So I thought about it a lot and I'm wondering if I can't actually save money by going to the grocery store more often. I know that seems counterintuitive to everything we're ever taught about saving money on food, but hear me out.

The grocery store is pretty much on the way to/or the way back from everywhere I go and is a six block walk away otherwise. Often times if I am buying for a week or two weeks, I simply buy too much food at a time and it some of it does go to waste, mostly because it gets shoved to the back of the fridge and we lose track of it.

My thinking is that if we keep a sparser fridge we will know what is in there and easily be able to see all of the ingredients for meals. And if I buy my fresh fruits and veggies as I need them I won't overbuy. It will also mean they are fresher as they are consumed instead of maybe ending up a bit past optimum consumption time. Or so far past they have to be tossed.

If I go to the store with a list and stick to those items, it should go well. It will mean I can't let myself be distracted by good buys, though. Not that I won't still pay attention to the flyers and plan accordingly, but I do need to finish eating down what is in my freezer stash, so it doesn't matter if there is a good deal on potroast if I have 8 hams and more chicken parts than I can count. I think I will give myself permission to buy hamburger in the way of meat, but until the rest of the freezer is eaten down, no more meat on sale.

I noticed that I have several packages of stew meat in the freezer, so I am going to buy some chiles and make up some chili this weekend. So I can leave a little early to pick up DD from school, stop by the store, by only what we need, and get out. I think this sort of thing will only work if I go to the store by myself. Taking the kids, even taking DH, often leads to extras. DH might go for yogurt but he often comes back with cookies. I'm not against cookies, but we can make them perfectly fine at home with the ingredients on hand. And if I take DD right after school she is usually starved and she will often ask for a package of sushi from the deli, which I can't make myself, but is $5 a container. DS always wants a donut and it has hard to always say no. Easier to go without them.

Anyway, I'll try it for a while and see if it doesn't make a difference. Tonight we are having homemade cheeseburgers and fried potatoes with broccoli/cauliflower and strawberries for dinner. Tomorrow will be homemade chili, freshly made rolls, leftover broccoli/cauliflower and bananas.

On Sunday I am going to roast a whole chicken (rubbed with olive oil and sprinkled with basil, oregano, sea salt and freshly ground pepper) that I have in the freezer and we will have coleslaw and fruit smoothies made with the last of the strawberries and bananas and some frozen blueberries from our backyard. And then I will make enchiladas from the leftovers on Monday and figure out the veg and fruit based on what is left or if I need to buy some more. I have tortillas and the makings for enchilada sauce on hand already (except I need to buy more cocoa, but I need to do that anyway).

So my grocery list for today at the store is chiles, onions, cocoa powder, orange juice and milk. On Sunday I will go to TJ's for preservative free deli meat for school lunches. If I keep to those lists my costs for the week should be way down.