Fun Monday - Shopping for Two

How do we handle the dreaded grocery shopping? That's the topic for March 8 Fun Monday. Our host is Gattina at Writer Cramps . Gattina herself lives in Belgium, but Fun Monday bloggers are from several other countries as well. Do we all go about this chore in the same way or do we shop differently, depending on our location? Here's the drill in Louisville, KY:



First the lists--my goal is to leave the house no more than necessary. It is not unusual for me to go out only once a week. Plus, I've figured out that any time you go in the grocery store you don't get out without spending close to a $100. So I try to limit the trips to the grocery by using a Master Shopping List. I made this template of everything I would likely purchase at the grocery in a month's time. I then print copies of the list and post on the fridge,marking the items as I use them up. Then once a month I'll go to the big "box" store(Kroger's)and stock up on all the non-perishable things. (BTW, I also have a Master Packing List for Travel, a Daily/Weekly Chore Schedule and a Master Monthly Task Schedule. We won't even get into what this says about my personality this late in the evening. . .)


Sister's List --in addition to my own grocery shopping I also help my older sister with this chore. she would be just as happy if I took this job off her hands, but I feel that she should continue to take responsibility for this as long as she is physically able. It can be very frustrating to take her shopping though because she never had a list. She would just careen up and down the aisles and then check out without getting nearly all the things she needed. Then on the way home she'd say something like, "The next time we go out I need to get this or that." It was driving me crazy.

To help with this problem, I made a master list of all the groceries she would normally buy and arranged the list by the aisles in the store where she does her shopping. I gave her multiple copies of the list on a clipboard so she can mark down what she needs to buy and then just take her clipboard with her when she goes grocery shopping. This helps some.

So, usually once a month we take our master lists to the mega Kroger's and buy all the non-perishables and staples. Then all I need to do once a
week or so is to go to Paul's Market, our really good local fruit and vegetable market for fruits, produce, bread and milk. Paul's is also a gourmet store which offers food products made in Kentucky from our local farmers--cheeses, sauces, honey, meats, pickles--with the Kentucky Proud label. When I took this photo last week, employees were busy setting up the outside sales area. In just a few weeks, there'll be spring vegetable and bedding plants for sale and other gardening supplies.

So there you have it--grocery shopping for two in Louisville. It's still a chore but Paul's especially is fun to go through for all the great fruits and vegetables. No excuse not to buy healthy! I'll check out your grocery places in the next day or so.

Fun Monday for March 15 -- I'm the host. Come back around on Wednesday for the assignment and sign up.