Shopper. It all goes back to a day of grocery shopping that took
place many years ago when my five boys were small and I looked
after three or four foster children.
With three meals a day for 12 at the table, I had to get very
creative, and have a plan in place, to make sure our meals were
nourishing but cheap. The only way I could do it was to plan
ahead and shop wisely. I worked hard to make sure I was getting
the best buys to create menus with variety and good nourishment
for the family.
The payoff for all my penny-pinching and planning came at the
check-out counter one day when after putting through the big
weekly grocery order, the cashier looked at me and said: "I am
always surprised at how you get so many groceries and end up with
such a low total. I think you are the best shopper I see go
through here, and I notice you never have junk food in your
basket."
Well, that kept me up on a cloud for awhile and it still makes me
feel good when I think about it. I did work hard to make
shopping more of a pleasure than a chore and I'd like to share
some tips so you can get more out of your shopping trips and
dollars too.
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Where Did You Learn To Shop?
I learned to shop by observing my mother. She was clipping
coupons long before it was fashionable. I remember being quite
embarrassed about that when I was growing up. I couldn't believe
the time she would spend reading all the ads and cutting out all
the coupons.
Not only did she cut out coupons but she saved ALL the labels
from cans and boxtops from packages - just in case there was
ever a contest. Besides being the coupon queen, she was a
contest junkie And she won quite often too!
I have to admit I never did, and still don't, have the coupon
habit and I'm not too lucky when it comes to winning contests.
I do use coupons for things that we normally buy, but it is not
the fetish with me that it was with mum.
I did learn about comparing prices and that the most expensive
items were not always the best buy. My mum was CHEAP, she could
really stretch those grocery dollars. I guess that has set the
tone for me as I try to get the best buys too.
So think back, what are your memories of shopping when you were
growing up? Do you shop the same way your family did? Or are you
somewhat like me and combine a mix of what they did, and what
you have developed for yourself?
===============================================================
Get yourself a 'shopping journal' it doesn't have to be fancy,
a child's notebook for school will do.
Sit down and write down ideas that come to you as you think back
to what kind of shopping your family did.
Was shopping organized and regular? Was it haphazard and
irregular? Did your family eat regular meals together? Were the
meals planned out in advance?
What kind of a shopper are you?
What kind of changes would you like to make?
Once you've gotten a bit of insight into where your own shopping
habits may have come from, sit down and jot down some notes
about what kind of shopper you'd like to become.
What changes might you have to make to ensure that your shopping
and meal planning benefit you and your family in savings and
nourishment?
Once you get thinking about shopping as something that has to be
done, and as something that can benefit your family, your
perception of the dreaded shopping chore may take a new
direction.
===============================================================
Did you know that when your cupboards are disorganized it makes
it harder to shop? Many people buy several of the same item
because they thought they were out of it. In reality, they did
have it somewhere in the cupboard already.
If you don't regularly tidy up the cupboards, items get pushed
to the back or up onto high shelves that you can't see. When you
go to use something you thought you had on-hand, and you don't
see it, you figure you must be out of it so you send a kid to
the corner store for another one. Of course it will be more
expensive.
Then when you do clean out the cupboard you find you already had
two of them - one is outdated and has to be thrown away. If you
don't use the one you just bought, you'll still have two of
them.
When you don't know what you already have, you waste both time
and money - replacing and duplicating.
Now that you've decided to be a better shopper, the first step
is to go through your food cupboards and pantry. Get rid of all
the outdated foodstuffs. Old baking powder won't give you good
baking results, old spices lose their flavor.
Do you have exotic items stuffed in there you were going to use
for a fancy dish that just never got made? Can you make
something now with it? If so do it. If not, set aside anything
that is not outdated. If it is just going to sit on a shelf
unused, donate it to a food bank.
Vow to always have all the ingredients on hand for any fancy
dishes you want to make before you go shopping to fill in any
extras. Better yet, choose simple, easy to fix meals, you can
still have variety, but the ingredients are usually ones that
are not exotic or expensive.
Reorganize your cupboards, group the different types of
products. Store like things together, all your baking items in
one area, all your spices, soups and condiments in another, each
different type of foodstuff or canned goods should have their
own space.
I keep all coffee, teas and packaged drink mixes (anything we
can drink) in the cupboard above the stove. It's handy but with
the vent running through it, the cupboard is not ideal for most
items, so it is perfect for the drink packages etc. I keep all
my coffee filters and any items related to drinks like hot
chocolate and Kool Aid in that cupboard. I keep my coffee beans
in the freezer.
If the thought of organizing all your food cupboards is too
overwhelming, do one or two cupboards a day for the next few
days. Take everything out and wash down the shelves. Put some
nice shelf paper down. Get rid of whatever is outdated.
If your cupboards have lots of wasted space because they are
high but your foodstuffs are not, then make extra shelves or use
something like a small box turned on its side to stack items on
more than one level in each cupboard.
As you return items to the shelves, group them and wipe off the
outside of the bottles, cans and jars. See if you can find nice
glass jars for staples like flour and sugar. I bought sugar in a
large plastic container once, it is too expensive to buy every
time, so I buy mine in those awful sugar bags that leak
everywhere. When I bring sugar home in its bag, I fill up the
plastic container and all my sugar bowls plus the canister on my
counter that holds sugar.
Okay, you have until the next installment to get your cupboards
organized so get busy! :)
===============================================================
STILL TO COME:
- Lesson 2: Getting Ready To Shop
- Lesson 3: Making Your Shopping Trip Meaningful
- Lesson 4: More Shopping Tips and Tricks
I've given you two little exercises to do:
1/ Think about your shopping history, write down your thoughts
and ideas about that and decide what you'd like to change.
2/ Get your cupboards ready for your new shopping mindset.
I hope you'll get busy now, as it would be great if your cupboards are all ready
for the next lesson. :)
Warmly, Judy
===============================================================
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