Spend less time in the grocery store and more time with your family

I have a confession to make - I HATE grocery shopping.  I long for the day they have the food dispensers for the home (anyone who has ever watched Start Trek knows what I mean) so that I didn't have to think about it.   Until that day comes, and until I can afford the shipping of fresh foods directly to my house, I'm stuck grocery shopping.

Now I'm sure I have several friends who can school me on clipping coupons and finding bargains.  However, when it comes to creating a list and meal plan, I think I might have a bit of a leg up.  There are many apps available that you can use to help you organize your meal plan and grocery list.  There's a great list of the Top 5 Best Meal Planning Apps at Lifehacker.com.  They absolutely do work for some.  I actually used one for a while, but I'm too cheap to spring for the pay version that you can print the grocery list - so I went back to my "old-school" method of using a spreadsheet.

I shop for two weeks at a time, so my plan includes the meal for each night, including how many people will be at the dinner table (at my house it varies) and ingredients needed (beyond the staples).  Then, below the plan, I add my grocery list in the order that I shop through the store.  This way, I don't have to backtrack for something that I didn't see originally on the list.  As I'm shopping, I cross off the items on the list, so I'm sure I have everything.  Here's a little snippet of my list:

Sample Meal Plan Spreadsheet

You can see that I also have a week # listed.  I actually have spreadsheets for 8 weeks worth of meals.  This helps me to keep the meals rotating and not have the same meal every two weeks.

I realize this is a very simplified method, but it works for me.  You don't have to have fancy tools or make things complicated to stay organized.  This particular method takes a bit of planning up front, but the time I save organizing the meals for the week is invaluable.  I not only save time in the grocery store, but I also save time each night when it comes to meal prep - I don't have to think about what's for dinner, because it's already planned out!

Comment below and let me know how you stay organized when it comes to meal time.  Do you use an app, or do you hand-write a list?  It's great to share ideas - what works for me may not work for someone else and I'm always looking for a better way.