This is How I Grocery Shop

Over the years, Kate and I have developed a highly efficient system for grocery shopping.

Cut.

Take two.

Over the years, I have developed a highly efficient system for grocery shopping, and Kate, failing to read the fine print in the marriage vows, has been forced to humor my silliness.

Like most things in my life, it begins with a spreadsheet.

The spreadsheet contains all the items we normally and occasionally purchase at the grocery store.

The items are grouped as they are found on the aisles of the grocery store.

Seriously. I would not joke about something like that.

We buy groceries once every two weeks, and admittedly, it makes for a bit of an epic trip. Before heading out, we do a thorough review of all the items on the list, highlighting the items we need to purchase on that trip. We prepare for the event with a light stretching routine and good hydration.

We've gotten used to judging how much of each item we need to last for two weeks. That includes non-groceries like laundry soap, toiletries and batteries.

Admittedly, we shop at what some would consider the "evil empire" of corporate America. In our perhaps rather weak defense, of the grocery store options in our area it is hard to beat in terms of selection, price and quality.

If you've read this far, I expect two questions have come to mind. Why? (or perhaps WHYYYY?!!!). And secondly, How?

You can bet that we always have
ingredients for chocolate cake on hand!

My theory is that this approach saves us time and money. Unfortunately, I have no actual data to support that theory. But I can say that impulse trips to the grocery store are exceptionally rare. I can also report that we almost never run out of things. We don't run out of mustard. We don't run out of laundry detergent. We don't run out of toothpaste or sugar or chicken noodle soup or cereal. When we get low on something, it gets highlighted on the list and we buy enough to last two weeks.

As for "How", one issue is perishable items. It might surprise you, however, how many produce items will remain in good condition for two weeks. Apples, potatoes and carrots are easy. But even other items will last most of that time if carefully stored. Bananas are an exception, so I just buy a few each trip and enjoy them for a few days then wait until next time.

[Note: My goal for this year is to make weekly trips to our new farmers market].

Milk usually lasts two weeks, and we also buy soymilk which lasts much longer if unopened. In a house with children that consume larger quantities, that might be a challenge.

Most everything else can be frozen if needed. It helps that we have a large fridge with ample freezer space.

I suppose this approach would be challenging if you liked to experiment a lot with new recipes that called for unusual or very specific ingredients. In our house, Kate does most of the cooking (I'm a VERY lucky man!) and she is quite creative at using standard items in new ways. We also have several favorite recipes that we make a point to always keep the ingredients on hand (e.g. Kate's green bean casserole, which you might think, "whatever", but if so you've never had Kate's green bean casserole).

So there you have it, another of your questions finally answered. Copies of my spreadsheet are available for only $9.95 plus shipping.