M. Suzanne Terry

Empty wine rack is sad. Guess I know what needs to go on the grocery list.

Your meals are planned, and after today, your grocery lists – for all of November – will be, too. As long as you keep up with this system, this is how you will make your lists from now on.

For demonstration purposes, we are going to presume three shopping days for the month – two regular and one holiday. Adjust as necessary

1. Print out three staples lists. Put the dates of your shopping days on the top of the pages. On the first one, put a check next to all the staples you currently need to replenish. On the second one, put a check next to the staples that you will use during the first round of meals (between the first and second shopping days). On the third, put a check next to the staples you will use in the second round of meals and that you will need for your holiday meals.

   Of course, if you use a handwritten system for your grocery list, you will need to list the staples rather than place a check mark next to them.

2. Next, you’ll make the list of all the non-staples you will need for each upcoming round of meals. If you store your recipes electronically, just copy, paste into a new document, and print. If you store your recipes on cards, make sure you get all of them on your written lists.

And that’s it! You are ready to shop (practically, if not mentally) with the confidence that you are not forgetting anything you will need, thus eliminating the annoying rush back to the store at the last minute.

I’m sharing my Epic Meal Planning strategies for Write 31 Days – click to see the master list.