More Shopping from the List

To contact us Click HERE
Last weekend several trips were made to the grocery store. And by several, I mean at least 3. Despite this fact, on Monday I still had nothing to fix for dinner. There was all kinds of "stuff" in the cupboards and refrigerator, but nothing to make a complete meal.

via Matt McGillivray Flickr Creative Commons

You see, since it was Mother's Day last Sunday, my husband did the grocery shopping and lots of the weekend cooking. Love him to death, and he's not one of those men that's lost in the grocery store calling me every 5 min to ask what brand of bread we usually buy, he just doesn't always plan ahead. Meal planning and list making aren't really his thing. I mean, let's face it, one super Type A personality is enough for most marriages.

Meal planning and (grocery) list making aren't really my thing either. In fact I HATE meal planning, and I'm always dreading the task of making a grocery list for some reason. But the only thing that I hate more than meal planning and list making, is going to the grocery store 4 times in 3 days. My parents, who live in the wilderness at least an hour away from a decent grocery store, are laughing at me right now and my suburban habits of convenience.

I'll talk about meal planning later on. Maybe as soon as I come up with a system better than sighing heavily as I ask everyone what they want for dinner this week, before ultimately flipping mindlessly through some magazines, cookbooks, and pinterest food boards only to settle upon the same 7 meals I always make.

BUT, even if I forget it at home half of the time, I can make a mean grocery list. And since I can't decide if this is something normal or not- I thought I'd share with you my secret to an uber organized shopping trip.

I make my grocery list organized by aisle.



via Eddie Welker, Flickr Creative Commons

And when I shop I always park in almost the same spot, so I can enter the store through the same set of doors, and do my shopping in the same order. You see, if you park at the other end of the parking lot, you have to enter into the produce department first, and it just doesn't make sense to start your shopping there. I like to zig zag up and down the dry good aisles first, then finish up my trip w/ a perimeter lap to pick up produce, meats, dairy and frozen so that they are in the cart the least amount of time. Is this normal? I have no idea.

So- super shopper tip of the day: organize your list the same way you shop, then as you shop you can easily tick off the list. Also, if my meal plan is a little crazy and contains a new recipe with a new ingredient, I usually circle it or highlight it to try to remind me to snap out of my shopping routine and look for it.

I also write my meal plan at the top of the list so I can quickly glance down and do a mental check if I've forgotten anything required to make each dish.

It's not an exact science, and I still forget stuff, but my batting average is slightly better than my spouse's in this department. Anyone else have any super shopper tips, or funny hubby-went-shopping stories to share?