I have heard from a lot of you - ("THANK YOU"... I love hearing feedback. Gives us a sense of accomplishment, doesn't it?) - Anyway, I want to address what you are saying, "You wish you had started the Challenge from the beginning with us." Well, the point of this 30 Day 'thing' is not to get it all done in thirty days - January 2nd through January 31. The point is to learn to break old habits and 'organize' your home and yourself so that you may 'learn' new habits to keep your life clutter-free. I have the link to all the daily challenges over there on the sidebar so you can visit them at your leisure and pick up a tip or two at your convenience.
Some of you may be going through the 30 Day Challenge like a steam engine, and more power to you! Congratulations! But I hope that those of you who are just joining us will still take a look at the challenge and find something that will help you organize your life and your home.
Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you leave a comment to let me know you were here! Now, on to Day Twenty Two.
Some of you may be going through the 30 Day Challenge like a steam engine, and more power to you! Congratulations! But I hope that those of you who are just joining us will still take a look at the challenge and find something that will help you organize your life and your home.
Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you leave a comment to let me know you were here! Now, on to Day Twenty Two.
30 Day Challenge
Day Twenty Two: Organize your Grocery List
Whether you love it, hate it or just tolerate it, grocery shopping is a part of almost everyone's routine. Shopping can be time consuming and sometimes frustrating - many people have come home to realize they forgot the item they originally went to the store to purchase. This is why composing a shopping list can make your grocery shopping, or any household shopping, more manageable and less expensive.
Shopping with a list will help you keep an eye on exactly what you need and cut down on impulse buying. This will not only save money, but will also make sure your kitchen is stocked with all the necessary foods to get you through the week. Nothing is more frustrating than planning a special meal and realizing you forgot a crucial ingredient, but with a shopping list, you can avoid this.
Shopping with a list will help you keep an eye on exactly what you need and cut down on impulse buying. This will not only save money, but will also make sure your kitchen is stocked with all the necessary foods to get you through the week. Nothing is more frustrating than planning a special meal and realizing you forgot a crucial ingredient, but with a shopping list, you can avoid this.
If you organize your shopping list well, you can also reduce your time in the grocery store, which will allow you to spend more time doing the things you really want to do. There's no one perfect way to organize a grocery list. You'll need to consider your shopping style and how detailed you want to be, and you may also need to have several lists if you do your shopping at two or more stores.
Methods for Organizing Your Lists
When you're making your shopping list, you may just write down whatever items pop into your head. While this is a good way to record many of the important items you need, it doesn't ensure that you'll think of everything, and it certainly isn't the best way to organize your list. Streamlining your list before you shop will make your trip quicker and easier.
You may want to have a list accessible all week so you can write down things as you run out of them - this will help you when it's time to make your list because you won't forget an important item. Making a meal plan for the week will also help you draft your list. Write down only the items you need to prepare those meals and you'll avoid purchasing any extraneous items.
Once you have a list with all the items you need, take a few minutes to organize it before you go - it will save you time in the store. One of the most general ways to organize your list is by food group. At most stores, fresh produce will be in the same area, dairy products in another and so on. If you have everything you need in a certain food group listed together, you'll be less likely to miss something.
If you want to be even more organized and you generally go to the same grocery store, you can organize your list by store sections, or even more specifically, by aisle. For this you'll need to take a little extra time one week to prepare a master list that details what you can find in each aisle of the store. From then on, you'll be able to list your groceries in the order you make your way through the store.
My Method for Organizing a Shopping List
I have a chalkboard on my refrigerator and everyone in the family has strict instructions that ‘if you want it, if you use the last of it, or if you need it’… write it down on the board. Then when it’s time to go to the store, I compose a week's menu, transcribe the chalkboard list and needed items for the menu onto my android and I'm ready to go.
I make two stops when grocery shopping, first stop is the dollar store. I walk the aisles with my (one) list and fill my buggy with items that I find there. It’s amazing how many items I can find for $1 instead of $10! There are certain things that I advise NOT to purchase at the dollar store, to see that list, click here. If you are in a pinch for time, I have heard that you can do all your dollar store shopping on-line, I haven't tried this yet, but imagine getting your groceries delivered to your front door for pennies on the dollar! After I complete my dollar store 'run', then it’s off to Publix to fill in the rest!
Your Assignment for Day Twenty Two:
Get your Grocery List Organized
- Start by placing a 'writable surface' of some kind (notebook paper, magnetic tablet, chalkboard) in a central location of the kitchen so that the family will be able to help you compose a list of needed items.
- Try making a menu of meals for the week and add the needed items to the list.
- Stick to the list when you go shopping, eliminate impulse buying.
GOOD LUCK!
