Shopping & Planning Meals - Part 3

Making the "Check-Off" Grocery List



My mom (right) and I (left) at the baby shower of my first daughter.

Growing up, I thought my mom was way too organized.  You should have seen her planning this baby shower!  As a young adult, I remember teasing her for typing her grocery list.  Mom, I'm becoming more and more like you every day.  Typing that grocery list was a fantastic idea!

In this post, I want to share with you how I became organized enough to have my own typed grocery list.  I tell you the truth, people actually walk by me in the store and ask, "Is that your grocery list?"  A little embarassing at first, by now I'm like, "Why, yes it is!"  So, now that I have you wanting to be 'that lady' in the store, let me tell you how ; )

If you are like me and have minimal time for planning grocery trips, you have to do it the quickest way possible.  I thought it would be time-efficient to be able to check-off the items I needed as I planned rather than write my list down.  I also thought it would be a time-saver once in the grocery store if I had my list separated by aisles.  So...this is what I tag along with me on each trip:

Again, I used Microsoft Word and made a table with four columns.  I started by listing the various 'aisle names' in the order I shop them.  For instance, I start shopping in the back at the snack and refridgerated sections, so I listed them first.  Next, I head over to the drink aisle, and so on.

Once I set up my 'aisle names', I needed to start listing my items into the columns.  I took my menu rotation (Part 2) out and started with week 1.  I started adding items to the grocery list from my list of ingredients on the menu rotation.  This is really very simple because, as you will notice, a lot of the ingredients repeat throughout the rotation.  Continue this until you reach the last week of your rotation.

If you notice on my list, I listed non-food items that I also need on a weekly to monthly basis.  I listed these under 'Cleaning Products' and 'Paper Products'.  I should probably go in and add a section for 'Body Care' as well.  I also kept an open spot labeled 'Other' to write in items that aren't needed regularly.

When you get your list completed, save it to your computer.  Then all you will have to do is print it and check off what's needed to plan your shopping trip.  I keep this with my menu rotation in my shopping binder that I take with me to the store. 

Again, I hope this helps to lighten your load and enjoy providing for your family!  Once the work is done, it makes your grocery planning run more smoothly.