Creating A Master Grocery List

Over the weekend, I worked on creating a master grocery list. This past months have been exhausting due to the stress of house renovations, and grocery shopping is currently one of those things that I put off as long as possible.  It feels like so much work to plan a menu, make a list, go to the store, and – worst of all – come home and put the groceries away.

(Even my formerly-wonderful, twice-a-week grocery shopping plan has not been that helpful when I just don’t feel like grocery shopping at all, ever!)

I made a list of everything (I think) that I buy on a regular basis, and I’m going to format it into a checklist. The idea is that I’ll review that list while I look at my pantry and refrigerator and check off the things that I need to buy (or cross out the things that I don’t need to buy; I’m not sure which).

I have absolutely no idea if this will work for me, but it’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a couple of years, ever since Jeremy’s aunt shared the concept with me.

Though we’ve had quite a few nights of pizza and Subway sandwiches lately, I still generally cook at home and mostly enjoy it.  (It’s the leaving the house to go to the grocery store that I hate!)  I’ve found that the more I cook from scratch, the easier grocery shopping actually is because the same staples go into just about everything.

I tried to list the items that are staples in our house (maple syrup, cream, onions), that have a long enough shelf life that even if we don’t use them right away they won’t spoil (tortilla chips, molasses, ketchup), or that would necessitate a trip to the store if we ran out (bath tissue, butter, eggs, toothpaste).

There are things that I didn’t include – like soy sauce, white rice, yeast, or stain remover – that I’ve bought in such large quantities that I only have to buy them a couple of times a year or less.  (Seriously, I’ve had a jug of Shout that I bought from Sam’s Club two years ago and I think it’s still half-full!)  I figured the list would be more useful if I didn’t list items that I very rarely buy.  I’m pretty sure that when I run out of that big jar of Shout, I’m going to realize it and put it on my list.

I still have to format the list and, you know, use it to see if it’s actually helpful.  I’m hoping that it will save some of the brain energy that’s needed to think about everything I need to make a meal, and maybe I can just pick out the meat and veggies that I want to use and be confident that we have the other items needed to make meals!