So maybe not get out of Dodge, but at least get out of the grocery store in record time! How annoying is it when you get home from the store and you realize you forgot the major ingredient for dinner? Ugh--close to nails on a chalkboard!
To avoid circling the grocery store a zillion times or forgetting a major item that you need, create a list. Not just any ol’ list, but an organized list! Hopefully, this blog post will save you time money and frustration.
If you shop at a large grocery store such as Wal-Mart or Target Superstores, you know how convenient it is to buy all your household, health and beauty and groceries all in one place. I often shop at these places to save time, but not always money, unless you are a coupon clipper; which is an old habit that I just re-introduced to myself. Even though the stores don’t double or even triple coupons anymore, I still have saved $20 to $25 off products that I would have purchased with or without a coupon. That’s fun. That alone justifies any other item (that wasn't on your list) you may have thrown in the cart (so guilty).
Grocery Shopping/Meal Planning/Coupon Usage
Figure out what you would like to prepare for dinners for the week. For example:
Monday: Chicken, rice and vegetable (need brown rice, have chicken in freezer and need veggie)
Tuesday: Turkey sausage, angel hair pasta, salad (need turkey sausage, spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, strawberries)
Wednesday: Tacos (need tortillas, cheese, salsa, ground turkey, taco seasoning)
Thursday: Bagel Pizzas (need bagels, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, veggies, have sauce)
Friday: Burgers, corn on the cob, French fries (need buns, ketchup, cheese slices, corn on the cob—have fries in freezer)
Need to bake cupcakes for bake sale: Cake mix, powdered sugar, no salt butter (need all) paper/foil for cupcakes
From the planned meals, you can make your grocery list based on the aisles as they are set up in the store. Then, go through your planned meals and plug in what you need for each meal into the appropriate aisles. If you are a coupon clipper, go through your pile and figure out what you can use for your next trip. Remember, sometimes it is cheaper to buy store brands on certain items then to use a coupon for a name brand. I agree that in some cases, that the name brand is better, so use caution going the all store brand route!
Legend:
(c) = I have a coupon for this item.
(s)= A staple item. This is almost always needed from the store.
Bakery
N/A
Baking
Cake mix (c)
Powdered sugar
Foil/tin cups
Bread
Tortillas (these are sometimes found in the international aisle, where I shop most often, in the bread aisle.)
Sandwich bread (s)
Buns
Bagels (c)
Cereal
Rice Krispies (c)
Special K (c)
Chips/Pop
Diet Coke 2 liter x2
Crackers/Cookies
Wheat thins (c)
Dairy
Unsalted real butter sticks
Yogurt (s) (c)
Cheese Slices
Milk (s)
Eggs (s)
Condiments/Salad Dressing
Ketchup (c)
Rasp. Vinaigrette (c)
Deli
1 1b of brown sugar ham (s) (c)
1 lb of baby swiss (s) (c)
Drink Mixes/Juice
Store brand lemonade/like crystal light (s)
Gallons of H20/ x4
Frozen
Steam fresh veggies x3 (corn, broccoli or mixed veggies)
Frozen mini pancakes (s)
Heath & Beauty
Ibuprofen (store brand gel tabs)
Kids Allergy Medicine (c)
Body wash (c)
Toothpaste (c)
International
Pasta
Rice (sometimes in another aisle depending on your store)
Taco seasoning packet
Salsa
Meat
Turkey Sausage (1hot, 1 sweet)
Ground Turkey x 2 (tacos and burgers)
Pepperoni slices
Produce
Baby spinach (one bag)
Cucumber
Strawberries
Grape tomatoes
Corn on the Cob (8 to 10)
Grapes (s)
Nectarines (s)
If you would like to email me to get your own grocery list template, do so now and I will email one over to you (for free at no obligaton)! It doesn't take much effort to live a Simply Amazing Organized life!
