Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

Control Journal 4 – Menu Planning – Master Shopping List

October 28, 2011

This one may take awhile, but it’s well worth the time invested! Apart from streamlining my laundry process, menu planning has saved me the most time and energy overall. That is if I follow my plan :-). When I make a menu plan, make out my shopping list, and buy what I need for those meals, and whatever else we need for that week, my life goes much, much smoother. I have what I need to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner for that week. Oh, and it saves money because you aren’t running to the store for something to eat (because it’s 4pm and you have no idea what to cook) or for an ingredient in something you need for a dish.

Now, let’s talk making a master shopping list first because really you need a list of all the basic stuff you use on a daily basis and that includes pantry basics that you always buy. Like flour, sugar, salt, pepper. And milk, butter, eggs, bread. What I did was to go through my cupboards in the kitchen and I wrote down everything I always had on hand or bought – our family staples if you will. Then, I went through the rest of the house and did the same thing for paper products, health/personal, office/school supplies, etc. Now, I only put on the list what I use on a regular basis. Any extras just get written in at the bottom when I actually make my list for the week. And be specific! I use Mrs. Meyers Dishwashing Liquid and that’s what I write on my master list. My husband uses Irish Spring Soap (I actually wrote it in as Irish Soap on my previous list – ha) and that’s what I write on the list. Why you might ask? Well, I’ll know exactly what to buy each time I go to the store, but (and this is important) if I can’t do the shopping, my husband or older child could. Most of my kids have been shopping with me at least five (hundred) times anyway AND they help put away the groceries and know the drill quite well. They know what I buy and where it’s stored. Case closed.

After you make the draft list you have options. Make a nicely handwritten master list and make copies to put in your control journal to be used when you do your shopping. You could also write a list on the computer and store it there to print when you need it (but do keep at least one in your control journal). And that’s the option I chose – to have someone take my handwritten list and make one for me on the computer. My son Matt did this for me years ago and I’ve used that list countless times. However, I had wanted to update it for awhile, and this week I did – all by myself!! I asked that animated paper clip how to make a list and use checkboxes and this is the result of all that hard work:

What I do is to print off my list each week and 1) go through the house to see what we’re out of (or close to being out of) and check the box. Then, I go to my menu plan for that week, and also check off whatever I will need to make each and every meal. If there is some weird ingredient that I don’t usually buy but need it for a meal, then I will write it in at the bottom of my list. That’s not too often though. Usually I stick to the basics.

So there you have it – the master grocery list. Tomorrow I will talk about making the actual Menu Plan. It can be a little time consuming, but once done it will free up time and sanity.

2 comments
Comments

On November 2, 2011 at 3:06 AM, Joyce said:

I need to make a master grocery list! I know I buy the same things all the time. :)

On November 3, 2011 at 12:16 PM, java_queen said:

You should do it - it makes the whole shopping thing so much easier!

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