Lesson 3B - Simplify Your Lists - Look at your shopping list

For this No More Grocery Shopping experiment I decided I wanted to cut my time and money spent on acquiring and preparing food in half. That inspired me to look at other areas I would like to liberate myself from. For instance, I tossed my daily to do list months ago in favor of writing things on the calendar. I do forget things occasionally, but oh well, I’m not tethered to a list. Another list I simplified is in the area of gift giving. And, I made my menu easier to call to mind (hmm, Multi-cultural cuisine or Soup Night). But it all started with a master grocery shopping list and this lesson:

Make your grocery shopping list work for you.

As part of the simplification process, decide what you want your life and days to look like. Do you want to be bound or do want to be free? Does your list and the things on it hold you captive or offer you freedom?

2 Tips to Put You on the Path of No More Grocery Shopping

(or at least keep you out of the store 28 days of an average month)

1. Start with a master list. This is a list of all the things you buy and eat regularly. Go through your fridge, pantry and cupboards to see what those things might be.

Here is a really cool, highly commercialized interactive grocery shopping list creator.
http://www.scottcommonsense.com/Tools/GroceryList/Tool.aspx?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=7667343&iq_id=7667343

Here’s one that is not interactive and doesn’t require you to sign up.
http://www.heart4home.net/downloads/master_grocery_list.pdf

2. Make a list for non-food and non-perishable items and buy in bulk. This list could include:

Non-Food Items
Hygiene things - tooth paste, hair care, skin care, soap, deodorant, personal care stuff
Paper goods - toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, paper plates & cups, plastic utensils
Cleaning Supplies - household cleaning stuff, laundry soap, dish soap & dishwasher detergent
First Aid Supplies - alcohol, peroxide, bandaids & bandages, latex (or other) gloves, q-tips, cotton balls, etc.

Non-Perishable Foods
Flour
Sugar
Oil
Dressings/Condiments
Herbs/Spices
Grains
Beans and Sproutable seeds
Pasta
Canned produce

This list could go on and on and I could say a lot about each item. I‘ll spare you that for now, but click here for a list of good long term storage foods.

When you finish your list, print out as many copies as you need for the year of shopping. Then circle, check or otherwise note items you need before you head for the store. Because I’m going to do the No More Grocery Shopping Experiment next year I have some goals for what that will look like for me. If I typically shop for food every two weeks, and want to cut that time in half, I’ll plan to go only once a month all year. So, I’ll make 12 copies of my food lists. For my non-food/non-perishables list, I plan to go from buying those things every-other month 3 times a year in January, May and September. So, that’s 3 copies of that list.

When it’s time to figure out what to eat and shop for in the month, look at your master menu and your master shopping list. Decide what you have, what you need, and most importantly, what you could probably do with out or make from scratch. Check the items on your list you’ll need to purchase and go for it.

My challenge to you is to use the master menu and master shopping list to cut your food acquisition/preparation time in half. Do you think you can do it?