Howdy hey!
To go off of Charlotte’s post from yesterday, I’m going to continue with the market/grocery shopping tips. Rather than focusing on reducing the amount of money spent, I’m going to focus on how to reduce the amount of food you waste! Some of these tips are surprisingly similar to Charlotte’s tips, so it’s a twofer! Saving money, and reducing waste!
“We believe it’s cheaper if we buy more now, but we rarely take into account how much we throw out in the end. And if you factor in the cost of what you are throwing away, it is very unlikely that you are saving anything.” (treehugger.com)
Prior to going to the market or grocery store:
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Think of what meals you hope to have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner this week. Plan them out- at least loosely to know what items you need to buy and in what quantities.
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Take an inventory of what you have. What do you need to make those meals happen? Do you already have some of the ingredients? A couple of great ways to do this is to have a whiteboard on your fridge to write what you need to buy right when you use it up or to make a checklist for your pantry.
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Go through your fridge and observe whether there are certain foods that you don’t eat quick enough. Could you buy less of something to eat it before it goes bad?
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Create a list based off steps 1-3, and bring it with you to the market or grocery store. There has to be an app for this, but I know many people who use their notes section for this. Have a dated inventory that you can bring with you when you go shopping.
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Be realistic- how many people are you actually buying food for?
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Don’t go when you’re hungry.
At the grocery store or market:
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Buy only what you need. Rather than buying a bunch of tomatoes, only buy one or two.
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Avoid impulse buys, follow your list of ingredients.
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Don’t buy things you already have, or things that you don’t know how to use unless you have a recipe or plan to use them up.
Once you’re home again:
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Move older products to one side of your fridge to make sure you use them up before they spoil. The more you pay attention to what you have and where it is, the more likely you are to eat it before it goes bad.
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Observe what you are throwing into the trash and keep track of it for your next grocery list. Buy less of things you toss out next time.
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Have leftover nights where you eat all of the leftovers in the fridge. It’s good food still!
Keep these tips in mind this weekend! Until then-