Works for Me Wednesday - The Grocery List

I am a creature of habit.  Especially when it comes to cooking.  I like to try new recipes, but I come back to the favorites time after time.  I have A LOT of tried and true recipes, so I can go weeks with out repeats and then start the cycle over again without getting burn out on the classics.  And I do switch it up every now again.  When I find a winner, I add it to the repertoire and it just makes the cycle another day longer.

I bore you with this to tell you about my grocery list.  Since I make much of the same stuff over and over, my grocery list rarely changes.  I have made a master list of all the items I keep on hand on a regular basis and it really works for me.  I have an excel spread sheet with everything I buy on it.  I have multiple columns for pricing.  I buy certain things at Walmart, certain things at Aldi, certain things at Sam's and a crap ton of stuff at Kroger.  I also go to Meijer when the sales lure me...  I like to keep track of the prices at each store so that when I get a coupon or something seems to be really cheap on sale, I can see if it beats the best price.  If so, I stock up. If not, I wait and stock up the next time I'm at Sam's, Aldi, Walmart, etc...  

Another reason this master list really works for me is because, as you may remember from this post, I have a small or maybe gargantuan issue with getting out the door.  If I'm going to the grocery store, I never go without my coupon binder, where I also keep my master list.  If I run out and forget my mini-list, you know - the one with milk, eggs, sugar - whatever I've completely run out of, then I can just scan through the master list and jog my memory that way.  I can also look at my meal list, the list I've made of all of the go to meals I make over and over, and see what's coming up and then do a mental inventory of the pantry.  Do I have olives?  Do I need tomato sauce?  It's really helpful in so many ways.

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