s experience, we discuss how her assistant took time-consuming chores off Libby’s to-do list and helped her complete dream projects that made her home more enjoyable. Having household help transformed her home and life.
“I’m able to spend the time I need to on my business, which is a lot, and then I get to enjoy my home and my life and the precious unstructured time that I have not taken up with doing errands and chores,” she said.
Personal household assistants aren’t just for CEOs. The Seattle area is full of families with working parents who need an extra set of hands. Believe it or not, personal household assistants can do more than just get coffee, take phone calls, and remember to send anniversary presents.
Whether you’re a single working mom, a stay-at-home dad, or simply a couple that’s doing their best, it can be difficult to parent your children, run a household, and still have time for yourself. The 2023 State of Motherhood Survey reports that over 60% of moms get less than an hour to themselves each day.
It’s sadly understandable. With work, meetings, school, after-school activities, helping with homework, going grocery shopping, and prepping for the next day it’s a wonder parents get any free time at all.
This is why hiring a household assistant can be so beneficial for busy parents.
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Asking for Help Is Okay
We know asking for help can be difficult. It’s almost ingrained in us to try to take care of everything ourselves, and to view reaching out for assistance as a sign of weakness. We’re here to tell you that asking for help is okay — even encouraged!
Outsourcing tasks to a personal household assistant can help you focus on and be engaged with what truly matters, time for yourself and your family.
Imagine Your Life With a Pepper’s Personal Assistant
Pepper’s Personal Assistants can help you get some time back by taking care of that pesky to-do list and streamlining otherwise chaotic tasks and organizational duties.
For example…
While you’re at the office working, your household assistant can be taking care tidying up around the house.
When you’re in meetings, they could strip the beds, run a few loads of laundry, and fold everything neatly.
While you’re sending emails, they could load the dishwasher, take out the trash, or make lunches for the kids.
You don’t have to take time out of your day to run a pet to the vet or take your car to the shop because your assistant can do it for you.
When you come home in the evening, your dog is happy and relaxed because your assistant took her for a walk. And forget about the pet smells! Your kitty litter is freshly changed.
Your home is clean and tidy, and the fridge is full of groceries.
Instead of returning to a long to-do list, you’re coming home to a place where you feel comfortable. Now you can relax and focus on the things you want to do, not the things you have to do.
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Personal Household Assistants Can Relieve Stress and Improve Your Happiness
Having a personal household assistant is about more than just getting all the chores done. The peace of mind we bring can be a huge stress reliever.
When you’re dreading going home to all the dishes, it impacts your productivity and happiness. Instead, leave your home in the hands of someone professional, trustworthy, and eager to help. Life is too short to fight about who’s going to do the laundry.
Contact Pepper’s Personal Assistants Today!
If you’re a working mom or dad who needs a little help, to meet your new house manager and ally!
Whether you’re relocating across the country, internationally, or to a new neighborhood, moving can be a hassle. No matter how far your move, hiring a personal household assistant for moving is guaranteed to take a huge load off your to-do list as you make Seattle your new home.
Assistants aren’t only there to take care of administrative technicalities such as updating your mailing address, voter registration and much more. A personal household assistant can pick up the slack in many significant ways before, during, and after the move. This will give you time to focus on your career and personal life.
Here are some ways a personal household assistant can help ease the stress of moving:
Apartment-hunting
So you’ve decided to make the move to Seattle—but you’re currently living several states away. In most cases, it’s not realistic to constantly travel between locations as you search for the perfect pad. This is where a Seattle-based PA can step in as a local liaison.
Browse apartments online and whittle down your list of top picks. Then, your household assistant can coordinate in-person viewings at each location and can even stand in for you at any appointments you can’t attend.
Perhaps you’d like to Skype or FaceTime to see each spot in real-time through your PA’s eyes? Or maybe you’d prefer a text or email with detailed photographs and notes? Your superstar sidekick is ready to help according to your needs.
Storage
Your PA can track down the storage facilities closest to your new neighborhood and reserve a space at your preferred location. When moving time approaches, your spot will be ready for you to store boxes, furniture, recreational equipment, and more. Your assistant is there to help you in any way you see fit. Whether it’s coordination or lending a helping hand as you shuffle between home and storage, we’re here.
Unpacking
Those stacks of marker-labeled cardboard boxes always seem to linger long after moving day. Both on and after moving day, your PA can help you unload and recycle boxes. This is especially handy once you return to work, as an extra pair of hands can ensure no time goes wasted. The sooner those boxes are out of sight, the sooner your new place can start to feel like home.
Homemaking
Once you begin to get settled, you’re likely either preparing to return to or start work, are busy job-hunting, or are bogged down with a million other post-move tasks. Though hunting for the best deal on a couch may not be at the top of your to-do list, it’s still a huge priority—especially if the only available living room seating is on the floor!
We can make furniture store runs, start arranging your decor according to your personal style, and run any necessary errands (after all, that empty refrigerator will need stocking!). While you’re at work, we can also be onsite during the 4-hour service and delivery window given by many furniture and internet providers.
With enough time invested daily, we can have your place spick and span by the end of your first week.
Local Intel
If you’re new to the area, allow us to make a few recommendations! Many of our professional personal household assistants are longtime Seattle-area residents. They are happy to share their intel on favorite local attractions, restaurants, markets, outdoor activities. We can even give recommendations on the more technical stuff such as doctor offices, schools, auto service shops—you name it. With a Pepper’s personal assistant by your side, you’ll be a tried-and-true Seattleite in no time.
Contact Pepper’s Personal Assistants Today!
Thinking of starting your journey with a new personal household assistant? and let’s get started.
If you travel often for business or leisure, you’re probably pretty familiar with the feeling of coming back after a long trip, setting down your bags and finally relaxing in your own home.
You can just kick back, enjoy a meal, cuddle with your pet and then crawl into your soft bed.
Except … that’s probably not how it goes.
The house is cold because the heat’s been off. The fridge is either empty or full of expired food that you forgot to toss before your trip. Your houseplants are parched, your garden is dry, and your things are strewn everywhere from your hasty departure.
You’d love to rest, but you have to unpack your suitcase, do laundry, walk the dog and make dinner.
Pepper’s Personal Assistants for Absentee Home Services
Two of our specialties are taking care of homes while the occupants are away and preparing the spaces for their return. We can do pretty much anything you want to get your house ready for you. Still, here’s a sampling of services we recommend for absentee home care and arrival preparation.
Kitchen
A worst-case scenario is coming home to an empty fridge — or worse, a fridge full of expired food. We’ll stock your refrigerator with fresh produce, juice, milk and other perishables and clear out the old stuff.
Additionally, our assistants can make sure a healthy, homemade meal is in the crockpot or ready for you to heat up right out of the fridge. You’ll have no need to cook right away or stop to grab takeout!
Have a home project you can’t seem to pull the trigger on? What better time to arrange it then when you’re out of the house! Our assistants can meet with and stick around for home-visiting vendors to arrange things like carpet cleanings, car wash or repair, gutter cleanings, and more!
Outdoors
From arranging fresh flowers on the table to making sure your cactus or Monstera thrives, Pepper’s personal assistants have somewhat of a green thumb. We’d love to help out with your plants and/or garden!
General Tidiness
Come home to a clean and cozy bedroom with fresh linens and nicely folded towels. Your home will rival the hotel you just left! We can also sweep and clean floors and surfaces to ensure you return to a spotless house after your time away.
Don’t worry about an overflowing mailbox, packages piled at the door or home-related appointments needing rescheduling. Pepper’s personal assistants will collect and sort your mail and packages, as well as meet with any gardeners, maintenance people, painters or other home service providers who work while you’re out of town.
Completely Customizable Help
Our absentee home services are all about making you feel confident that we’re caring for your home while you’re away and that everything is ready when you return. We’re happy to tailor our services according to your trip length, home type, occupants and more.
Our thoughts are focused on the Black Lives Matter movement. After the recent deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the numerous other Black lives that have been lost, the world has joined together to grieve these lives and fight to end institutional racism.
At Pepper’s Personal Assistants, we believe wholeheartedly that Black lives matter. We know that systemic racism is a problem in this country and the status quo needs to change. We believe that we can help change the world by speaking our truths, supporting our Black peers and community members. We believe that supporting Black-owned businesses, voting for the future of the Black community, creating a diverse work environment, and donating money to organizations supporting Black people and the fight to end institutional racism are a few of the actions we can take to ensure a future of equity for all.
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