Start Grocery shopping... NOW!

     I have left a much bigger gap between posts than I'm comfortable with, but this is exactly why I wanted you to check out 101 days to Christmas . An everyday post is something I knew I couldn't commit to. Depending on how this year goes, maybe next year I might, but for now I'm showing you exactly how I do my planning, and yes, it does get some gaps in it.


     As it's been over a week, we're going to cover more than one thing to tick of your preparations. The first is not Christmas related, but some "Honey do" stuff. Getting the house ready for Fall. It's here and in a big way. I was pleased to get out my fall table cloth yesterday.

     There are several things you need to do to get ready for fall, and I'm in my first house for the first time this year, so I actually have yard work too. And that is exactly where to start. I was at a bon fire the other night, and I've seen so many things pop up on pinterest about bon fires being a big part of fall. I'm thinkin not so much around here, it was cold, and there was no denying it's here. Time to make...another list.

     I would highlight anything that requires you going outside, because let's face it, you're going to want to do that first and get that over with. Over the next week or two chip away at that list.


     Now my last post, I promised a grocery master list for that menu you put together. Before you start though, you're going to want to make 3 parts to your list, Non- Perishables, Frozen and Fresh. Next, you're going to want to go back to that menu, and go through it with a fine tooth comb. Don't forget spices and condiments, make a complete list of every thing you might need for each meal and put them into their categories.

     Now, if you have a look at mine, you see some stuff is already checked off. That is one of my big money saving, time saving secrets, I start early, very early. Here's the thing, non-perishables, you can start on now. If you spot a smokin deal on gravy next time you go shopping, grab it. While I don't touch the frozen part until mid-late November, you can wipe out those lists in advance, and it will save a lot of time, money and headache. Also, keep the Christmas groceries away from the regular ones. I have a cupboard above my fridge, it's kind of a pain to use it, because it's high up and I have to move stuff around to get to it. So basically it's the perfect spot for me to keep all my Christmas non-perishables. And though it's a LONG way away from shopping on the Fresh list, here is another money saving tip, if you're saving points, use em. Hubs and I save points all year at the grocery store and redeem them for our biggest Christmas shopping trip. I'll be honest, last year I didn't take my own advice, and waited until later to do our grocery shopping, and the price for that trip was about double what we normally spend, and that wasn't our only stop, needless to say, I was pretty happy about the points taking half of the hit.

     So that's my latest post. I hope to have a shorter gap for the next one...once I figure out what the next one is.