#1 Get the lay-out lists for the grocery stores you shop in
Near the front entrance of most stores is an aisle list for the most common ingredients. You’ll want this so you can put your shopping list in the order the items appear in your store. If a store doesn’t have one, take time to go through the aisles noting the numbers (if any) and what can generally be found there. You can also do this with a grocery shopping app.
#2 Create a master shopping list
If you did your meal plan on paper, you’ll now combine totals for all ingredients needed to make the meals on your plan. In other words, you’ll know you need 8 pounds of chicken breast total for the month. You may wish to create a paper grocery list that is organized according to the aisle layout you obtained.
If you’re using a digital meal planner like Plan to Eat, the shopping list will be automatically generated for you. However, depending on how you entered the recipes, you may find that some of the ingredients aren’t listed for the correct aisle. This is where your aisle list can come in handy! Make sure all items are categorized properly so you don’t have them listed in different sections.
#3 Finish creating shopping list
To save the most time possible, you’ll want to have a master list of non-food items to purchase as well. If you don’t know how many items like paper towels and laundry detergent you purchase in a month, make note of the date you purchase them next and the date you run out for future planning. When you know how much of something you need each month, you are better able to take advantage of coupons and sales for bulk shopping.
If you don’t feel like being that organized, you can continue to organize the shopping list for your meals and just add these extra items to your weekly shopping list as needed. Your weekly shopping list will be much smaller with the advance shopping you’ll be doing.
#4 Shop and put items away
When I do monthly shopping, I go to two stores and have multiple carts. I need a clean vehicle and a helper or two. I definitely need space cleared for storage and lots of help to put items away. I recommend shopping when you have the most energy! If you’re using coupons or shopping sales, make sure you have everything you need organized. Oh, and don’t forget your purse! Yes, I have done this.
When you’re done, you will have saved lots of time in the upcoming month and probably money, too!
Last week we cleaned out the pantry by making some recipes to use up those orphaned ingredients. This week we’ll decide what to eat for the next week or even next month, so we have time to do what we love best!
If you don’t have a copy of The Once-and-for-All Meal Plan, I invite you to get it when you subscribe. If you don’t like blog posts in your inbox, you can choose the weekly or freebies only option. When you read it, you’ll understand how to create one meal plan that will work for you and your family, no matter your taste or needs. Now on to this week’s challenge!
#1 List favorite dinners plus one new recipe
To create a workable meal plan, you need a list of meals your family loves that you know you’ll actually make. It’s no use for me to write down my husband’s family lasagna recipe. We love it, but it takes a long time to make, so I save it for special occasions. For this challenge, just write down regular weeknight meals that you like. You can definitely get the whole family involved in this week’s challenge!
After you have a list of regular favorites, write down (or pin) one new recipe that you want to try. I’ve created a form, called the What We’re Eating Form, to make this an easy process.
But what I love is how easy it is to add recipes to Plan to Eat (affiliate link because I’m crazy about it). If you’re like me and don’t have a recipe for some of your meals, search for a similar recipe on AllRecipes. When you find it, you can automatically add the recipe to your Plan to Eat recipes, modifying it if necessary before you save it. It’s easy with the Plan to Eat browser extension.
But here’s the really exciting part. You can also add new recipes you find on Pinterest to your list of recipes on Plan to Eat. Just click the pin to pull up the original recipe and use your browser extension to add it to Plan to Eat. I would love for you to follow my Dinner Recipes to Try Board on Pinterest. You might find a recipe you’d like to try, too.
If you have to manually enter a recipe to Plan to Eat, it’s so easy! But you can absolutely do the same with paper.
Repeat the first process for breakfasts, remembering not to add time-consuming recipes to your list, unless you will really take the time to make them. Of course I have a Breakfast Recipes to Try board, but what do you think of this Pumpkin Pie French Toast recipe? Yummy.
#4 List favorite snacks or desserts plus one new recipe
By now, I bet you’re getting the idea! If you have snacks or desserts, list your favorites and find a new recipe to try. If you follow me on Pinterest, you’ll see the snack and dessert recipes I pin and I find some great ones! When you’re done with this last step, you will have made great strides toward avoiding the indecision that can keep all of us from getting and staying organized.
Hello, Homeschool Homies. I pray this edition of What’s Hot in Homeschooling finds you well! I have some great articles and ideas for you this week. What I don’t have is a link-up. I think bloggers are better served by choosing well-established link-ups. The good news is that I read these link-ups and will find your great articles no matter what! Please contact me if you’re interested in pinning content to the What’s Hot in Homeschooling Board on Pinterest. Now on to the good stuff!
As the school year comes to a close, it’s easy to panic that your child isn’t done with the 2nd grade book. Or worse yet, he hasn’t even started it! Homeschool Heart and Mind has comfort for your crisis.
I really knew next to nothing about charter homeschools before reading Enchanted Homeschooling Mom’s article. If you need a change in your homeschool, check it out.
Speaking of needing a change, maybe you need to focus on your mission. I’ve read about mission statements before, but this article by Renee Gotcher at So You Call Yourself a Homeschooler shares the difference having one can make in your decisions. Homeschoolers can always use help making decisions!
If you’re a subscriber to Psychowith6, you already know my philosophy on meal planning. (Don’t have the book? Click here). Having a once-and-for-all meal plan makes it much easier to include kids in meal preparation. Simply Living for Him takes it one step further to include kids in the shopping, too. I can’t wait to try it!
My children have grown up with mostly contemporary Christian music. That’s why I love teaching them not just the hymns, but the stories behind them. Contented at Home offers freebies for teaching the hymns that you don’t want to miss!
As you may know, I’m big into productivity. Every week I try a new method of managing my time and tasks better. I think you’ll appreciate this article from Under the Golden Apple Tree as I did.
If you’d like to share what’s hot in your homeschool, please comment below. God bless your week!
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
