Time Saving Grocery List with Weekly Menu
To skip to the free printable grocery list with weekly menu click here
Going to the grocery store is a lot and can be pretty stressful.
Why?
Because before going to the grocery store you need a list, but before that, you need to plan meals ahead as to what you will probably make during the week but don’t forget the snacks, drinks, and paper products.
Previously when I would make my shopping list I would just write whatever popped into my head that I knew we needed at that time and then try to include some random items that I could use to make a meal.
Sure enough, after a few days, I would realize I didn’t have everything I needed to make another meal and I would be back in my car headed to the grocery store.
This was time consuming and I am certain that I ended up spending more money this way.
I decided to organize my grocery shopping list
I simply wrote out the days of the week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…
And then listed my most common shopping categories like, cold products, pantry items, meats, personal items…
I knew the first thing I needed to figure out to complete my shopping list was the famous question– ‘What’s for dinner?’
I made this a litter easier by looking at our way too busy schedule and picked out which nights I would need to make something quick, or days like Sunday where I could just throw something in the Crockpot and let it go.
This helped by me not planning a large time consuming meal on a night that I needed to travel to watch one of my kids play a sport.
So now, the planning.
I wanted to include my family in menu planning, after all they eat the meals too. So when I am planning the next week’s menu I ask my husband and kids, “What would you like for dinner next week?” and I find a night that the meal they want works for.
This keeps everyone happy!
So after assigning a meal to every night then it’s pretty easy to fill in the sections for what I would need for the week. Like if we were having tacos on Tuesday, I would add taco seasoning and black beans to pantry items and lettuce, tomato, onion to produce. Super simple and helps keep me organized.
I also ALWAYS check for on hand items before I write items on my list. I have found a lot of the time I have some of the items I need to shop for already in my pantry. This definitely helps save money.
I have included my free grocery list with weekly menu for you to try out here
Leave a comment and let me know if it works for you.
