Grocery shopping is not my strong suit, I’m never organized. I usually stop at the store on the way home from work and pick up a few things. When I do decide that I need to go grocery shopping I usually wander up and down every aisle, picking up whatever catches my fancy, no method to my madness. Once I get it home, unpacked and put away I realize that although I’ve spent my entire grocery budget for the month, I don’t have everything I need to make meals. Maybe I have the stuff to make Alfredo sauce but no pasta. Or everything for enchiladas but the cheese. Pancakes and no syrup, salad and no dressing, coffee but no cream. This is the story of my shopping. I needed to do something different.
It took my about two hours to do this but it has made shopping so much easier, more efficient and definitely less expensive! First I went through the house and wrote down everything we use. I inventoried the bathroom, laundry room, pantry, refrigerator and freezer. Next I got all my favorite recipes and wrote down what was needed for each, not exact amounts just tomato sauce, instead of one cup of tomato sauce. After this was done I divided it up according to sections that you usually find in most grocery stores, I’m not store or brand loyal so this list needed to work for any store.
After it was organized by categories I made a nifty little list of everything using an online computer program. Finally I saved it on my computer and printed one out which I hung on the refrigerator. Now, when we are running low on something I can mark it on the list and when I’m ready to go grocery shopping I pull down the list and write on the back the meals I plan to make.
Once I have my meals listed I go check off everything I need to buy. The last step before heading out the door is to check the pantry and see if I have any of the stuff on hand before I go. Then with the list and my reusable bags in hand, I’m ready to go.
Now, I buy only what I need and I have a list of what’s for dinner, knowing that I have all the needed items on hand.