| Tuesday, August 23, 2005 |
| The Art of Grocery Shopping |
I generally take about a week to make my grocery list. Mind you, I only do a big shop 1-2x/month and it's not like I work on the list every waking hour of those seven days. I work on it a little here, a little there.
Last Wednesday I started by looking through my Meal Book. My Meal Book is a notebook that is full of meals that have passed the "family test" and are deemed keepers. In the back I keep a running list of all meals that are keepers. In the front of the notebook I write down the name of the recipe and then list off the general ingredients I would normally need to buy in order to make this (things I don't keep stocked in my pantry). It looks a little like this:
Creamy Ham Casserole
ham (diced)
cauliflower
cheddar cheese
sour cream
rice
Spaghetti Pie
spaghetti noodles
spaghetti sauce
ricotta cheese
mozzarella cheese
ground beef/italian sausage (depending on what I feel like or what's on sale
eggs
parmesan cheese
I go through this Meal Book and pick out about 15-20 meals that we know and love :) Then I sift through the recipes I've clipped or bookmarked on the computer in the last month and pick about 5-10 new recipes to try and write down the ingredients for those (not in the Meal Book yet, it hasn't been deemed a keeper by the family lol).
Once the meals have been selected, I take inventory of my pantry, refrigerators (I have two) and freezers (three including the two that come with the refrigerators). I am striving towards keeping a running inventory of what is in my pantry so I don't have to do this every month. In actuality, I haven't done a complete inventory since Spring Break...oops! After I go through my inventory and figure out what I have plenty of, what I am low on, and what I am completely out of I start my list. I write down all the ingredients for the recipes I had selected, I write down all the things we are low on/out of in the kitchen, then I take down my list from the fridge. This list on the fridge is where I write out when we are low or out of stuff not in the kitchen, like hygiene products, paper products, cleaning products, etc.
Now that I have all the pieces together, I can sort out my list. Even once I get all these ingredients and things we are low on or out of listed I am still not done. I take it one step further. I organize my list in the order of the aisles of the store I where am shopping. I find this cuts down IMMENSELY on forgetting things on my list and having to either double back through aisles I've already been to or leaving the store without the item altogether. If you shop at different stores, I would make different lists for each store and then sort your list by aisle. It's really not that much more complicated than just writing it out. You just have to know your store ;-) that's the only trick. If you shop at a commissary, they generally have a "map" of the commissary for new people. Just ask the customer service desk for one. I don't know if regular grocery stores have these "maps", but it wouldn't take much effort the next time you go to the store to write down "Aisle 1- produce, deli, bakery. Aisle 2 - toilet paper, paper towels, tissues. Aisle three - personal hygiene" etc.
After I get the list down in the same order of the aisles of the grocery store, I start with my coupons. I don't use too many coupons, most of them are too gimmicky for me and really, save $1.00 on three boxes of $3 cereal isn't that much of a deal when I can get another brand cheaper without the coupon. But still, there are some I use. I go through my coupons, comparing them to my list to see if there may be a coupon for anything that I have on my list. I write down next to each item that I find a coupon (c) indicating to myself while I'm shopping that I have a coupon for that item. So my list looks like this:
apples
grapes
potatoes
ketchup (c)
orange juice
coffee creamer (c)
Still I am not done. While going through my coupons to see what I might be able to use, I am also weeding out the expireds to send to military friends who live overseas (and can use coupons that are up to 6 months past their expiration date at the commissary). After I have sorted the coupons, I then arrange them in the same order as my list...the same order as the aisles in the store. Only then am I done. I have my list which goes in order of the aisles. I have my coupons which are coordinated in the same order as my list. It makes for an easier, quicker, and less expensive trip to the grocery store.
PS. I'll post those recipes I mentioned above in just a second. ;) |
posted by Heather @ 9:35 AM  |
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| 2 Comments: |
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Some great ideas in this blog! (Found this through frugal village.)
Anyway, I've bookmarked it to read more.
Thanks!
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Wow, you are a woman after my own heart. I also make a list and check it twice. In fact, I put a check mark next to any ingredient that I'm not sure if I have or not. That way I know to double-check my pantry/fridge/freezer before going out and buying something I don't need.
I also mark anything for which I have a coupon with a C.
And I put my grocery list in aisle order, too! It really does make it easier!
I sort my coupons while waiting for red lights. The light just outside my grocery takes 90 seconds!
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Some great ideas in this blog! (Found this through frugal village.)
Anyway, I've bookmarked it to read more.
Thanks!