if there were such a place...

The husband and I took our shopping list and headed out yesterday afternoon. We needed to hit Costco, Fry's (our local grocery store), and the gas station.

My goal was to spend no more than $150 on groceries... I went over by $23.
But that's what happens when the husband tags along. He is a perpetual saboteur.

Here's where I mention the SAVINGS.

 With our coupons and our store card, we saved over $90. That's a decent savings!  Also, on gas?! We had 883 fuel points, so I was able to fill up my Van's for $0.80 off per gallon... We paid $3.13 a gallon! Nice savings there!

When all was said and done, I got everything we needed (and then some). Once we got home, the kids and I proceeded to put things away and pre-package snacks and re-package chips, meat, etc.

Re-Package.... Now that's a thought! Re-packing into clear containers or baggies always lets you see what you have left. This is a good idea, especially when it's time to go shopping again. You will only have to purchase what you really need.

I bought a box of 50 snack baggies... and filled every single one of them up, plus 20 additional I had on hand. For the kids' snacks, I portioned out Vanilla Wafers, pretzels, cheese popcorn, and Ritz crackers. They know that they cannot just grab food whenever they want... that we have a plan they have to follow.  If there is more week, at the end of the food, they are stuck with ramen noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner. {hey, it's kinda preparing them for college, right?!}  We spent about 30 minutes, with all of us working at it. Time well spent, I say!

My pantry is so unorganized right now, but while I have the energy today, I will go in and get it back to the way I like it - everything in its place!

No more standing inside the pantry... trying to figure out what they can have. Between the menu plan and the prepackaging, they should be sitting pretty.

Speaking of 'inside the pantry'... take a gander at our ketchup:

Do you buy the HUGE can from Costco? We started doing it recently... it's SOOO cheap and very easy to re-packaged into old bottles (that sounds weird. they are already used up ketchup bottles, clean!). =)
Sometimes shopping at the warehouse stores is really the best way to go... Especially when I am feeding a six-pack!

Okay - off to organize that pantry now. And to lock it when I am done with it. hehe.

free printables - organization in the kitchen

As per a simple request, I've uploaded copies of my menu planning documents for you to download... for free! And for a limited time, if you'd like to see yours customized (with your last name, or a different color scheme), feel free to send me an email at youmeandthem at cox dot net, and I would be happy to fulfill your request!

You can download the docs below!






I have my major shopping trip today... and I've got everything ready to go, including my canvas bags. Did you know that most stores will pay you anywhere from $0.05 to $0.10 per bag?! It adds up, I am telling you! Enjoy... and happy organizing!

menu for the week {organization!}

Before we bought our house, we lived in a 3 bedroom apartment in the city.
"In the city..." --> I laugh at that. Only because we aren't truly out in the country now {shhh! don't let the cows know I said that!}, but the closest grocery store is a little over 5 miles down the road. Whereas, when we lived in Tempe, I had a choice of stores, including Costco, almost at arm's length.

I found that with since moving here, plus the added expenses of owning a home, we've totally gone off of our menu/organization/grocery shopping plan. It used to be that Isabel and I would prep the kitchen, make our lists, and then go shopping very early on Saturday mornings. Very early. Now...? There's really no rhyme or reason. Except for our Costco trips (p.s. closest Costco? 16 miles down the road).

With this new found lack of organization, all of a sudden, the daughter goes to make a cake and there is no oil. NO OIL!? That's never happened before. Or... the kids are eating full meals for snacks, because there is nothing quick and easy to grab.

For the sake of my own sanity, I've decided to pull out all of my old spreadsheets and methods and update them a little. In our monthly budget, I have $500 set aside for groceries and toiletries. I also have $300 set aside for Costco (which includes dog food, meat, cheese, and other bulk items).

Now more than ever, I need to STICK to those numbers. In addition, I need to quit serving the same old meals, I serve all of the time. Tacos, sausage, veggies and pasta, etc. I need to branch out a little more {more on that later}.

This is where the weekly menu comes in. If I write it down... I have to stick to it, right?

Here's a close up of one of my forms... the meal plan and shopping list.

Based on the flyers I scoured through (see above) and the coupons I have on hand, I filled out my menu and our shopping list. For each day of the week, I've listed out breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

In addition, I made the sheet, laminated it and then broke it out by breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner - for each day of the week. This is the copy that will be hanging on the fridge for the family to see.

Ignore the huge GREEN writing... it was the only dry erase marker I had on hand. Hmmm, I need to add that to my shopping list - new markers.

It took me a while to get everything back up and running... but we are ready for our shopping on Thursday.
On Sunday, I am having the family over for Easter - but after that, we are sticking to the schedule. I have 30 coupons that I cut from the paper this past Sunday (okay, two papers)... and based on my shopping list, I am going to go online and see if I can find/print any more. Anything to save a few bucks. ;)

Now that this part of the process is done, I am working on creating a family friendly recipe book to keep on hand for when I am planning meals. The goal is to try one new recipe each week.