It is hard to believe August is half-way gone and school will start (at least here) in a couple of weeks. Now is a great time to think about Fall cooking and being prepared for the months ahead. Several years ago I came across a newspaper article about a couple that decided to try to get out of debt and take control of their life by shopping less frequently. It worked for them, so we decided to try our own version of the concept and are thrilled with the results. This week I would like to share this concept with you and hope you take away a few ideas to help simplify your life.
Since January 2004 I have only grocery shopped 15 times, every 6 months. This is a practice I believe most anyone can develop, not just a professional organizer. This process can be used for one month or three month shopping, but the greater amount of time between shopping the less you will spend. 6 months seems to be the optimum for practical reasons like seasons and not wanting too much in the freezer in case of a major power outage. I strongly suggest you start with a one month trial, then a 3 month, before jumping into a 6 month purchasing trip. The natural tendency will be to over buy.
If we look back at the pioneers we see how they "laid in the supplies for winter and lived off the land." These same concepts can be adapted to modern society and the benefits will be be a healthier lifestyle, less financial outlay, and less stress. Can any of you honestly say you LOVE to grocery shop? The stress of planning a list and usually having to bring the children with can be daunting, not to mention just finding the time to carve into your week, and that daily stop after work cuts into your evening of relaxation. Often this leads to just going out to eat because it all becomes too much.
Barring unusual times, like working on remodeling a new church building for 2 weeks, we only eat out once a payday, every 2 weeks. There is always something in the house to fix for dinner. This has led to healthier habits and helped Richard reach his goals after his heart surgery.
Of course one of the greatest benefits is time and money saved. By not walking into a store daily, or weekly, we have saved literally thousands of dollars over the past 7 years. My desire is that you will take the information I provide you with this week and develop a strategy that will work for your family.
So, my tip for today is to do an inventory of what you currently have in your home. This is not just food items, but also toiletries, paper goods, cleaning supplies, etc., anything that is consumable. This process may take a couple of days your first time through. If you have not purchased my cookbook with a very extensive shopping list included to work from you will need to develop yours as you go. With a master list this process can easily be done in 1 - 2 hours. Discard expired items as you go, but note them as needing to be replaced.
Tomorrow you will learn how to evaluate this list and develop a shopping list from it. Have fun discovering what you have in the cupboards that you have forgotten was there.
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