Spring Cleaning for the Rest of Us

Have you tried to take up a spring cleaning or decluttering challenge and just couldn’t seem to finish it? Perhaps you didn’t join at all because you were afraid you’d fail. Yet the cleaning and decluttering still need to happen, and looking at all the chaos can be so discouraging!

If you’ve felt that way – if you ever have these obstacles to a clean and decluttered house – this challenge is for you! It is a flexible spring cleaning plan that you can make as light or robust as you like depending on your goals and daily life.

There are many obstacles we might face when trying to spruce up our home:

  • Lack of time
  • Procrastination
  • Too many other responsibilities
  • Poor self-discipline
  • Bad habits on our part or on the part of family members
  • Lack of experience/skills keeping house
  • Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work

I struggle with all of these things at different times, but I’m just tired of looking at the chaos in our home and the spring cleaning projects that never get done. So I set out to create a flexible cleaning challenge for busy moms – that’s you and me!

Don't let spring cleaning intimidate you! Join us for the 6-week spring clean and declutter challenge - great accountability and a free spring cleaning checklist printable!

Disclosure: *This post may include affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the disclosures and terms for more information.

Here are some of the things that will set us up for success:

  • Simple but flexible plan that fits our needs and goals
  • A challenge with a deadline that keeps us motivated
  • Community and encouragement from other busy moms
  • Continuous progress instead of a one-shot effort
  • Rewards for our accomplishments

How the 6-Week Spring Cleaning and Decluttering Challenge Works

Download the printables below to get started. There is a planning page, a blank planning page, and checklists for the 6 defined areas to work on.

Clean and Declutter Planning Pages

6 Clean and Declutter Challenge 1

 

The planning page includes 6 weeks with a different area of the house to focus on each week. The columns have different types of tasks to do. The circle at the top right of the chart is where you can put that satisfying giant checkmark when the challenge is complete!

Here are the task types you can choose to do each week: 

  • Clean – Any deep cleaning tasks you are going to do (there are checklists in the printable for your use)
  • Declutter – Specific areas you are going to declutter (this can be in the area you are focusing on for the week or some extra decluttering task you want to accomplish)
  • Habits – Any habits you want to focus on
  • Hot Spots – Areas you want to clean that are common hot spots for clutter in your home
  • Beautify – Decorating or other beautifying tasks for that area
  • Take Note – Notes on what worked or you want to do for that area in the next challenge

Set Up Your 6 Week Clean and Declutter Plan

First decide what you’re going to tackle for this particular challenge. You can always do the challenge again in the future (I’m thinking every season, for myself). Be realistic based on what is going on in your life right now. Challenge yourself, but make it something you can succeed in!

Here are some examples of how you can set up your plan:

  • Complete a Clean set of tasks and a Hot Spots task for every week (anything extra is bonus)
  • Complete a Clean set of tasks and pick one additional type for every week as the challenge progresses
  • Fill all your tasks in ahead of time and cross them out as you go
  • Decide week-by-week what types of tasks you will do
  • If you want to do additional areas in your home or create a completely customized plan, use the blank planning page.
  • Choose an accountability partner or some other way to keep yourself motivated and encouraged
  • Plan a simple reward for yourself that you can enjoy upon completion of your challenge

Spring Cleaning and Decluttering Checklists

Cleaning Checklists

The printable includes checklists for each week’s focus area. If you choose to use one or more of them, highlight which tasks you are going to do.

The checklists for each area are separated into three levels based on how difficult or involved they are. You can choose to do a whole level or pick and choose which tasks you’d like to complete for this challenge.

Example Spring Cleaning and Decluttering Plan

6 Clean and Declutter Challenge Example

Here is an example of what the planning page might look like for you. My cleaning plan will look a lot like it! In this plan, I chose to use the cleaning checklists on some weeks but not others. I added a few random decluttering tasks I need to get done that may not necessarily fit in the areas.

Download the Spring Cleaning Checklist Printable!

Are you ready to put this into action? First, download and fill out your spring cleaning checklist printable and highlight any levels or individual tasks you plan on doing in the checklists. 

That’s it! Get your cleaning kit together and tackle the challenge!

Click the button to download the free checklist. I go through this challenge about once a quarter but you can do it any time! 

Download the flexible 6-week Spring Cleaning challenge!

Download the 6-Week Cleaning Challenge!

*Your download link will be emailed to you and you will be subscribed to Proverbial Homemaker if you aren’t already. Be sure to check your spam/promotions folder. If you have any issues, check out this troubleshooting guide or feel free to email me!

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This Post Has 391 Comments

  1. Sarah

    My biggest challenge is keeping up with the clutter. Each member of our family contributes to the clutter daily. I’m trying to implement some daily routines to help, but it’s slow-going.

  2. Sarah

    My biggest challenge is tiredness, haha! After being up all night with a baby, taking care of the older kids and doing school with them, doing chores and cleaning and errands, I just run out of steam. Baby needs to start sleeping through the night!

  3. Tina

    my biggest challenge with meals is finding time to sit down to do a meal plan, figure out what meals to make, and also finding time to start cooking before 5pm!!!

    1. Lori

      My biggest challenge is knowing what to make and to have all the ingredients i need.

  4. Sandra Lassiter

    With homeschooling four kids from elementary to high school and my husband having an …interesting schedule, it makes it difficult at times to get good, healthy meals on the table in a decent amount of time. An instant pot can really help in that regard!

  5. Beth

    I’m not sure where to leave this comment! However, I hope here will suffice. I find dinnertime difficult because of the time of day. I usually am juggling helping with homework, occupying my younger kids, and tidying up all while trying to cook a meal that I may or may not have remembered to thaw the meat. 🙂

  6. Cari Britt

    Navigating all of my son’s food allergies while still making a meal everyone else enjoys.

  7. Melissa

    My biggest challenge in making meals for my family is lunch. I usually don’t plan it very well. I often expect leftovers but don’t get as much as I’d planned for. I often have bread but no meat for sandwiches, or the other way around.

  8. Liz

    My biggest challenge is there seems to be very little like everyone likes.

  9. Melissa Paz-Morales

    My biggest challenge is meeting everyones picky dietary needs

    1. Anna

      My biggest challenge is my picky eaters. Second would be remembering to plan ahead.

  10. Melinda Roberts

    I’m usually tied by dinner time so it is a struggle just to want to cook

  11. Edie C

    All the time it takes for meal planning, prep, cooking, and cleanup!

  12. Pam

    My biggest challenge, remembering to thaw meat!! 🙂 And, then coming up with side dishes.

  13. Amy Main

    I’m excited about the spring cleaning challenge! This looks like something I could easily follow.

  14. Heather B.

    Thank you for the Spring Cleaning Challenge! I needed a little organization and motivation!

  15. Kelly Stowe

    My biggest challenge for making homemade meals is lack of knowledge and energy.

  16. Amy Main

    My biggest challenge is finding new things to make to keep my homemade meal snacks from getting boring.

    1. Amy Main

      Meals, not meal snacks!

  17. Julie M

    Our family’s biggest challenge preparing dinner is unforseen plan changes cutting into prep time and taking our best laid plans.

  18. Marcie

    The challenge in home cooked meals is finding the best quality within budget.

  19. Deborah

    Having the time and energy to make the home cooked meal.

  20. Gabrielle

    Time is my biggest challenge. Between work, homeschooling, kids sports, etc it always seems like I”m staring into the fridge at 5:30 hoping dinner will magically prepare itself. (I’ve tried meal planning but haven’t found a good system yet).
    Thanks for hosting the spring cleaning challenge!

  21. Kristen

    My biggest challenge is just taking the time to menu plan.

  22. Victoria

    Biggest challenge: food allergies….finding quick, healthy meals.

  23. Kelly

    Thanks for the resources for spring cleaning. I find the biggest problem with cooking a meal for my family is finding something they all like and getting it cooked in a decent amount of time.

  24. Amy K

    It’s tricky to make big meals with good protein that will fill them all up.

  25. Laura

    The biggest challenge is just being in the kitchen – it is cramped and sorely in need of an overhaul. It’s depressing to be in it.

  26. Elisabeth

    My biggest issue with homemade meals is knowing where to start. I have meal planners, menus, and recipes out the whazoo, but have no clue how to actually start the process and then get it started.

  27. mistie

    Meat is expensive – I think that is where I get caught up. We seem to get caught in the same rut of cheap meat and meals. I have heard with the insta pot you can cook cheaper/tougher pieces of meat quicker and they are nice and tender. I think that would be great.

  28. Rust

    My biggest challenge is keeping on hand all the fresh ingredients I need.

  29. Cheryl

    My biggest challenge in putting together a homemade meal for my family now that it is just the 2 of us is trying to only fix small portions. We have 6 children and seems there were always a extra or 2 around, Just the past month it has gone to just hubby and me. Also I don’t always get home at an early time and I don’t like to eat after 6 -so that sometimes is a challenge.

  30. Sara

    Biggest challenge in making meals for my family: I work from 2-6 weeknights, so I get home around 630. This means I must have dinner prepped and ready to bake in the fridge, or going in the crockpot. Scheduling is my nemesis!

  31. Charlene S.

    The biggest challenge is finding something to make that everyone in my family will eat.

  32. Christine W

    I’ve heard so many good things about the instapot and how it saves so much time. Which is my problem, I don’t have the time to make big meals. I’ll have to put it on my Christmas list.

  33. Gina

    My biggest challenge in making meals is that dinner time is different every night. I work, my teenagers have jobs, we have community group, etc. The day slips away fast!

  34. Alicia

    Some days I just plain lack the motivation to put something together for dinner!

  35. JessicaT

    My biggest challenge is getting meals ready on time. We have such busy days!

  36. Heidi

    I have a large family and there are times that menu planning comes to a halt. So having an Instant Pot that I could toss in frozen meat & veggies that have dinner in a snap would be a lifesaver!!

  37. Beverly

    The instapot is a favorite of several homeschool mom’s. I’d love to replace my slow cooker with something faster. 😉

  38. Oksana

    The biggest challenge for me is meal planning. Some days I do make meal plans than, last minute something else sounds tastier and throws me off of what I was planning

  39. Jenn S.

    My biggest obstacle in making meals for my family is… well there are a couple things. One is that we get in ruts, and we end up making the same couple of things over and over again. We wouldn’t mind trying new recipes, but most of the recipes either have way too many ingredients, take way too long to make, or are too complicated. Also, we are a family of 3 and the worst meal for my son is dinner. It is really tricky to find something he will eat. He doesn’t eat a lot, so we only need enough food for 2+ people and most of the recipes make a TON of food. We don’t do leftovers and also don’t want to waste!

  40. Wendy Feese

    Time is always my biggest challenge for any task that is worth doing, including cooking.

  41. Cari Webb

    I have so many distractions!

  42. Heather C

    My biggest challenge is getting stuck in a rut if the same meals every week. Also, I eat only plant based, and my family still occasionally eats meat that I cook.

  43. Angela W

    My biggest challenge is finding a meal that everyone enjoys. Our kids like plain food and my husband and I like food with seasoning,etc.

  44. Carrie

    My biggest challenge in meal-making is time!

  45. Heather Siani

    Myou biggest challenge is finding the time to make the dinner!

  46. Janelle

    My biggest challenge is planning ahead and coming up with new recipes to try that my kids will eat.

  47. Tammy

    My biggest struggle is pairing the kids’ likes with what is allowable due to food allergies. Time is also a factor since we home school.

  48. Darcy

    The biggest challenge to making homemade meals for my family is doing it while staying within our budget. With a family of 14, it is hard to do.

  49. Amy R.

    extra time and having all the groceries without having to make a trip to the grocery store!

  50. Corene h.

    My biggest challenge is procastination! I forget to plan ahead that is why I love the instapot!!

  51. Lisa

    My biggest challenge for making homemade meals for my family is having the energy to do so. I struggle with many headaches that sap the life out of me.

  52. Lindsey

    My biggest challenge is meal planning.

  53. NT

    Biggest challenge is the time it can take to make a really nice meal, this would def help!

  54. Hilde

    My biggest challenge in cooking is making it on time. While I am still studying it is hard to find the time for healthy cooking.

  55. Theresa Christophersen

    Thank you for the opportunity to win your giveaway! What hinders me most in providing healthy meals for my family is time. Homeschooling and working part-time outside the home are a challenge to doing this. I need quick and easy!

  56. Therese

    The hardest part of making homemade meals for me os planning ahead. I am bad about making a meal plan and sticking to it.

  57. Ruth Utz

    My biggest challenge is timing, remembering to pull meat out in time etc. and remembering not to use up ingredients on other dishes instead of their intended use! LOL

  58. Lynette Williams

    Time and planning

  59. Steph @ MomKaboodle

    My biggest challenge is finding things my picky eaters will like….preferably both liking the same thing at the same time! 🙂

  60. Wendy Forbes

    Time is the biggest challenge when making homemade meals for my family.

  61. Tasha

    TIme is definitely my biggest challenge in making homemade meals for my family. It seems like there always too much to do!

  62. Kala

    We have late nights every night because of dance and gymnastics…the last thing I feel like doing is cooking a full meal at 8 or 9pm. This would be a lifesaver!

  63. Sarah

    Sounds great!

  64. charlla peck

    Time and work schedules.

  65. Barbie Fisher

    Recipes. I used to cook meat based meals. Since we stopped eating meat as our main dish I am kinda lost.

  66. Jennifer Mathesz

    biggest challenge is finding receipes EVERYONE likes

  67. Becky

    Hardest would be planning, energy, and time to cook home cooked meals.

  68. Cheryl

    When the boys were growing up I could come up with meals almost before giving it a thought. I do not know why, but fixing something for the two of us has become a real challenge. We never seem to have all the ingredients or we do not want to take the time for preparation! Needless to say, we definitely need to rethink our eating habits.

  69. Marty

    My biggest challenge is lack of time. By the time I get home from work and picking up the kids, it’s nearly 7 and everyone is starving. A crockpot is a great idea.

  70. Lori Schneider

    Organizing and de-cluttering are my “thang”. It’s time management that always gets me! So many projects and not sure how to fit them in — from the necessary to the “would be nice.” Coordinating my homeschool, with work, with taking care of my home and family. Love this blog post, though!

  71. Carol

    Where do I start? Homeschooling a special needs son, his therapies, church responsibilities, hubby in school …. And I have to cook and clean, too? LOL! My dining room table is the drop off spot. Unfortunately, it’s easily seen from our ALL glass front door ….

  72. Ginny Tyler

    The biggest challenge for dinner each night is TIME! There’s never enough of it! Thanks for the giveaway!

  73. Margarete

    My biggest challenge is making meals that do not have all the allergens in it that my kids have and my husband will be happy eating these meals.

  74. Sarah McKendree

    I am looking forward to this challenge, and the best part is knowing that I am not doing it by myself!

  75. Beth Mo

    Making time to prepare the meals I want to prepare versus the meals I “have time” to prepare.

  76. ANNA

    My biggest challenge isn’t the lack of recipes, it’s the lack of supplies to do it with. So I’m left with hard beans (cheap) to cook for 3 hours on the stove, and believe me trying to hover over them for that long is a real challenge for someone with M.S.. Winning that pot would be a true God-send! I’ve dreamed of having one of these for a very long time. Thank you for hosting the giveaway. 🙂

  77. Gloria

    My biggest challenge is health issues and being overwhelmed by all the clutter.

  78. Roselyn Romero

    My biggest challenge is storing all the appliances! Crockpots, blender, waffle maker, toaster, etc. I could eliminate the rice maker and a crockpot with an instapot!

  79. Laura A

    My biggest challenge is knowing how much to make. With 5 kids ages 5 to 11 I never know from one meal to the next how hungry they will be. What is a sufficient amound of a dish one time is insufficent or too much the next time in suffice make the aame dish.

  80. LP

    I sooooo needed this!

  81. Melissa Lynch

    I don’t do well with meal planning and/or prepping for them day’s meal. It’ll often come to 4:00 and I realize I don’t have any idea what we’re going to eat for dinner.

  82. Laura Ouillette

    My biggest challenge with meals is finding time to either make something or remembering to turn the crockpot on in the morning, The instapot would help me especially on those days when I’m running low on time.

  83. Deborah M

    My biggest challenge is time. After working two jobs I don’t seem to have the time to cook good meals

  84. Monica M

    My biggest challenge is not getting distracted! I have good intentions and then…. well, things come undone as I waste time walking around, putting this here, that there and really not doing much of any one thing. It would be great to be back on track. Thank you for the challenge!

  85. Olivia

    I have been wanting to try an InstantPot! 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!

  86. Jennifer

    My biggest challenge is organization, I think. Like others have mentioned, I forget to thaw meat, my family gets bored of the same budget friendly meals… (and our budget could use all the friends it could get.. ^-^), and we get so busy that it either seems like I spend all day cooking for people (family of 6), or that things are getting messy… 0.o

  87. Rozanna s

    Meal planning….

  88. Mandi Goforth

    My biggest challenge is making one thing that everyone will eat that’s not tacos or spaghetti.

  89. Kristi

    I think my biggest problem with making homemade meals is Energy. By the time we are finished with school and doing the house chores and playing with the kids I’m totally spent.

  90. Susan

    My biggest challenge is figuring out how to accommodate all our nutritional needs and picky children.

  91. Celesta

    My biggest struggle is keeping it in a tight budget, while being healthy., and making side dishes!

  92. Jamilyn

    Biggest challenge; Time! I get interrupted often and sometimes it is my fault (not planning ahead) and sometimes just can’t meet the needs of my family and cook!

  93. Sara

    Our family mostly eats a whole-food, plant-based diet so our meals don’t have easy short-cuts. Meals are mostly made from scratch and can be quite time-consuming. I’m trying to plan ahead enough to do some batch cooking, but so far, I have a hard time giving up a chunk of my weekend to do it.

  94. Valerie

    My biggest challenges are planning and time, time, TIME. I work 2 jobs, have 2 teenagers (who are active in EVERYTHING), and a husband who works out of town. Gracious, I don’t even have time to think, much less cook!

  95. Vicki

    Excited for the cleaning and the give away!

  96. Heather

    My biggest challenge is time. Starting dinner in time to have everything ready when we need to eat. We are grain-free with nut allergies so meal prep tends to take awhile!

  97. nicole b

    My biggest challenge is time, I am always rushing to make dinner between getting school done and getting to the next event for the evening.

  98. Elisabeth

    Planning! I do great if I have a plan in place, but haven’t been doing well with that lately. I recently started a group with friends that meets once a month to plan… hoping it will give me the motivation I need!

  99. Kelli

    Biggest challenge in making meals: having a plan for the week! It’s easy when I already know what to make for the day, but when I fail to plan ahead, I hate trying to scramble something together and searching for ahead recipe last minute!

  100. Kathy

    Biggest challenge is a one-year old who gets fussy when it is time to make dinner.

  101. Jerusha Fulk

    My biggest challenge is planning ahead and starting early enough to have dinner ready on time.

  102. Kaitlyn

    I am consistently a champion meal planner and maker on Monday and Tuesday and by Wednesday I decide to give myself a break and eat out since I cooked for two days and then Thursday is almost Friday so we should probably eat out again, and Friday is the weekend so the kitchen is closed! I guess the moral of the story is I’m an expert excuse maker!

  103. Diana

    My biggest challenge cooking for my family is coming up with new kid friendly recipes.

  104. Stephanie Phelps

    My biggest challenge for cooking dinner for my family is time!

  105. Heather Carver

    The hardest thing is time. Time for meal prep and time for cooking the meal itself. Staying healthy with lots of veggies is a must for my family. If we aren’t healthy then we aren’t happy.

  106. kathy downey

    My biggest challenge in making homemade meals for my family is time,these seems to never be enough hours in a day!

  107. Michelle Jackson

    Not giving myself enough time! =)

  108. Ann

    My biggest challenge by far is meal planning and getting the food on the table.

  109. Debie

    My biggest challenge is planning, prepping, and time juggling. Picking up kids from school after work, and getting everybody to grandpa’s house to cook there. Sometimes I don’t know what to cook and if I have all my ingredients available at grandpa’s house. Plus the meal needs to be soft enough for grandpa, but tasty enough for the kids. Sometimes, we end up getting take out because it’s easier and faster.

  110. Ellie Wright

    My biggest challenge is time. We are always so busy with sports practices and games for 2 boys.

  111. Michelle Carver

    Fast and healthy meals…

  112. Sarah

    my biggest challenge with making meals for the family is planning. I often get to dinner time with no idea what I am going to put on the table, and have to quickly throw something together.

  113. Brandi Currier

    Raising 5 kids is a blessed challenge. Clutter wins more often than not, becoming a mess that overwhelms. Looking forward to having a ready made list of things to do each week.

  114. Michaela Hintgen

    Thanks for the giveaway offer!

  115. Melissa Slowik

    My biggest challenge is meal planning and shopping ahead of time. I’m so bad about waiting til the last minute to decide what’s for dinner. Even if I do plan ahead and shop ahead, it’s usually only a meal or two so I end up making multiple trips to the grocery store each weel.

  116. Heather

    My biggest challenge is time management and poor planning. We are a very busy homeschool family. We have recently come up with a tight budget in an effort to save money. Typically, we eat out four or five times a week. This new budget is only going to allow us to eat out once a week on Sunday after church. So, we are going to have to change our ways in an attempt to stick to our new budget. Thanks for a chance to win this giveaway!

  117. Emilia

    My biggest challenge is timing the meal to have it ready for everybody. We wait for my husband to come home and if he doesn’t give me he heads up then the meal is usually late because I’m busy during the day with the kids

  118. Kate

    I have trouble keeping a routine to keep things in the right place… I also have an almost 3 and almost 6 year old. We are so busy most nights of the week, starting a dinner in the morning would be awesome or not having to make a full dinner at 7/8 pm when they have to be up and out by 6am.

  119. Cindy

    My biggest challenge is the fatigue and pain from my various diseases while dealing with my 83 year old mother who is unable to walk or care for herself and needs 24 hour care. By the time mealtime rolls around, I am exhausted. From what I hear, an instant pot would be a wonderful thing to have.

  120. Andrea

    Lack of planning on my part gets in the way sadly.

  121. Patrick Carter

    MY biggest challenge is planning meals.

  122. Pam Clouse

    My biggest challenge in making meals for the family would be coming up with something different but also something that everyone will at least try if not like ! Also, forgetting to take meat out of the freezer is a challenge for me to overcome !

  123. Mary

    My biggest challenge is probably just being tired of cooking, especially by the time I get to supper!

  124. Stephanie H.

    My biggest challenge is making dinner and pleasing everyone’s taste buds at the same time. My hubby loves eating meat and our daughter refuses to eat meat right now, so sometimes I’ll have to make two separate dinners.

  125. Tammy Thompson

    My biggest challenge is limited budget. My second biggest is simply lack of good planning.

  126. Gary

    Our biggest challenge is coming up with a plan for balanced meals and sticking to it.

  127. Melinda

    I’m hoping to get some of this done, as we prepare to move again. Thanks!

  128. Maggie

    My biggest challenge is cooking healthy meals that everyone enjoys or is not allergic to, .

  129. Karen

    I’m so ready for this!! IT’S TIME

  130. Tamboliya

    My biggest challenges to making meals: being chronically ill, no counter space, my food expiring before I get a chance to cook & eat them, food restrictions (lactose-intolerant), etc. [Too many more obstacles to name].

  131. Ginny

    As so many others have said, time is my challenge. So many of my kids’ activities happen around dinner time!

  132. Liz Brown

    Biggest problem I have with family meals is I forget to take the meat out of the freezer before hand!

  133. Terri S

    My biggest challenge is variety. It becomes hard to have new meals while sticking to a budget.

  134. Kathleen

    My biggest issue cooking meals is forgetting to start soon enough so we aren’t eating late at night.

  135. Devchenka

    My biggest challenge is to make a healthy meal that everyone will enjoy, most of the time i end it up cooking several different meals to someone end it up being hungry =)

  136. Sharie

    My biggest challenge is keeping my meal plan organized and flexible.

  137. becky

    My biggest challenge is remembering to take something out of the freezer.

  138. Connie Scruggs

    I have a hard time planning meals in advance and having ingredients on hands. I also just don’t enjoy standing up and cooking!

  139. Melissa Lee

    I usually have to make two meals – one bland enough for my spd son and one for my husband and I to eat.

  140. Brenda Jahnke

    My biggest challenge is finding the time to fix home cooked meals, since I’m taking a course in order to supplement our family’s income.

  141. Jennifer

    The hardest part about meal prep is remembering to start on time!

  142. Tricia Hope

    My challenge is working around everyones’ schedules.With extra curricular activities,volunteering and homework,I wish I could cook in the car!

  143. Lorianne Stogsdill

    My biggest challenge with meals is coming up with a plan that doesn’t have me in the kitchen all the time. We have a busy sports season coming up and I need quick easy meals!

  144. Brandy

    My biggest challenge is forgetfullness. I forget to get things prepped sometimes and it makes dinner time a pain.

  145. Kathie Craig

    My biggest challenge is that my boys get. off of the bus at the same time I should be fixing dinner. My husband has a crazy work schedule and a limited diet. I can fix something early but it may sit there all night waiting on him to come home.

  146. Gabrielle

    My biggest problem is remembering to turn the crockpot on in time to be ready by dinnertime!

  147. Kim w

    My biggest challenge is just coming up with ideas

  148. Martina

    My biggest challenge is our schedule. With homeschooling and evening activities, it makes it hard to get dinner on the table.

  149. Shannon Chomanczuk

    My biggest challenge is finding something everyone will like and keep me within my weight Watchers points. Then finding the time to shop for the ingredients and prep. Meal planning is hard work!

  150. Lindsay

    My biggest challenge to cooking is giving myself the time to do it, getting bogged down by making the decision of what to make each meal, and not really being taught much about cooking when I was younger. It’s also not a huge passion of mine like it is for some people.

  151. adriana

    i would say making something everyone likes.+

  152. Corinne

    My biggest challenge is my health. I’ve been diagnosed with several autoimmune disorders that cause debilitating pain and fatigue. I use what little energy and strength I have to be present with my four children from noon until 6, when my husband gets home, that I have normally collapse when he walks in the door. I don’t have the energy to keep my house the way I’d like it to be, and I have to choose between cleaning or giving my children my attention. I have not been able to teach my children how to clean and dexlutter for themselves either. I often think if I could just have a few good days to teach them how to organize and clean, our home life would be a lot less stressful….one day!

  153. Katie

    The time of day that meal making occurs is always a tough one with a baby.

  154. Wanita

    The set-up that you have for the cleaning challenge is amazing – something that I may actually be able to follow! Oh, and I would love to win the InstaPot and gift card!

  155. Sarah T.

    My biggest challenge is having the energy and motivation to cokk, especially after homeschooling all day.

  156. Cindi O

    I have a tough time with coming up with idea for supper and time. Never seem to have enough time.

  157. Ruth

    My biggest challenge is being able to plan Anything when my home is cluttered! But it has been cluttered forever!! So I just Have to get on it!! I discovered my problem when my husband helped me redo our kitchen and declutter it. Suddenly I am doing Great with my meal planning. 🙂 Now for the rest of our home!

  158. Mary

    My biggest challenge is time. 3, 2 and 9 month old keep me very tied up. I forgot to mention my hubby!

  159. Jamie

    I’ve been trying to de-clutter my house, but I haven’t had much success. Hopefully being a part of this challenge will help me!

  160. Ruth

    My challenge with meal planning now is making sure I can plan ahead and make as much as possible homemade/ from scratch.

  161. Teresa

    I would love to win this pot for my sister-in-law. She has three children, one of which is high needs due to being in/out of the hospital since birth (she is almost 6 years old). My sister-in-law does not cook and her and her husband both work full time in order to pay the bills. I just know that the Instant Pot would help them out greatly!!

  162. Heather Duncan

    My biggest issue is not really cooking the meals or meal planning, I have those down. It is finding new recipes or to branch out from our usual meals. I cook according to what veggies are in season, so when I am craving zucchini in the winter, it is hard to cook it when I have none. We grow all our own veggies, so if we don’t have something put up, we don’t rush out to the store to buy it, we just don’t eat it till we have it inthe garden.

  163. Tiffany

    My biggest challenge is finding time – and balancing it with the other things I need to get done.

  164. Nicole

    My biggest challenge with meals is time management. Either I don’t notice the time until I get a late start to meal prep, or I start on time and things take so much longer than they “should”. I do have 5 children 7yrs old and younger, so this *is* an extra intense phase, but that’s not changing anytime soon, so time and household management skills need to grow, lol.

  165. Lorna

    Planning and using up leftovers. Trying to eat whole foods, but having foods given to us from food pantries to use. Finding new and ‘exiciting’ uses for beans, which hubby would avoid if left alone!

  166. Amanda

    My biggest challenge is having enough time to put together a meal and making sure I have all the ingredients ready. It also seems like my daughters likes and dislikes change every week.

  167. Cindy Pressley

    Having lots of pain is my biggest problem. Preparation helps!

  168. Becky

    Our biggest challenge (outside of the playroom) is keeping our breakfast bar cleaned off. It seems to gather EVERYTHING!

  169. Kim

    Finding recipes that fill everyone up and then having a pot big enough to make the quantity desired with hopes of leftovers for another night!

  170. Pam S

    My biggest challenge with meals is a low cholesterol, low fat, and prediabetic meal, as well as having a picky eater.

  171. Rachel

    My biggest challenge is trying to find meals that are easily adaptable for low-carb for me, but “regular” for my husband, who is not doing low-carb!

  172. Kristi Wilson

    My biggest challenge is not laying out things from the freezer to thaw and coming up with a plan when I am just too tired and want the meal to just show up ready to go.

  173. Adam C

    My wife actually does all the cooking and does an amazing job at cooking from scratch most meals. The main exception is days she’s sick which isn’t very often.

  174. Kortney

    My biggest challenges are that I don’t enjoy cooking and planning ahead/thawing meat so it is ready to cook.

  175. Edith

    We live 20 miles out of town and eat homemade meals daily. In the past I would prepare meats (boil chicken, de-bone it, and freeze the meat and broth) to speed meal preparation. I seemed to have gotten away from that because of all the “busy” . We are a big homeschooling family with a large garden to maintain, church ministries, and jobs. Time is definitely an obstacle.

  176. Kirsten

    Finding time to prep the food and often finding enough variety of recipes the whole family enjoys.

  177. Elizabeth

    finding the time and energy to just get started 🙂

  178. Tosha McDugle

    I love to make homemade meals. I just usually don’t get them started soon enough. I’m a night person trying to shift my whole schedule earlier. Which reminds me…I was supposed to be in bed an hour and 15 minutes ago!!! Toodles!

  179. Jeanine Carlson

    I am disabled and I can’t stand or sit at the counter for a long period of time. Meals are prepared in shifts…

  180. Anastasia B

    Biggest challenge is the required prep and clean up time, with an infant strapped to me.

  181. Laura

    My biggest challenge is always forgetting to thaw meat! Then I have take extra time to thaw it and supper get so late, or we have sandwiches…again.

  182. Jill Miller

    Finding meals that are healthy and that everyone enjoys and will eat

  183. Kris M

    My biggest meal challenge is figuring out what to make, day in and day out!

  184. Clea

    Biggest challenge with meals Is having uninterrupted preparation times. I usually end up with a toddler sitting on the counter watching, and sampling.

  185. Kathrine

    My biggest challenge is the time it takes to plan, shop for, and prepare the meals.

  186. Sharon

    My biggest challenge is that my kids like completely different things, so making something that makes everyone happy is difficult. I usually just make what my husband and I want, and they can eat it or go hungry. But, it is frustrating nonetheless.

  187. Heidi L.

    My biggest challenge is finding the time to prepare healthy and likeable meals for my family. I find myself turning to frozen foods too often. I also especially need to find more ways to get vegetables into our meals.

  188. Mindy

    My biggest challenge is motivation & energy!
    I get going good then either I get interrupted or just run out of steam. I’m trying to take better care of myself and complete your 6 week clean & clutter challenge as the ending date is when my husband is taking me to white sand beach in Florida for a vacation.
    I don’t need the pot cooker as we own one and bought our son one, we all just love it. I do hope who ever wins it finds it as great to use as we do, what a time saver!
    Thank you for this challenge and I’ m looking forward to the finished clean & clutter free home

  189. Laura

    My biggest challenge is planning & scheduling with hubby’s crazy work hours some days – I never know for sure when his day will be done & he’ll be home & can usually count on the estimated time he updates me as to his eta home will b easily 20 to 40 minutes earlier than reality.

  190. Kelly D

    My biggest challenge is getting all the ingredients together.

  191. Cindy

    My biggest challenge is simply the large amount of food I need to prepare. That is the life in a big family!

  192. Steve Weber

    The challenge is getting away from eating the same menu over and over.. we both work and its so easy to make easy meals when we get home.

  193. Alison

    I have extremely picky eaters but that is slowly getting better. However, absolute exhaustion is keeping me from getting things planned like I used to. Weekly freezer meals were awesome – must get back on track!!

  194. Amie George

    Our biggest challenge is there is not enough hours in the day to get everything that needs to be done done.

  195. amanda lea

    Absolutely the time and recipes ideas!

  196. Karla

    My challenges vary each day, sometimes it’s the time to get it done and time to plan in the first place, other days the lack of energy.

  197. Mary

    My biggest challenge is coming up with ideas. I like variety and one of my kids likes nothing new…… ongoing challenge. thanks

  198. Natalie

    My biggest challenge is getting everyone’s schedules on the same page so that we can eat dinner together!

  199. Melissa Miller

    my challenge is remembering to get the beef/chicken/pork out to the freezer.

  200. Kat

    My biggest challenge is that I’m now gluten free and my family isn’t but we are trying to be to make things easier. Time, feeling stressed about ideas and things that don’t take forever to make are challenges to me.

  201. Kristi

    My biggest issue is not meal planning. If I don’t meal plan I don’t have things ready to go to prepare dinner. When I have planned ahead it’s easier for me to have everything ready to go for that day!

  202. Jeanna Massman

    My biggest challenge is coming up with ideas for meals that we will all like.

  203. Kristen

    The biggest challenge in making homemade meals for my family is finding the energy to consistently prepare meals. Every day. I get very enthusiastic at the start but then get bogged down and just want to order take out the rest of the week.

  204. Deb S

    My biggest challenge with making healthy meals for my family is that I always want to try new things and end up spending too much time on cooking tasks because I enjoy them and not enough on cleaning, which I hate.

  205. Twyla

    My biggest challenge is time and organization. Have multiple health challenges in our family that requires thought, planning, and time. Always feels like I am flying by the seat of my pants.

  206. Denise

    Working around the dishes that are still waiting for my teen to complete from the previous day’s meals! They mean to do their chore, but they still struggle with time management and prioritizing work they don’t want to do.

  207. Tamara Burchell

    Thank you so much for the printables. They are just what I need to get a head start on spring cleaning. Also thank you for the chance to win the instapot; it would help me tremendoudly with my biggest challenge because I always seem to forget to thaw my meat.

  208. Laura

    My biggest challenge with meals is finding meals my husband actually likes and enough of them that we aren’t eating the same thing every week. Also being tired and having a 2 year old and 1 year old under foot while cooking.

  209. jeani b

    i suck at meal planning, so often i find that i’m one or two ingredients short of the ideal dish. i have to improvise a lot more than i’d like.

  210. Susan Smith

    My biggest challenge is finding something everyone will like. My daughter likes about 5 foods and won’t try anything new.

  211. amy rouse

    laziness. I never think about dinner until everyone is hungry, then resort to going out to eat bc it’s easier

  212. Lisa

    My biggest problem with meals is taking the time to actually plan them. I usually just keep some things on hand and decide what we are having when my husband calls and asks what’s for dinner.

  213. Rebekah A.

    My challenge is constantly figuring out what to make, and then having the energy to make it.

  214. Melinda Busby

    My struggle is coming up with a plan and stickying with the plan and taking the time however little to prepare the meal

  215. C Cupit

    My biggest challenge is meal planning. I need to get into this habit because once I get off work I am in catch-up mode. Planning would help with time constraints as well as add more variety to our meals.

  216. Annie

    Planning for a healthy meal that my daughter and husband will both like.

  217. Ashlee B

    Time is my biggest problem. I’m a single mama, working 45+ hours a week and we have a 30-45 minute commute each way. I’ve been prepping on Sundays, but that takes most of my day by the time everything cooks.

  218. Carol

    My biggest problem is actually sticking to a set plan. I seem to go off on a tangent cleaning project at any moment…..SQUIRREL!!!….. :0

  219. Amanda Armstrong

    My biggest challenge is cost.

  220. Jenny Wilkinson

    Motivation!

  221. Lori

    I struggle with sitting down to plan a menu.

  222. Chrissy

    My biggest problem also stems from not meal planning. It is so hard when you don’t take the time to meal plan & prep!

  223. Tricia

    I could use this. Thanks!

  224. Sonja Brow

    I have some areas that have needed decluttering for a few months, both here and at the preschool where I teach in the afternoons. It’s great to have the encouragement, which will hopefully help me move through these tasks.

  225. f

    My biggest challenge are the dishes that come after the home cooked meal!!

  226. Holly

    Having a plan in the first place. Right now working on a grocery system where I shop for sales only and then shop for meals in my pantry/fridge/freezer. Trying to have a smoother system of meal planning and keeping food budget low.

  227. Casi

    My biggest challenge right now is finding motivation to mess up my kitchen. Sometimes I feel all I do is cook and clean up the kitchen afterwards. I’ve barely get it done before it’s time to start over.

  228. Suzanne JP

    Trying to do everything on the stove while my little ones are right there!

  229. renita henderson

    clutter. we are turning into hoarders.

  230. Katie

    Staying motivated to plan and make healthy meals when life happens.

  231. Stephanie Allen

    Nobody in my family likes the same thing, so we usually have to make three different meals every night just to keep everyone happy and fed.

  232. Ladonna

    My biggest challenge to fixing healthy, homemade meals for my family is the time to put the meal together….. I homeschool, and our kitchen is the where we enter the house, so clutter ends up all over the cabinets. The time required to plan meals, and then clean off the cabinet to make them, and then also cook them can be overwhelming at times. Having one pot meals that I could toss in something like the instant pot would probably make a huge difference!!

  233. Christy Gould

    My biggest challenge is motivation. My kids are picky but we don’t want to let them be picky, so we continue to make “normal” dinners that they can choose to eat or not. But night after night of making dinner for six people when only my husband and I are actually going to eat it . . . it gets discouraging! (Some eat more than others, and all of them have to take a bite, etc., and I don’t make things they don’t like every night, but you get the idea.)

  234. Julie

    My biggest challenge is not preparing ahead of time and then not having anything to make because its dinner time already

  235. Rebecca

    Finding ideas and being inspired! If I have ideas and feel inspired, making meals for my family is a breeze, but sometimes I just feel like I can’t think of anything to make–nothing sounds good, we just had that, or I am missing and ingredient!

  236. LeAnn Harbert

    Having time at the end of the day to cook a healthy meal.

  237. Elizabeth Beer

    My biggest challenge is finding something everyone likes. I know that won’t happen every meal (I have 4 littles 6 and under) but more often would be nice….

  238. Glenda B.

    My biggest challenge is finding meats I can afford to cook. Meat is so expensive and there’s only so many things you can cook with hamburger and chicken.

  239. Denise

    I am totally in need of a good routine for cleaning. Helping me get started “again” with this 6-week challenge will put this into motion!

  240. Tasha

    I have two big challenges in making homemade meals: we are awful at keeping our kitchen clean and I hate cooking in a dirty kitchen, and I have a habit of choosing meals to cook that have a lot of unreported extra time in them, so I never start early enough to finish cooking it at a reasonable time…

  241. Nicole

    My biggest problem is not planning ahead!

  242. Susanne

    My biggest challenge is having one very picky eater & trying to find ways to get him to eat more variety!

  243. Rachel Clark

    Thanks for the giveaway!

  244. Rach

    Thanks for the giveaway and my biggest problem is getting everything timed so that it is done at the same time.

  245. Angel Norman

    My biggest challenge is time management and poor meal planning. We are a very busy family. I am a teacher and work many late nights, often I am too tired and don’t want to cook!

  246. Jennifer

    My biggest challenge with making homemade meals is time and lack of meal planning.

  247. Tammy Shelton

    I just really do not like going to the grocery store.

  248. Dawn

    My biggest challenge when it comes to getting the meal on the table is the planning. I plan two weeks at a time, but sometimes coming up with ideas is challenging. It can seem like we fall into a rut always eating the same things. Trying to mix it up is a challenge.

  249. Hallie

    Planning ahead is by far my biggest struggle.

  250. Julie

    My biggest challenge is meal planning!

  251. Lisa Starr

    My biggest challenge is that I’m bedridden and can only sit upright in my wheelchair for an hour a day, sometimes I push that to get dinner going. I have my high school boys to help, but they aren’t always home, so trying to wheel around my kitchen making a decent meal usually takes me over an hour, almost 2. If I could win this Instant Pot, I’m sure that I could get a good, delicious dinner going and not be in horrible pain after.

  252. Sandra Lassiter

    One of my biggest challenges is getting busy throughout the day and forgetting to plan supper. Another is finding ways to cook great meals for my family without heating my house up even more in a hot, TN summer.

  253. Melissa Palladino

    My biggest problem is prepping! I forget to take things out of the freezer, or soak the beans…It seems to be a constant woah!! I think an Instant Pot would help that! 😉

  254. Jessica

    My biggest challenge is meal planning. I need to do a better job in planning ahead so I will not be winging it most of the time.

  255. Elizabeth Horton

    My biggest challenge is having all these great ideas for organizing, but no time to accomplish them.

  256. Corri Montgomery

    My biggest challenge in making homemade meals is figuring out what to make. I want to make different things and not the same thing over and over.

  257. Becky

    my biggest challenge is the grocery shopping. i hate grocery shopping. XD i’d love the olden days when you could have your groceries delivered. XD

  258. dj Faul

    My biggest challenge is planning far enough in advance to get things out of the freezer when necessary! On those days, I come to the fridge when the girl says, “I’m hungry!” only to find there are no options for “Dinner will be ready soon!”

  259. Dana Rodriguez

    My bigest challenge is getting something home made in a hurry. I don’t have a lot of time in the evening so this would make dinnertime a lot easier for me!

  260. Rpur

    Thank for sharing your insites on home making and motherhood. We all have our challenges at our homes! Your site is a reminder that we are not in it alone, there is always someone, somewhere with the same struggles! Hey, The struggles ARE real .

  261. Laura

    My challenge is making sure I prep the ingredients while my child is not so needy, so that I can just throw it all in a slow cooker during his nap. Making dinner in the afternoons is near impossible right now!

  262. Jan

    I have 10 Grandchildren and controlling the toys are a big problem. Never enough room for storing them.

  263. Amy W

    My biggest challenge is meal prepping/ procrastination. I hate when I forget to take food out of the freezer to thaw. Then I turn into a mad woman trying to get dinner ready before my hubby gets home.

  264. Jeannette Pierce

    My biggest challenge is probably my kitchen itself. It’s a terrible layout with terrible workflow. The doors of my cupboards keep breaking (they are old and not great quality) so it makes it hard to use my kitchen.

  265. Stephanie

    My biggest challenge is trying to keep ingredients fresh until i can get to them

  266. Cynthia Trejo

    My biggest challenge is balancing all my activities to have enough time for everything. If only I could have a 36 hour day!

  267. Lisa

    My biggest challenge is the time to cook a homemade meal.

  268. Trena

    My biggest challenge is planning.

  269. Jamie

    My biggest challenge is the planning and prep phase for meal times. I actually love cooking/baking when I’m in the midst of it, but I often find myself waiting until the last minute to make something!

  270. Sande

    Finding enough time is a huge challenge for me.

  271. Gaye Levy

    Without question, my biggest challenge is finding the time to shop for the ingredients I need to prepared meals. Thank goodness we eat quite simply in my household.

  272. Jasmine M

    The biggest challenge in my house for making homemade meals is that my fiancee, who is the cook in our family, doesn’t get off work until 7pm and normally doesn’t leave work until almost 7:30pm. We go to bed at about 10:00pm because I have to be up at 6am for work. So the time it takes to make food at night leads us to often going out to eat. We’re working on changing this, but fast food is so convenient.

  273. Kimberley

    Time

  274. Bunny Wilson

    In January my husband had a “widowmaker” heart episode. We’re both so grateful it was caught in time, especially when the cardiologist said he only had a 15% chance of living. We’ve since gone plant based, no dairy, no oil to keep his arteries from blocking again. Learning to create tasty meals in a whole different way is a big challenge. I’d think an Instant Pot would be very handy for cooking whole grains and greens.

    1. Tauna

      I think it would too! That’s intense, Bunny. Glad it was caught in time!

  275. Sarah Archer

    I cook a homemade meal almost every night even though I work full time. (The only way I can do this is by meal planning for the week, grocery shopping the plan and thinking ahead in the morning if I need to thaw something, so it can be ready to cook when I get home) ….but on the few nights I don’t cook it’s usually because I have very little time between coming home from work and getting to the next event .Usually on those nights, mostly Wednesdays, (I work for a church and we have Wednesday night programming that I have to rush back to) I am looking for my healthiest grab and go option….like a whole wheat pizza from our local health food store deli. Or a rotisserie chicken, sliced strawberries and chunked goat cheese and walnuts on a bead of mixed greens….with a light vinaigrette all bought at the grocery store and served in 5-10 minutes with a a baguette and butter. Those are our favorite healthy “fast food” but my family gets tired of those and then we resort to other chain restaurants for a cheap and fast meal….it gets old and expensive….plus I hate how I feel afterwards…..crummy!!
    I’m really looking for a better solution considering how often we are packing events into our evenings.

  276. Kim Franklin

    My biggest challenge in making homemade meals is cooking the same thing over and over again. My family doesn’t much complain but I get so tired of it. I am skittish about trying new recipes. At least I know this is still better for us than processed foods.

  277. Laurie M

    Planning ahead. I love to cook but if I don’t plan ahead then I have little motivation.

  278. Sheila

    My biggest challenge is finding time to chop the vegetables!

  279. Jenni L.

    My biggest challenge is inspiration. I never know what to make, and wind up doing the same 4 or 5 meals over and over.

  280. Mary S.

    My biggest challenge is remembering to get my stuff out of the freezer first thing in the morning! I usually forget and am left scrambling in the afternoon trying to come up with something last minute with whatever I have on hand!

  281. Irene

    Catering for adult and young children’s tastes while getting balanced diet

  282. KELLY OBRIEN

    My largest obstacle is my own self! I am a mood eater. If it doesn’t sound good at that moment, I do not want to make it.

  283. Silke

    My biggest challenge is finding the time and energy to make a meal from scratch. I am also really bad at planning, so a lot of times I have to throw something together.

  284. Karen

    Being so busy I don’t think to get it me from freezer in time to prepare for meal

    1. Karen

      Food not me!!!

  285. Beth Lewis

    Retired and lazy in the kitchen since the kids are gone! Looking for ideas for quick and delicious meals for two!

  286. Cheryl Rogers

    I really think I need this challenge so much! Thank you for the opportunity to enter and win! Who wouldn’t want to win?

  287. Stacey L

    My biggest challenge is planning and then grocery shopping for the ingredients.

  288. Shelb

    I think my biggest challenges would be keeping Littles entertained and out of the way while getting food ready and probably getting stuck eating the same foods week after week.

  289. Mystic

    My biggest challenge is to decide what to make and when to make for dinner.

  290. Jenifer

    My biggest challenge is remembering to thaw something out, and meal planning. God bless.

  291. Annette Breedlove

    My biggest challenge is the fact that I have some very picky eaters in the house and I, personally, have quite a few food allergies that prevent me from eating almost anything “normal” according to my kids. So, I end up making like 4 dishes that please the kids and scramble to find something for my husband and myself.

  292. Klydra Pugh

    My biggest problem making homemade meals is, satisfying our large family without making too many dishes.
    Thanks for the chance

  293. Anne

    My biggest challenge is getting organized so I can do my shopping and meals and budget to all go together. I cook our meals everyday, but they can be quite boring because I get stuck in a rut.

  294. Anna Tester

    TIME would be my biggest challenge, followed by two kids with celiac. I find it difficult to get menus planned ahead. Some days it is breakfast for dinner just because I haven’t had time to think of anything else.

  295. Rachel plett

    I’d love to win! I need an ipot!

  296. Rebecca Skaggs

    My biggest challenge is finding a nutritious dinner that doesn’t contain any of the foods we are allergic to, and tastes good. Between us we have dairy, egg, soy, and strawberry allergies.

  297. Tabitha

    I’ve just been in a rut and I seem to lack the time and desire by the time dinner time rolls around.

  298. Bethany Culbertson

    My biggest challenge is time, energy, and preparing early enough in the day to have it actually cooked by dinner time!

  299. LorE

    Such a great offer for your readers! Having teenage boys and young adults in the home, regular & sometimes surprise dinner guests, mixed w/ various health issues and dietary restrictions on a limited budget makes meals pretty challenging at times 🙂 So far, no one has starved 😉

  300. Rachel

    Challenges: getting wholesome meals on the table sometime 3 times a day for our motley crew and knowing what curriculum to keep and what to toss since I still have 3 kids I’m not formally teaching yet.

  301. Penny B.

    My family has always kept a crockpot in our tiny kitchen – until recently.
    Our crockpots are all cracked and one actually started leaking! When we searched to replace the insert crock we found the price to be almost as much as the original appliance. Also, the health problems for the glaze with possible lead content . . ?!
    So having the Instant Pot would help in so many ways for all of our family meals!

  302. Carisue

    My biggest challenge is time. I forget to make something early enough then it takes too long to make for dinner.

  303. Holly

    I have a hard time planning our meals. I feel like we live at the grocery store! We’re there every day because I don’t plan.

  304. Tina

    i would LOVE LOVE LOVE this!! thank you for offering!!!

  305. Luci Gray

    My biggest challenge is time. I homeschool my little boys and sometimes find I am in a rush to make supper. If I had one of these it would really help me and my family.

  306. Mary

    My biggest challenge is what to make. It is hard to please everyone.

  307. Liz McKechnie

    Planning meals and then executing them before it’s too late are make biggest issues. “What? It’s 4:45 already?!”

  308. Yuna Park

    My biggest challenge is the newborn’s sleep and nursing schedule. Homeschooling 3 kids with a newborn is quite a juggling act right now!

  309. Heather Van Galder

    Life is so busy right now, but I am excited about organizing the cleaning schedule in a more manageable way! Thank you!

  310. Lynn

    Time management, or lack there of, messes up our dinner most of all. I will check the time to see if I should be working on dinner yet, and it is 20 minutes past supper time. Then the p.m. routines are messed up. Special needs kids need consistent routine. Me too.

  311. Melanie

    We have a lot of food allergies in our house so making dinner and trying to accomodate all of those gets tricky!

  312. Dacia

    Everything? Is that an option? I fail to plan, I wait too long to start, I’m exhausted by that time of day… Everything.

  313. Wendy

    We have multiple food allergies, so all meals have to be made at home. Planning time for food, homeschool, read-a-louds, snuggling, house work, and hubby is my greatest challenge. Love the idea of the Instapot assisting with my struggle!

  314. Charity

    My biggest challenge is the motivation to get started. This helped last week, and I spring cleaned and decluttered three bathrooms. Dropped the ball this week and did nothing. lol, here’s to a fresh re-start

  315. Rebecca Besherse

    I do well when I plan ahead but I (way too often!) fail to plan ahead which means that I’m always playing catch-up. Plus I really need to learn menu planning.

  316. claire

    My biggest problem is finding foods with vegetables that my husband and child are willing to eat!

  317. Sarah

    My biggest challenge in making home cooked meals is planning. I really need to get into the habit of planning out at least a week of meals.

  318. Sharon Chery

    My biggest challenge is with meal planning and coming up with more interesting meals. I usually end up cooking many of the same meals over and over.

  319. Adrienne

    My biggest challenge with homemade meals is planning ahead. So many things can fail: having the ingredients, starting the meal on time, etc.

  320. Hannah

    Great post and plan! Thank you!!!

  321. Becca Beck

    My biggest challenge is motivation, time, and money. I don’t like cleaning up after I cook and I prefer the quickest meals I can make with the cheapest ingredients. And then I also want to eat healthy.

  322. Bridgett Wilbur

    My biggest challenge for dinner is trying to find new ideas to cook for dinner time.

  323. Bridget

    My biggest challenge in making homemade meals for my family would be a lack of time to prepare them with my kids’ activities, the baby needing me, and just time getting away from me if I don’t plan ahead.

  324. DailyWoman (Lacey)

    My biggest challenge is the planning ahead. I am not very good at meal planning.

  325. Enrique Herrera

    Sometimes it’s hard finding the right recipe that works out in the end as planned.

  326. Tina W

    Time is my problem: I feed my Dad every night, he lives across town and the foods he likes/can eat are very different from our households diet. I feel like I’m running around town in a daze half the time.

  327. Carolsue

    My biggest challenge is making time to cook home cooked meals that everyone will eat

  328. brittany marie thompson

    My biggest challenge to making homemade meals is finding time, i work crazy hours and am on call

  329. Jessica Cochran

    Having enough energy at the end of the day to cook is my challenge. I have 6 kids 10 and under and homeschool. By 3:00 I just want to go back to bed, by the time I should start supper I am so burned out.

  330. Cheryl B

    My biggest challenge is time. I work full time, so meal prep is on on weekends.

  331. carol clark

    making a meal with flavor but not to spicy making it that all will eat its hard

  332. LaTanya

    cooking something everyone would like to eat

  333. Susan Biddle

    My biggest challenge is my children. either finding safe ways for them to help or keeping them out of the kitchen and still watching them while I cook.

  334. toni

    the hardest thing would be not being so tired from the day to prep a home cooked meal for the family

  335. Starla

    Yes! The Spring cleaning challenge is awesome. My biggest issue is coming up with something that everyone enjoys. There are so many picky eaters and a few dietary restrictions!

  336. wen budro

    I think that the primary issues are a lack of time and organization on my part. It is definitely an issue that I’m working on.

  337. ellen ross

    having the energy to cook and then clean up afterwards

  338. SHAYNA

    MY BIGGEST CHALLENGE WITH MAKING HOMEMADE MEALS IS TIME.. I AM A SINGLE MOTHER WHO WORKS FULL-TIME AND WHEN I GET HOME AT NIGHT THE KIDS ARE HUNGRY. I USUALLY DON’T HAVE TIME TO PREPARE A WHOLE MEAL SO I OFTEN MAKE SOMETHING QUICK.

  339. Jessica Mcfarlin

    My biggest challenge is making sure we have every ingredient at the house. We only have one car in our household so its kinda a juggle.

  340. heather

    My biggest challenge is finding the time to make a home cooked meal so this would be perfect and so easy.

  341. Donna B

    My biggest challenge is time. I’m always so busy I never seem to have time to cook like I want.

  342. susan liberatore

    Finding creative recipes!

  343. Carolyn Schwerin

    My biggest challenge when making homemade meals is finding the time to do so after we get home from school (I work there too). I have laundry to do and to play with the kids and to find out how their day went. If I have the food thawed out it’s not so bad, but if I forgot to get the meat out that morning, I’m stuck for dinner.

  344. CJ Walker

    My biggest challenge is staying consistent in my schedule. Lately, I have been experiencing a lot of anxiety over life in general. Everything seems to overwhelm me and it’s reflecting in my tasks and my relationships with my husband, children and more importantly with God.

    I seriously need help

  345. Ashley Ankney

    Wow! Thanks for the printables! We homeschool…which one would think you would have more time to clean. I’ve found this is the exact opposite. Everyone is home, and nothing stays clean for long. I think my challenge is just getting over discouragement of it not staying clean for long. I don’t live in a Country Living magazine and shouldn’t set that expectation. Thanks!

  346. Kimberly S.

    My husband passed away 6 months ago, so the biggest challenge for me right now is motivation. His love of my cooking spurred me on. My kids – well, they aren’t quite so enthusiastic and appreciative like he was. So, I struggle to cook meals and often find myself asking the LORD for help to *want* to cook. It’s getting better, though, so I know it’ll turn around. 🙂

  347. Barbara Montag

    Right now my biggest challenge is a limited food budget.
    Have to get really creative!
    thank you

  348. KV

    My challenge is making the time to cook.

  349. Erin Walsh

    My challenge is finding time to do the cooking as well as cleaning, organizing, gardening and even finding a little bit of time to take care of myself and exercising, reading etc.

  350. Katherine Rhodes

    My biggest challenge is time and energy. Usually by the time I’m starting dinner my energy is gone.

  351. Anita Jude

    Find time plus everyone don’t like the same stuff as other do ( so trying to find a happy medium is hard to do)

  352. Lisa Coomer Queen

    My biggest challenge is planning ahead and finding something that everybody will enjoy. Thanks!

  353. Dandi D

    My biggest challenge is making something that is healthy, easy and that my whole family will like.

  354. Sarah Hayes

    finding the time to cool is my biggest challenge

  355. Keylee

    My biggest challenge is forgetting to take food out of the freezer then resorting to boxed or processed meals.

  356. Arlene

    my biggest challenge is time

  357. Karla R.

    My biggest challenge is time. We all have busy schedules that we don’t have time to prep a good meal.

  358. Kathi

    My biggest challenge: by the end of the day I am tired and standing on my feet to cook is often just too much.

  359. molli glowacki

    My biggest challenge is getting out of the rut of always cooking the same meals; we have 2 kids and myself who are gluten-free, one child is dairy free, and another child and my husband can eat anything. Ive found some recipes that work, but it gets a little boring! LOL!

  360. Jill Whalen

    My biggest challenge is all the evening activities we are involved in and making sure I have a plan for it…which I never do!

  361. Kay

    My challenge is trying to keep the meals prepared ahead of time, especially in a crock pot or slow cooker. I seem to go through those very quickly as they burn out or the insert tends to break from constant use. I really like the idea of the Instant Pot with all the feature and multi-purpose use!

  362. Sarah Mayer

    My biggest challenge is finding something everyone can agree on!

  363. Carmen N

    Making meals that satisfy all members of the family – especially our 6 year old.

  364. Tracy Sylvester

    My challenge is keeping the bathroom clean. With a house full of 3 males it’s just a disgusting job!!

  365. Aleesh James

    My biggest issue is planning ahead! I’m such a planner for everything else but I don’t enjoy cooking so it’s one thing I always let slide.

  366. Katherine Blackford

    Great giveaway and I love your decluttering challenge!

  367. Kelly Haines

    I am terrible at planning! Its like Monday always creeps up on me, even though I know it’s coming!

  368. Jenny

    My Biggest challenge is staying on track with one thing at a time! I’m usually doing 3-4 different things at once! Aaahhhh!

  369. Susan Kramer

    I would have to say my biggest challenge is trying to appease several different tastes. My husband prefers to eat more vegetarian. My teenage son is a true carnivore and is all about the meat. My middle daughter is a joy to cook for – she loves to try all kinds of new foods. My youngest daughter is what we call our Carbivore. She only likes bread and crackers. 🙂

  370. Elizabeth

    My biggest challenges is that everyone has different likes and dislikes.

  371. Tabatha F.

    My challenge is making something everyone likes.

  372. Leann

    My biggest challenge is keeping the clutter monster at bay.

  373. Lacy Loggins

    My biggest challenge is consistency in everything, especially with this pregnancy. My goal is to simplify life as much as possible before the baby arrives in September.

  374. Lyndene Janzen

    My biggest challenge is being creative with recipes – I definitely stick to the family favorited!

  375. Barbie

    Planning and time

  376. Mary

    What an amazing giveaway! My biggest challenge is staying focused and keeping up with my bedroom. Thanks for the challenge!

  377. Rachel Troyer

    My biggest challenge is to get stuff out of the freezer before I’m ready to cook!!

  378. Audra

    Time management and preplanning are the hardest parts for me

  379. Amy Minard

    My biggest challenge is people in my house eating up the ingredients before I can get my planned meals made

  380. Elisa

    My biggest challenge is being reasonable with my expectations. I forget that a meal doesn’t have to be complex to be nourishing. I usually plan way too much extra work for myself, then get overwhelmed later.

  381. Tabathia B

    Planning and having all of the ingredients

  382. Ashley

    My biggest challenge is lunch. I hate eating lunch and generally skip it which ruins my afternoon and evening eating schedule.

  383. Cindy N

    My challenge is two fold, I really do not like to cook, although I do ok 🙂 and trying to stay within budget, I REALLY dislike grocery shopping because I feel anxious about meal planning and budgeting for this. I do go to an aldi’s and then walmart for things I cannot get there. It all just seems stressful to me, and I have teens and picky eaters. Its juts not a fun adventure most of the time

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