Grocery Shopping Tips

I can't believe we are nearing the end of September... the summer just blew by so fast! But, I really am looking forward to cooler weather and all that fall has to offer!
As I was unloading my trunk full of groceries the other day, I realized that I have not written about one of my favorite activities, which believe it or not, is grocery shopping. I think it's probably all of the planning of recipes, organizing of coupons and seeing the savings add up on my Ibotta and Checkout 51 shopping apps that gets me so excited. So, here are the steps that I take when planning a grocery trip:

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• The first thing that I do is to quickly go through my refrigerator and cabinets to see what I may need to restock. I also take this opportunity to quickly wipe down the inside of the fridge and re-organize current products and look for expired food items. If you do this on a weekly basis, your refrigerator and cabinets will stay cleaner and more organized, hopefully saving you time and frustration. In a future blog, I will talk about the perfect fridge set up so that once completed, this step will take no time at all!

• Next, I check out my running shopping list that I keep on a small chalkboard inside one of my cabinet doors. It's in a convenient spot so that I can keep track of needed items in the moment. Believe me, the 2 seconds it takes to write it down in the moment is worth the 20 minutes I'll waste later trying to think of what it was that I needed!

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• I then brew myself a quick cup of coffee (yummmm, pumpkin spice!), and check out the weekly circular to get an idea of what is on sale. I've said before that I'm an old fashion kind of gal, so I like to go through the actual paper circular. BUT, I have begun to access my favorite grocery stores weekly advertisement on their store app. I also take this opportunity to check out my $$$ saving apps. I love Ibotta and Checkout 51 Another app that I like to use when I'm looking for specific items is Flipp.
  
• After getting an idea of what's on sale, I start to build my weekly meal plan and recipes. I use my notes app on my phone to make my shopping list and to keep track of which recipe I'm going to make, and where to find it (i.e., magazine/book and pg. #). I also note which items I have coupons or rebates for so that I'm saving the most money possible.
  
• Knowing the best time to shop at your favorite grocery store is key! Usually, weekday mid-mornings are the best time to get the freshest produce, and asking your meat manager when they bring product out for clearance nearing its expiration date will get you the most savings on meat. Also, most of us know this by making this mistake... don't go to the grocery store hungry. Ever.
  
• As your filling your cart, keep like items together. This will make it easy when loading them onto the belt at checkout. When like items are bagged together, unloading them and putting them away becomes an easier task. Also, for your car, check out these items from The Container Store:

• The final thing I do after unpacking is to complete my rebates. I find this easier to do right after I’ve completed my shopping trip, but if I can’t, I leave my receipt in a place that will remind me to do it before the end of the day. Most of these $$$ saving apps are time sensitive, so I don’t want to miss out! And…they keep a track of my lifetime earnings, and I really like to see my savings add up!

I hope these tips help to make one of life’s chores a little easier for you!

​As always, your answer for organizing,
Ali