As I've stated before in this blog, I take projects into my personal life. One of my weekly projects is the project of grocery shopping. I live outside of the city which means it's much more efficient to do my shopping weekly versus daily. This also means that I need to plan everything out to make the most out of my time and money.
The first thing I need to do is research and planning. I create an Excel spreadsheet (or sometimes use a notepad) to write out my menu -which includes the days of the week along with slots for breakfast and lunch for my daughter and I. I then look through my cooking magazines and review the recipes I've marked to try and add them into my weekly menu. Each week we have many things going on so I always plan at least one "fend" night which means I don't have anything planned for that evening and everyone has to "fend" for themselves. This way I know that if I'm feeling stressed one evening or if we are running late I won't have to cook.
The next step of my planning is to review all of my recipes and menu items to determine what I need to buy at the store. Since I cook often my pantry is pretty well stocked, but I always have to make sure I have or don't have the ingredients. To keep track of what I need to buy I obviously need another list -again, either Excel or notepad. This list MUST be written in aisle order depending on which grocery store I intend on shopping at that week.
Let's pause here and discuss why it is important to have your grocery list in aisle order. First of all, it's just a darn good plan. Second of all, it saves you a lot of time in the store. You only go to the aisles you need to go to and spend a lot less time searching for things. Lastly, this decreases your chances of splurge buys. This is a great way to stick to a budget and not spend more money than necessary.
Next is the execution phase of grocery shopping. I plan out what day (either Saturday or Sunday) I will be shopping and when the best time to go will be. Sometimes I try to find a time when the store will be less busy, but most of the time I am planning around the rest of our weekend schedule. Depending on whether or not I have a four year old "helper" my trip to the store lasts approximately 30 mintues to 60 minutes. I go down each isle on my list and only look for those items that I need. In my mind it is considered a bad trip if I have to backtrack an isle!!
One thing I have yet to figure out is how to pick the best check-out line... I seem to pick the longest/slowest line every time!
I put everything into the car and then haul it home. The closure of my project occurs when I put everything into it's proper place in my cupboards. The best part is when I get to enjoy cooking dinner for my family!
The first thing I need to do is research and planning. I create an Excel spreadsheet (or sometimes use a notepad) to write out my menu -which includes the days of the week along with slots for breakfast and lunch for my daughter and I. I then look through my cooking magazines and review the recipes I've marked to try and add them into my weekly menu. Each week we have many things going on so I always plan at least one "fend" night which means I don't have anything planned for that evening and everyone has to "fend" for themselves. This way I know that if I'm feeling stressed one evening or if we are running late I won't have to cook.
The next step of my planning is to review all of my recipes and menu items to determine what I need to buy at the store. Since I cook often my pantry is pretty well stocked, but I always have to make sure I have or don't have the ingredients. To keep track of what I need to buy I obviously need another list -again, either Excel or notepad. This list MUST be written in aisle order depending on which grocery store I intend on shopping at that week.
Let's pause here and discuss why it is important to have your grocery list in aisle order. First of all, it's just a darn good plan. Second of all, it saves you a lot of time in the store. You only go to the aisles you need to go to and spend a lot less time searching for things. Lastly, this decreases your chances of splurge buys. This is a great way to stick to a budget and not spend more money than necessary.
Next is the execution phase of grocery shopping. I plan out what day (either Saturday or Sunday) I will be shopping and when the best time to go will be. Sometimes I try to find a time when the store will be less busy, but most of the time I am planning around the rest of our weekend schedule. Depending on whether or not I have a four year old "helper" my trip to the store lasts approximately 30 mintues to 60 minutes. I go down each isle on my list and only look for those items that I need. In my mind it is considered a bad trip if I have to backtrack an isle!!
One thing I have yet to figure out is how to pick the best check-out line... I seem to pick the longest/slowest line every time!
I put everything into the car and then haul it home. The closure of my project occurs when I put everything into it's proper place in my cupboards. The best part is when I get to enjoy cooking dinner for my family!