Using Time Wisely

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Grocery Shopping: Giving Groceries a Home – Part 3 of 3

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Emily Connell)

This past week was a slim grocery shopping week for our family. Factoring in my messy coupon binders with the slower sales this week, I opted to grab Fabuloso, yogurt, and tea bags on my way home Tuesday night.

Other than hamburger buns, strawberries, and milk picked up from Aldi earlier this week, my grocery shopping has been minimal.

Even with a small grocery shopping trip, I still follow the same process to continue using time wisely.

In the Giving Your Groceries a Home series, we have unloaded our savings, organized our cold items, and organized our grocery items.

After putting away the groceries, I have reusable bags, plastic bags, and boxes cluttering my kitchen as well as debris on the counters from the packaging materials and any cleaners or hygiene items. With the food items in their designated locations, I focus on preparing for future savings.

Preparing for Future Savings

1. Put away the grocery holders. I use the word “holders” to include bags and boxes. By the end of this process, the bags are on the floor and the counters. If they have not been used as train cars, then the boxes are also on the floor. 🙂

    • Reusable bags. I fold them up and place them on top of my diaper bag.
    • Plastic bags. Gathering these bags together, I place them in an oblong sleeve that my mom made especially for me. My sunflower-patterned sleeve is kept inside my pantry door and clipped to my upper spice rack.
    • Boxes. When my children finish playing with the boxes, I stack them together by the garage door.

On my next trip out to the garage, I take my boxes to the recycling container and the reusable bags to the trunk of my vehicle.

2. Remove items from counters. Taking the remaining items from the shopping trip, I divide them into the upstairs and the downstairs placement.

    • Downstairs Placement. At this time, I will leave the kitchen to put these items away.
    • Upstairs Placement. The products that belong upstairs, I add to the “to go upstairs” pile of items.

3. Wipe counters. With the counters clear, I take a clean cloth or sponge and wipe down my kitchen counters. When I enter my kitchen to prepare the next meal, I will start with clean counters.

Though this organizational system works for me, it may or may not work at your home. Using a system continues to save me money, energy, and time while using time wisely.

Consider your process. Does it work? If so, then continue. If not, try another option. You might be surprised to find one trick (not leaving the room until all is cleaned and organized) that maximizes your time and prevents distractions. Happy organizing!

Question: What do you do with your plastic grocery bags? Please add your answer to the comments.

Evaluating: Taking a Step Back – Overview

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Caston Corporate)

After spending the day snuggling with my ill children, washing bedding, and cleaning up accidents without feeling frustrated, I ventured out to the grocery stores since it was the last day of the sale. I had planned to shop in the morning after taking my son to school, but . . . life happened. 🙂

With limited time, I made out my grocery list and grabbed those coupons in about 20 minutes. When I realized how quickly the plan came together, I reaffirmed the benefits of this process for me.

I remember a time in the not-too-distant past when this same process took me an hour. Back then, I was thinking:

  • Maybe I should spend my time doing something more constructive
  • Maybe I should forget the coupons
  • Maybe I should just shop at Aldi and forget these other stores

What I should have thought was:

  • Look what I am learning by methodically planning my savings
  • See the deep savings I am getting to feed my family
  • Wonder how I can increase my productivity with this system

By repeating this process each month, I am continuing to see deep savings while using time wisely. Spending 20 minutes to save $30 is worth those precious minutes. Thankful now that I created a plan, executed that plan, and repeated the plan for almost a year because I am reaping the benefits.

This process has worked for me. Try it. It may work for you as well.

My Menu Planning Process

My Grocery Shopping Process

My Evaluation Process

  • Step Seven: Taking a Step Back.
    • Part 1: Reviewing your grocery list.
    • Part 2: Reviewing your grocery envelopes.
    • Part 3: Reviewing your receipts.

Next week, I will begin this last step in the process – Evaluating: Taking a Step Back. This section helps me learn from my mistakes, update my rock bottom pricing list, delight in my savings, and reset for another great week. Happy savings!

Question: What have you found helpful in this series? Please add your answer to the comments.

Evaluating: Taking a Step Back – Part 1 of 3

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Cyberhawk Innovations)

When the hustle and bustle of grocery shopping has ceased and in the calm of my household (in theory), I evaluate by taking a step back to review, learn, and strategize.

Just taking 5 minutes to note the great deals, the bypassed deals, and the did-I-really-need-that deals, I learn more about how I shop and how to improve on my next shopping adventure.

To help improve my grocery shopping savings, I review the grocery list, where I jotted down ideas and made notes.

Reviewing your Grocery List

After putting away all the groceries and cleaning up the kitchen, I take a moment to check the grocery list. In looking over the list, ask these questions:

1. Did you jot down any menu planning ideas?

If so, add those ideas to your menu. With my menu planner on the refrigerator, I turn from my counter to the refrigerator and write the ideas on the schedule.

2. Did you get everything on your list?

If yes, are you pleased with this shopping trip? If not, why not? (Answers will vary.) How can you improve?

If not, why did you choose to bypass the deal?

If not, due to out-of-stock items, did you get a rain check? Was the rain check written correctly? Does the rain check expire? If so, place it near the front of your store envelope to use on your next trip.

3. Did you buy more items than you planned?

Did you need those items, or was it an impulse buy? If an impulse purchase, were you hungry? Influenced by your children?

Using these questions while reviewing your shopping list can pinpoint areas where you excel while revealing your tendencies. By taking a step back and reviewing my shopping trips, I learn what I did right, what I bombed, and how I can improve.

As you seek to see the deep savings each week, learning how to decide a good deal from a great deal will get you on your way. Just take it slowly and take a step back to learn from each shopping trip. In using time wisely, spending 5 minutes to check your progress is worth seeing those deep savings as you improve. Happy savings!

Question: How often do you buy only what is on your shopping list? Please add your answer to the comments.

Evaluating: Taking a Step Back – Part 2 of 3

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Emilian Robert Vicol)

In winding down this food series and reviewing your savings after checking your grocery list, the next step is reviewing your grocery envelopes.

I am assuming you use an envelope or binder to hold your grocery list, coupons, and rain checks. If you use a holder for these items, then organizing this space after grocery shopping is using your time wisely.

My planner of choice is an envelope with the store name written on the outside. When I return home, I will spend some time preparing my envelopes for my next shopping trip. The system I use is as follows:

1. Removing Items

When I organize my envelopes, I work on a clean desk surface with space to form piles and with only one envelope at a time. I take all the items out the envelope and then begin sorting.

2. Sorting Items

With the pile of the items in my hand, I make three piles:

    • Trash

The items in the trash pile maybe store coupons that I did not use and will expire, store advertisements that print with Catalina coupons, and my finished grocery list. I place these items in the trash can.

    • File

In this pile are my receipts and coupons that I planned to use but decided against when bypassing the deal. I will then file the receipt with my paperwork and place the unused coupons back in my binders.

    • Keep

Any items that I need to keep in the envelope stay in this pile. These items might be rain checks, coupons for the rain check items, store coupon policy, and receipt (if I need to return an item).

3. Organizing Items

The items to keep are then organized. My preferred order is as follows:

    • Receipts for returning items
    • Rain checks expiring this month
    • Coupons for those rain checks
    • Rain checks expiring after this month
    • Store’s coupon policy

4. Inserting Items

With the items organized, I place them back into my envelope for next week.

By removing, sorting, organizing, and inserting the items, you will be ready for your next trip to the grocery store. Keeping the close-to-expiring rain checks and coupons in the front of my envelope remind me of these deadlines before I miss a great deal.

Staying organized takes work, but establishing and repeating a process continues to save money, energy, and time while using time wisely.

Question: What system do you use to keep your coupons and rain checks organized? Please add your answer to the comments.

Evaluating: Taking a Step Back – Part 3 of 3

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Bethany Lynne)

Here it is . . . the last post in this food cycle series. This journey began with menu planning, circled around grocery shopping, came to evaluation, and continues back to menu planning. By following an intentional plan, I continue to save money, energy, and time.

In Step Seven: Evaluation, we considered reviewing our grocery list (Part 1) and our store envelopes (Part 2). In Part 3, consider reviewing your receipts.

Reviewing your Receipts

Surveys. When I review my store receipts, I check the bottom for a survey invitation. Though Publix does not offer surveys, our Bi-Lo stores do. Since there is a 5-day time limit to complete the survey, I try to get these done first.

When I complete my survey, Bi-Lo offers a link to a coupon. The coupon is usually for a free product with a month-long expiration date. If you really like the coupon, then break up next week’s trip into more than one transaction. You can print a coupon for each survey completed.

WARNING: Please do not print or copy multiple coupons without filling out a survey for each coupon printed. If customers take advantage of the system, then stores may stop these survey benefits.

Documenting. After taking the survey(s), I enter the receipt totals into a spreadsheet. Tracking my spending and savings by entering the amount I paid and the amount I saved, I can watch the numbers and the percentages all year. Need a free spreadsheet? Try the Coupon Savings Tracker by Happy Money Saver or the Coupon Savings Calculator by Coupon Closet.

Filing. When the documenting is complete, I file my receipt by how I paid. Filed in a pouch, kept with my monthly expenses, are the cash receipts while the credit card receipts are filed in that credit cards’ file folder in my filing cabinet.

In evaluating my shopping trips, I review the store receipts by completing surveys, documenting my savings, and filing. With the shopping and evaluating process complete, I am ready to start back at menu planning. This process continues as my family continues to need nourishment.

As you find a system that fits your needs, be intentional with your planning, spending, and evaluating to save money, energy, and time. Continue using time wisely to create a system or adjust my process to work for you. Happy savings!