Biweekly Grocery Shopping

As homeschooling mothers, we’re always looking for ways to put more time into our day.  All our tasks loom giant before us, and the 24 hours we are each given seem so meager.  We are all given the same 24 hours daily, but we can make simple tweaks that help our productivity and efficiency.  For me, one of those time saving changes has been my habit of biweekly grocery shopping.

It takes me a minimum of 90 minutes to do a shopping run (50 minutes driving, 45 minutes at the stores), but will often take anywhere from 2 – 3 hours.  So going to the store every other week means I save on average 1 – 1.5 hours every week. 

That doesn’t even take into consideration the time (and stress!) it takes to plan the whole affair (lunches, snacks, diaper bag trappings), getting everyone ready (dressed appropriately, coats, shoes, potty breaks), loading up in the car, unloading at the store, loading back up, and unloading once we get home.  Ai-yai-yai!  Thinking about it is enough to make me question my sanity in ever leaving the home with children in toe again!

{Update:  I have included a new printable to help you plan your own biweekly shopping trip.  You can find it here:  Biweekly Shopping Worksheet.  You will also find my pantry and household supply sheet below.}

TIME saved:

(for each shopping trip skipped)

• 5 minutes of meal planning
• 15 minutes packing lunches, snacks, and diaper bag
• 20 minutes getting everyone ready to go (dressed, pottied) and loaded in the car
• 50 minutes driving (both ways)
• 45 minute average store trip (maybe more, maybe less)
• 10 minutes unloading

TOTAL GROCERY STORE TRIP TIME: 150 minutes biweekly=approx. 1.5 hours every week=

80 hours a year!

MONEY saved:

(for each shopping trip skipped)

• $10 impulse purchases (treats for well behaved kids, chocolate for me, some weeks this # could be higher)
• $4-7 gas

TOTAL MONEY SAVED: $14-17 biweekly=approx. $400 per year

Stress reduction:

• Regular schedule for baby=happy baby
• Less shifting children in and out of carseats

TOTAL STRESS REDUCTION:  Priceless!

So what are the logistics of these biweekly grocery shopping trips?  There isn’t really a concrete process to follow, but as I prepared for my last biweekly shopping trip, I took some time to note the steps I took in hopes of helping you get started.

Below you’ll find the steps I take as well as some personal notes as I planned this particular trip.  I’m hoping this will let you into my head a little.  {Update:  At the bottom of the post is the link to the free biweekly shopping printable if you want to try it yourself!}

Biweekly Grocery Shopping

1-Grab a blank piece of paper

I use a big piece of scratch paper and mentally divide it in two vertically.  On the left side, I list meal ideas, and on the right side, I start my grocery list.  The right side is usually divided in two chunks, since I usually shop two stores (but not always). {Update:  there is now a printable version to use in creating your menu plan and shopping list:  Biweekly Shopping Worksheet}

(Notes:  Here you can see how I divide my paper and what it looks like as I make my list.  I listed two stores, but decided that my trip to the 2nd store (where I get things I can’t find at Aldi) could wait for another few weeks.)

Printable Planning Worksheet

Biweekly Shopping Worksheet    Here is the printable of what I once created with scratch paper.  I list the dinners we’ll be eating in the upper left hand corner (and note a date if they are for a particular day).  As I create my menu, I start filling in my shopping lists, trying to group like items together.  The space for other at the bottom left of the worksheet is for planning anything that isn’t dinner (like a special birthday breakfast, sides, etc.).  Keep reading for more tips on how I fill this out.

2-Access what I have on hand

I think about what meat or other proteins I have on hand and what meals I can make from them over the coming weeks.  If I have a plethora of a particular type of meat, I make sure to incorporate that into the meals for the next couple weeks.  When I’m not sure what I have on hand, I go rummage in the freezer.

I attempt to only purchase meat when it is on sale, so I work from what is in the freezer.  Instead of shopping for each meal as I plan them, I stock up on items as they come on sale and then incorporate those foods into our meals.  This has been an easy way for me to save money on groceries while avoiding coupon clipping.

If I don’t have enough proteins on hand to base our meals around, I then go to the store ads and then meal plan according to what is on sale.

(Notes:  After being in the freezer the other day, I know I have a lot of leftover ham and boneless chicken.)

3-Begin brainstorming meal ideas

Based on what meat I have in the freezer, I begin a list of meals (on the left side of my paper).  I know I can get by with leftovers for several meals, so I list about 12 supper meals.  I try to have about 2-3 meals of each protein type:  beef, chicken, pork, vegetarian, and fish.

If I need inspiration, I type in the ingredients I want to use in Pinterest or use Allrecipes‘ ingredient search.  I don’t assign meals to a particular day, but every few days drop meals from my list (which I keep on a clipboard inside a kitchen cupboard) into my planner.  This way, I can allow for quick changes to our supper plans and for leftovers but still know what is for supper each night.

I do not plan breakfasts or lunches.  Instead, these meals are from things I keep in our well-stocked pantry.  During the week, breakfast is usually fix your own ( homemade granola, eggs and toast, or peanut butter on toast), but we have a larger family breakfast on Saturday morning.  I’ve also found meal planning to be much simpler since incorporating a lunch rotation.  I know what we’re having and I know we have it on hand.

You may find these posts helpful if you are new to meal planning:

Simple Strategies to up your Meal Planning Game

Simple Lunch Ideas and Rotation

(Notes:  We have a lot of leftover ham and boneless chicken in the freezer.  We’ll be having Ham and Scalloped Potatoes, Rubens, Ham and Cheese Sliders, Chicken Spaghetti, and Roasted Chicken and Veggies, along with other meals.)

4-Start a shopping list

As I brainstorm ideas, I consider what special ingredients I may need to make a particular dish.  If I don’t have it on hand, I put it on the list portion (right side) of my paper.  These are usually items I don’t keep in my pantry.

Most of our meals are made from similar ingredients, so I know what I need to keep on hand.  However, when we have special meals planned (like birthdays) I take extra time to review the recipes I’ll use for ingredients we don’t often have on the shelves.

(This week, we are having Rubens.  I know I don’t always keep sauerkraut in the pantry, so I’ll have to pick some of that up.  I also see we are out of oatmeal – I’ll pick up a few boxes so I always have some on hand to make my granola.)

5-Access the pantry and freezer

This is really the heart of biweekly shopping- a well stocked pantry.  Now I have my meal list and what I need to purchase to make those meals happen.  Next, I take my pantry inventory and visit my pantry.  I quickly glance at my shelves and at the list of things I liked to keep stocked.  I add things to my list as I come across them.  I also review what we need to furnish the usual breakfast meals as well as our lunch rotation.

You can find and print food inventory lists online, but I ended up making my own to suit our own needs.  I listed items I like to keep on hand by category.  I suggest you create a pantry inventory of items that you regularly use in your meals (you’ll find you often cook with many of the same ingredients.)

I’ve included my custom pantry and household supply list.  You may find it suits your needs or helps you create your own.

My Pantry and Household Supplies List

 (Here is my pantry inventory.  After looking over the shelves, I see we don’t have any extra BBQ sauce or mustard so I’ll be picking up those items.)

6-Check the sales

This is also huge money saver.  I always take time to browse the sales and stock up on whatever is deeply discounted even if we won’t be using it in the next weeks.  Doing so allows me to keep my pantry and freezer well stocked at a great price.

7-Go shopping and put it all away!

This is really the easy part!  Shopping for 2 weeks takes no more time than shopping for 1 week.  Enlist your kids help at the store.  Have one child push the cart, another help you grab items, and then have them all unload the cart at the checkout.

I always like to get a little something for the kids for their help.  We decide before entering the store what our treat will be so there is no begging or whining in the store.  You beg, you whine?-NO TREAT FOR YOU!

When you get home, enlist those little helpers to help you unload.  They can unload the car, run things to the freezer, and put things on the pantry shelves.

(Notes:  Our trip took us about 2.5 hours, counting the time it took us to get ready.  We grabbed some sandwich fixings and met Daddy at his work for a car picnic lunch.)

Other Tips to help your Biweekly Grocery Shopping:

• Have a rotation for breakfast and lunch meals based on things you can easily keep on hand.
• Keep a well stocked pantry
• Stock up on staples that you use regularly when they are on sale.
• Keep a running list of ingredients as you see you are low on them.
• Plan on using canned or frozen fruit the last few days before you go shopping again. (Winter fruits keep much longer than summer fruits!)
• Try new tricks to build meal planning efficiency.
• Try an online meal planning tool like Plan to Eat which populates your shopping list from the recipes you choose. (*affiliate link)

 

Have you tried grocery shopping less frequently?