I love grocery shopping. In fact, when we first got married, we would meet at the supermarket every week after work for date night.
It was just the two of us back then and we ate pretty simple meals, so it didn’t take as long to get around the supermarket. I think we had a budget of $120, which included all our food and household items.
But even back then I would write a shopping list. It didn’t change much week to week, so I would write most of it just before we went. And because we were shopping every week, it wasn’t too hard to remember everything. If I forgot something, I either waited until the next shop or I would pop in during the week.
Fast forward to today and what a change I have made.
There’s now 4 kids, a dog, a rabbit and some chickens to think about too, I only do the grocery shopping once a month, I cook most of our food from scratch, and I shop from multiple places to make the best choice.
I have way too many other things to be doing in my day now to be worrying about whether I have enough or the right food in my pantry. My shopping list is made well before I need to go (mostly!), and I’ve made all my weekly lists before the month begins. It is such a load off to have this all done at once.
I think I would still do it this way even if I was shopping weekly because the thinking would be done and I wouldn’t have to worry about it for the rest of the month.
Anyone can write a shopping list, but a great one, I believe, is just an outcome of the thinking gone before it to organise recipes, sort the pantry and create a meal plan.
Here are my top 4 tips to make a great shopping list:
Whether you are shopping for a week or a month, make sure you know what you’re buying. If grocery shopping is not something that spins your wheels at the best of times, then doing grocery shopping without knowing what you are buying will make it feel even more overwhelming!
Making a meal plan before you make your shopping list will help with overwhelm and ensure you only buy what you need.
Our grocery lists are longer because we are buying a wider range of items. I say ‘items’ because it’s not always just FOOD we are buying, but also pre-made specialty items. E.g. Tacoes come in either a kit, or you can buy the spice mix, the sauce and the tacoes separately. Making these things from scratch would mean up to 3 extra items you wouldn’t have on you grocery shopping list.
When you’re cooking from scratch, there are less ‘items’ in your pantry, and it’s easier to keep an inventory of what you have on hand and need to top up each time you do your grocery shopping.
Everything in the supermarket is grouped according to similar items, but each supermarket can be set out slightly differently.
I’ve set out below the general order you’ll find your food laid out in the supermarket:
Fruit + vegetables, bulk bins, specials
Meat, seafood
Deli, chilled foods
Bread, bakery
Snacks, chips and drinks
Everything packaged
Cleaning and household
Frozen + alcohol
If you set up your shopping list in a similar order, you’ll find it a whole lot more efficient to get round the supermarket.
You know that meme, where it says there are generally two kinds of people in this world??
I’m generally B; I love to live life on the edge haha!
But seriously, as much as I love to make it up on the fly, what my family eats isn’t one of them. Mostly because I can’t deal with the ‘What are we having for dinner?” questions and not having an answer!
My grocery shopping has always had a space. Whether I was doing it weekly fortnightly or monthly, I generally go at the same time each time.
As the saying goes “Whatever you focus on grows”, and once you have a routine in place, your brain will settle in to the pattern, and your grocery shopping experience will become a little less stressful.
I have always loved grocery shopping. I work with my meal plan, I know what’s in my pantry, my shopping list follows the supermarket and I have a routine in place. By following these 4 tips, you’ll be able to love it too!
If you are wanting to learn more about how to CREATE a life you love instead of just CONSUMING it, make sure to subscribe to my email updates for more meal planning and organisation tips, recipes and how to not be at the mercy of the supermarket!