Get Everything Done

Our Groceries app works well for us. Unlimited number of devices. It has a section for recipes (which we don't use), and separate lists for different stores (or however you want to do it). It also remembers the food, so if I type "orange" it suggests "orange juice, Cricket's favourite brand, only store it's sold at, 2L container", along with "orange juice, boxes for travel" and "oranges for lunch". (We only add that much detail if necessary, which it often is. We once went four week without Daughter's favourite snack because we didn't realize that only one store sold it.)

(We also have a list on the fridge. No delay to wash hands and find phone, put it on the list Now! Then before leaving work, call home to ensure it's all copied to the online list. That works best for us.)

As for meal planning? Not much. Our freezer and pantry are well-stocked. We add things to the list whenever they get low. (Low = half a container or less than 10 days worth at max consumption). We buy double the usual amount if it's on sale, and if I remember being low-ish on something on sale, we'll get that too. The stores put the meat-of-the-week in the same freezer each week, and have shelf-signs for most of their sales in other departments, so we don't bother with flyers. I average 30 minutes a week in the aisles.

Husband usually goes once mid-week for more milk, and anything the kids forgot to write down. (Yep, different parenting styles. I say they know shopping is weekly, and they can do without. It's rare that they'll use up something that's important to me before I notice.)

Planning? Nope. I usually decide in the morning what to thaw. I go by what we have and what's oldest, not what I want. I try to take turns with favourites / not-liked. However, everyone knows how to cook their favourites and how to add to the shopping list, so if I don't want to cook, I tell whoever has time that I'm planning something they don't like. (Sneaky Mom trick.) Also, we always cook at least two meals of anything that takes a long time to cook, then fridge or freeze the leftovers.

Freezer, fridge, and pantry are organized so the oldest food is easiest to grab. It was easier to train the shopper (me) to do it that way than the rest of the family to do it any other way. Every few months I recheck the dates and move things as needed. Most food has dates on the package. Anything without a date is assumed to be older than anything with. This week, in honour of the annual freezer defrosting (done when we can put the food in the frozen garage), we're having frozen leftovers.

The too-easy answer is well-stocked with healthy foods, but they have to be foods that you like, go well together, and have enough variety. I've been doing this for almost 30 years, so have a good feel for it. Planning will help you learn what to stock.


My biggest challenge now is taking turns cooking. My family keeps making high-carb meals, and I'm trying to limit carbs. The rule used to be that if they didn't like what I cooked, they could make something for themselves, and do the extra dishes, or volunteer to cook the family meal (with those dishes then cleaned by the family, aka whoever's turn it was). Now the tables have turned.

Accumulating to many planned-overs can also be a problem, so I have to keep an eye on it. I often have them for lunch.

Verbs are good. I had stopped writing them, but I'm going back to basics with my son, taking turns coaching each other, and find actually writing them, rather than just thinking them (mostly, or maybe forgetting to), makes a difference.