At work recently I was talking about this new recipe that I tried, and my coworker asked me how I decide what to cook for dinner each night. She talked about how bored she gets with having the same things all the time and how she and her husband end up going out to eat a lot because she doesn’t know what to cook.
That, my friends, is one of the main reasons I started meal planning for my family. When I finished a long day at work, I certainly did not want to try to figure out what we were going to have for dinner, and I for sure did not want to have to stop at the store. And, I knew that without a plan, we would probably end up picking up something or going to get something, and we definitely couldn’t afford that, especially after kids came along.
So that is how the meal planning began. At first it was for a week at a time, but then I decided that I needed to do two weeks at a time so that we were only shopping about every two weeks. We always seemed to end up with more items in the buggy than what was on the list, so going every other week helped out with that. This was WAY before grocery pickup and delivery!! Just FYI though – I still prefer to go to the store and shop, especially for any produce. Also, sometimes I find good sales. (We’ll cover that another time). I will use grocery pickup, but it’s pretty infrequent.
Anyway, you really do need to make a list and try to stick to it. You spend way less that way AND you don’t have to keep going back to the store to get things that you forgot. Total time and sanity saver. I know not everyone can plan for that far out because you don’t have the space or maybe even the money for groceries for two weeks, but do what you can to keep from having to shop so often. I still use an old-school paper list, but you can make a list in your notes on your phone or in an app.
This is going to sound crazy, but I also organize my list before I go shopping. I divide it up by categories so that I hopefully get everything I need in each area of the store so I don’t have to keep going back and forth to get things I forgot. Once again, if you are using grocery pickup, I’m sure this part sounds really crazy!!
I start my list as I make my menu, but then I also add to it as I notice things are getting low or I remember something that I need to get or replace. Pretty much when I open something new (salad dressing, ketchup, mayo, etc), I put it on the list to replace it so that I have it when the new one runs out. Since I use a paper list, it just stays on my fridge so I can add to it as I think of things. Once again, I know everyone does not have room for that, so do what works for you. Maybe you can have a list of things that you know you need to replace but you don’t get them until it gets closer to the current one running out.
Also, when planning, be cognizant of what you already have in your freezer or pantry. That is how I try to plan out my meals. I look to see what meats and staples I have, and then I choose or look for recipes that utilize those things.
Those are my little helps for now to hopefully make your meal planning and prepping a little easier and more manageable. Check out the new two-week plan and keep on keepin’ on.
Managing the Mundane 
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