Day Six of Blogmas: My Grocery Shopping Routine.

Hello, friends! Happy weekend to you all! Today’s post we’re talking all about GROCERY SHOPPING.

Grocery shopping is something that can seem so daunting sometimes. As someone who worked in a grocery store for a handful of years, I can confidently say that it STRESSES people out, and that’s totally fair. It’s expensive, time-consuming, and can be especially draining, particularly if you’ve had a long day. All that being said… I love grocery shopping. Bobby and I always go together, and it’s kind of like an impromptu date, which I love! Not only that, but I get to daydream of all the delicious meals that I can make. And it’s a time where I can say a little prayer of thankfulness and gratitude for all that I have.

So, here I am, friends. Here to talk about grocery shopping. Is it safe to say I’m fully grown, writing about grocery shopping for fun? I remember when I was younger, my mom would lure me out of the house by taking me out to eat, and when we were done, we just happened upon the grocery store…EVERY TIME. I used to hate that!

Bobby and I have started ourselves a fine little grocery shopping routine, and I thought I’d share it with y’all! Especially around the holidays, when we generally buy and make more food than normal, it’s nice to have yourself a game plan!

The first step is to look in your fridge, freezer, and pantry. Evaluate what you have, use it for inspiration for the coming week’s meals. Some weeks, Bobby and I will sometimes do no-spend weeks, where the goal is to clear out our fridge, freezer, and pantry a bit. We actually did that this week, so today’s grocery store visit was quite extensive! We were able to use up a bunch of stuff, like a bag of rice that I had had ever since our old apartment!

Once you’ve evaluated your fridge, you can begin to create your grocery list. There are some items that you probably will buy every week, for us, it’s generally coffee, bread, almond milk, and avocados. And there’s also some items that you may only need to buy every so often, like coffee creamer, condiments, or seasonings. Make sure you are thorough with this! Don’t trust your husband when he says you need ranch. Nine times out of ten, you will already have at LEAST one bottle in your fridge! Okay, maybe that last part is just for me, but regardless, make sure you are thorough!!

After that, the shopping can begin!

Bobby and I have started making two trips to two different grocery stores. It takes a little more time and energy, but overall, I find it to be worth it. We’ve started doing our grocery shopping at Oryana AND Save a Lot. When I make my grocery list, I make sure to create two different columns, because I find it much easier when I’m in the store, not having to sort through all the items that I don’t need from that store.

I like going to Oryana because they have a bulk aisle and I can use all my recycled jars to buy what I need and how much I need of it. This week we bought coffee, chocolate chips, oats, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning from the bulk aisle. If you read my blogs regularly, you know that I do my best to decrease my waste, and buying from the bulk aisle is one of my favorite ways to do so.

For the items that can’t be bought from the bulk aisle, I go to Save a Lot. Here I’ll buy cheese, almond milk, condiments, etc. I love Save a Lot because you truly can, well, save a LOT. The prices are fair and if you happen to forget your reusable bags, they have recycled boxes and bags available to you.

Random Grocery Shopping Tip: I’ve taken to only buying blocks of cheese, as opposed to cheese that comes shredded or pre-sliced because not only is it considerably cheaper, it also tastes SO much better. This might be a silly tip, but it’s something I wanted to share all the same!!!

Another Random Grocery Shopping Tip: I am part of a Facebook group focused on frugal living, and I love finding meal inspirations from it! It’s also great because you can post in it saying the ingredients that you currently have on hand, and what you can make with them. The combinations of things people put together is amazing!

And that’s that, my dear friends!

I’d also love to hear some of your favorite grocery shopping tips!

XOXO,

Mattie Mae