Grocery Shopping Tips

Grocery Shopping Tips

How often do you end up throwing away food because you didn’t take time to check the cabinets and plan your grocery shopping?
How many times have you gone to the grocery store only to purchase duplicate items, already in your cabinet?

Long ago, I was frustrated with the amount of wasted time and food we dealt with from duplicate food purchases. By the time the mid-2000’s rolled around, we were purchasing healthy food and spending even more money on groceries. Because those foods were far more perishable, we were either purchasing too much and throwing some away, or running out sooner. So I made this list to see the pattern of when certain items ran out. It eventually helped me to see when I purchased specific foods last.

In addition, the more pricey things like toilet paper, laundry detergent, and meats made the grocery bill so high that I had to plan and budget for those grocery shopping days. After about 6 weeks I saw a pattern emerge and it made it much easier to budget. I also saw what was purchased last, making me think twice before purchasing duplicates.

You can grocery shop using coupons. You can grocery shop with a list. You can read every blog, every how-to, and listen to a million different people. No matter who you listen to, or how you decide to organize your grocery shopping and save time doing it, there is one important thing you must do to make any of it work, and that is… “invest time.”

You must invest time to save time in anything you do, or want to do, to make it work for you. Hey, I made a rhyme!

Everyone wants things fast, NOW, instantly!!! Some things can work that way. But if you really want to get into a grocery shopping routine that saves you time and money, yet lessens waste, you have to invest time up front. Once you invest a limited amount of time setting up your system, the rest will fall into place, eventually saving you time and money.

I know I repeat the part about saving you time and money. I want it to sink in.

Here are images of the FREE downloads to give you a visual.
If you like what you see, I provide links below to download the files.

7 Day Blank Planning Schedule Monday Start Example

7 Day Blank Planning Schedule Sunday Start Example

We’re Out Shopping List © Example

We’re Out Shopping List © ©2006, 2015

Grocery Shopping Tips:

1. Go through your cabinets and list everything you purchase more than once a year.
2. Put a check-mark next to items that are running low.
3. Leave the list on the refrigerator or in your “special spot” that the family knows about.
4. When it’s time to go grocery shopping, take the list with you.
5. Put a check next to anything you purchase that is not already checked.
6. If you need to, as you purchase the items, put a slash across the item so you know it’s in the cart.
7. When you get home, draw a line down that column.
   (Do this so that when you get ready to go shopping again, you won’t use the wrong column.)

These pages can be used for almost any list or calendar type of planning.

UPDATE as of 1-14-15:

I am going to try something a little different than what I explained above. You see, I haven’t used the We’re Out Shopping List ^© in many years. However, I’m at a point where I need to do it again.

Here is the idea I’m going to try:
~ Save your receipts.
~ Enter what’s on those receipts on the We’re Out Shopping List ^© after each grocery shopping trip or after 4 shopping trips. You decide.

I tried making my list ON the We’re Out Shopping List ^© form and it didn’t work for me. Also, some of you might not keep grocery store receipts. I stopped saving receipts and started shredding them about 2 weeks after each trip as a part of my routine to conquer paper clutter. For this project, I’ll save the receipts until I put them on the list.

I believe that after 4 to 6 shopping trips I’ll see a pattern. Come back and check for updates every few weeks to see what happens.

UPDATE as of 5-15-15:

I saw a pattern for items like cheese, bread, toilet paper, and veggies. That was the point of the process, so it was a success. However, it took a little time to update the list to see it work.

Finally, if you would be interested in an excel spreadsheet, let me know in the comments. I haven’t been too sure about offering one because everyone seems to want something different.

Here are three FREE templates to help:
~ We’re Out Shopping List ^© ©2006, 2015
~ We’re Out Shopping List ^© example
~ 7 Day Blank Planning Schedule Sunday Start
~ 7 Day Blank Planning Schedule Monday Start
~ We’re-Out Shopping List ^© instructions

There is room on the Planning Schedule to write a title be it month, name, or year. You can see another example of how I used this template here: Homeschool Schedule Sample.

Here’s a different free downloadable grocery shopping list: Organized Times Free Grocery Shopping List Form

If you’d like to share this information with others, please respect my copyright and use the share buttons below.

©2006, 2015 Susie Glennan
All Rights Reserved.

Notice: You may print for personal use only. No portion of this blog post or the FREE attachment files may be reproduced to be redistributed without prior written permission from The Busy Woman ^©. All key phrases are under copyright protection, such as We’re Out ^© and We’re-Out Shopping List ^©.

I know there are a lot of grocery and shopping lists out on the web. Nothing is new under the sun. All of us who spend time making free items for others do it as a service. However, it helps everyone if you share the blog or link instead of downloading and putting up your own image (which is against copyright).