…can feel daunting since it comes up so often, it never seems really ‘done’ and being head chef, I’m always feeling pressure within to create stuff my family gets excited about. They’re not picky or complainers, but I really enjoy having them delight in what’s prepared now and again. Food goes so quickly in our house, especially since we home school and Daddy offices at home, we all eat three meals a day at home plus snacks. On top of all the other stuff we ladies have to do, grocery shopping can feel like one more exhausting chore. I often stop and remind myself what a blessing it is to be able to afford to buy groceries and to have the modern means to prepare food.
On a practical note, I find it so much easier if I make up a week’s worth of meal plans (lunches and dinners) before I prepare my shopping list. This week we’re having shepherd’s pie, chili, potato soup, chicken burritos, grilled sandwiches and tomato soup, egg salad sandwiches, a fun pasta dish, etc. I also spend less if I plan meals. I NEVER go shopping without a list. I would feel like a wandering crazy lady if I did, and I’d feel even crazier when I got home and didn’t have the ingredients I needed to prepare meals! I also keep columned checklists of items I buy regularly on computer documents to print off and highlight when I’m getting ready to head out to shop. I categorize these docs in sections like fresh, frozen, non-perishable, etc. I put 3 columns to a page. It’s not hard to create this. Just start a shopping document. Keep your receipts and you’ll see a pattern of items you buy again and again. You can even place the items in the order in which you shop the store that you frequent. It’s a little bit of extra work up front to create your list, but it really makes life easier week after week. Since they’re on the computer, you can add and subtract items as your habits change.
I’m marking up my shopping list right now with a big, fat, orange high-lighter. I’ve put it off as long as I possibly can. Tomorrow is the day!
