Grocery Shopping Once A Month

 That's right.
Besides milk, bread, eggs & soft fruits, I grocery shop once a month.
It is a cram packed day that requires a lot of pre-planning. I spend around $250.00 and get everything we need for our meal plan for the entire month.

The Planning :

~ 1 Week Before Shop ~ 
- Plan menu for the upcoming month
- Write down everything needed for each meal
- Write down items we have run out of over the past month

~ 3 Days Before Shop ~ 
- Go through sales ads and write down the items that our on sale and correspond with what we need
- Match any coupons I am able to use with sales and items we need
- Place coupons into envelopes (*one envelope for coupons that match with sales, and one envelope for other coupons I plan to use with items that are not necessarily on sale)

~ Day Before Shop ~
- Go through the pantry, fridge and freezer and cross anything off the shopping list that I already have in the house
- Clean out any bad or expired food from fridge, freezer and pantry to make room for new food. 

~ Day of Shop ~ 
- Get up early! Get Shopping!
- Hit as many stores as it takes to get everything we need for the month
- Don't forget all your papers and coupons! 
- Once home, the first thing I do is put away everything that belongs in the fridge or freezer.
- Next the pantry things get put away.
- I then pull any meat that has been purchased and open the packages and portion it in separate bags.
- After I take all the vegetables I bought that get cleaned, and chopped before eating, and I prepare them and put them in their own bags.

shopping, shopping, shopping!