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I plan my menus monthly. This is based on a calendar of our activities for the month (nights DH teaches, cheer practicies, band, clubs, weekend activities, etc.). I make a list of what's in the pantry, fridge, and freezer. Then I get out my old months of menus, and my cookbooks. I try to plan breakfasts and dinners based on what we have and what everybody likes. I could do this in an hour, but I usually stretch it out through the length of an entire movie, which is more like two hours. That averages out to only 30 minutes per week.
Each weekend I re-evaluate the plan for the upcoming week. Sometimes we have a change in plans for dinner (got a free pizza coupon last week, so we had pizza instead of spaghetti) and I can reschedule that dinner since I already have the groceries. I cut out coupons and file them. I look at the week's sale ads in the Sunday paper. This takes about another 15-30 minutes. So I'm up to an hour before I set foot in the store.
Grocery shopping is something I generally do by myself. I compare prices, I use coupons, I add as I go. It's much less stressful to go by myself. Occassionally my daughter wants to go, so she helps me. I'd like to teach my stepsons the same stuff she is learning, but I don't think they are ready or interested. A trip to Tom Thumb or WalMart takes me about 90 minutes if I go by myself. If my daughter goes to WalMart with me, I add half an hour to the plan (we have to look at Mary Kate and Ashley everything!). So now I'm up to 2.5 hours, plus driving time to and from the store.
Everyone who is home helps bring the groceries in the house. I prefer to put it all away myself, that takes about another 15 minutes.
That adds up to about 3 hours a week for grocery shopping. All the prep work saves me lots of time and money later though.
When I used to shop without all the prep work, it took me about 15 minutes to make a list, about an hour to shop, and I usually made a second trip later in the week for something else. I also spent way more money!
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