Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

How organised are you with food shopping? How often do you go?

103 replies

Enjoytheweethings · 06/05/2023 22:30

Sometimes, we meal plan and then sometimes the wheels come off and I feel like we constantly have to go to the shops to get stuff. It drives me nuts.

My folks used to do one big food shop a week and now I am in awe of the consistent level of supreme organisation! Maybe a quick top up shop for milk and fruit or veg but apart from that the kitchen was always stocked.

How organised are you with the groceries? Do you meal plan and rotate menus?

OP posts:
Rummikub · 07/05/2023 05:36

i menu plan (loosely) and do a weekly on a Saturday. However I also end up doing top ups for bread and milk. And my kitchen storage is limited so I couldn’t do a massive shop.

ive decided its easier and cheaper to pick one type of cuisine eg Italian/ indian / Chinese as then everything goes with each other and leftovers are always used up.

in yesterday’s shop I was aghast to see that cheeky Anxhor butter In Tesco is the same (inflated) price of £2.50 but they've shrunk the pack size to 200g 😡

Jolenetookmyman · 07/05/2023 05:50

I try to go every 10 days but sometimes it's sooner. I freeze bread and buy extra UHT milk to eek out the shopping days and avoid top up shops.

NorthStarRising · 07/05/2023 07:23

Always worked full time, so always been organised with shopping. I’m also a low-level prepper, so have stores.
We had a menu list when the children were small, so they knew what was for dinner with flexibility built in if they fancied Tuesday’s choice on a Thursday for example.
Now got a shopping list that everyone adds to when they open the last of something, or want something different. I shopped once a week, but DH did the top ups of bread etc. Children buy any weird extras they like.
It was just less stressful with two dependent children, now it’s more flexible in an adult household.

CasperGutman · 07/05/2023 07:55

One big shop, from Ocado on a weeknight, based on detailed seven day meal plan.

Probably once a week on average pop into local shop in passing in the school run to top up on something fresh like soft fruit that wouldn't last the week, or for extra milk.

Monthly trip to Aldi to stock cupboards with staples.

Occasionally (once a month?) go somewhere else for a special something - posh butchers, cheese shop, fishmonger etc.

MordredsOrrery · 07/05/2023 07:56

Weekly shop online and have slots booked a month ahead. Occasional top up. I don't exactly meal plan but know what everyone likes and cycle stuff around so I can always do a couple of slow cooker meals, a pasta, a curry, etc. Pretty much everyone in our house eats different meals so flexibility and familiarity are really important in terms of ingredients.

Oysterbabe · 07/05/2023 08:04

I don't work Mondays and when the kids at school I usually do a big shop and do a bit of batch cooking. Usually need to go to the shop once in the week for some fresh fruit, veg and bread.
It goes to pot a bit when the kids are off school, I don't get chance to batch cook and sometimes skip the big shop.

HappyMarriage · 07/05/2023 08:12

I book an online delivery slot for Sunday afternoon, usually complete it Saturday afternoon/evening. We meal plan so I just write a meal plan and then add everything to the list. Occasionally we pop to the local shop for forgotten bits and extras but mostly that’s our food for a week

Apple31415 · 07/05/2023 08:22

I have an open notepad in my phone (used to be a physical one) and I will list about 4-5 days worth of dinner ideas as I come up with them
I tend to plan dinners that can be used two days in a row (eg chilli with rice one day, fajitas the next). Each dinner might a packed lunch that can be made from it. Eg for the chilli, rice can be used for rice balls, salsa & guac can be packed with tortilla chips
When I place the delivery I will write the meals in a sensible order - ie do the cooking on a day with no clubs, and the easier option is when I have loads on. This way if plans change it's in an "order" so I don't have to think about it and I can still accomodate
I'll also dump the weeks dinners into another notepad as a history of what we've ate, to go back to if I'm stuck for ideas.
I commute to work, and use that time to organise my thoughts. I also always have my phone on me, and use virtual assistants to add things as I think of them.
This sounds very organised, but it's less so than you think 😂 it's more a case of dumping thoughts and outsourcing the "brain" part out so I don't have to remember anything, I find that is the biggest deal.

DiscoBeat · 07/05/2023 08:25

I have at least one spare of everything (food, toiletries, cleaning products) in the cupboards. More if it's things like chopped tomatoes or coffee that we get through quickly. Then when I shop it's for fresh things or to top up anything that was used so it's easy to see at s glance what's missing in the cupboards.

Onefootinthegroove · 07/05/2023 08:33

Just me and DH at home now, we meal plan on thursday and shop on friday. If it's not on the list we dont get it. Will do an occasional top up shop, maybe once a month or so but if we run out of anything we usually just go without.
When the DC lived at home it was 1 big shop then multiple top up shops during the week. Unfortunately I used to work within walking distance to a huge Tesco so the temptation was always there.

CatticusFinch · 07/05/2023 08:36

Most weeks we get a delivery either from a supermarket or Hello Fresh. I do usually end up in a supermarket at least once a week usually for cat food or bread. Sometimes the wheels come off and I forget to do the order in time. I hate those weeks! I don't know why I do it.

MissyB1 · 07/05/2023 08:37

We do the weekly menu plan on Saturday, then shop for it on Sunday. I do a top up of fresh fruit, milk, bread on Thursday.

Summerlovin121 · 07/05/2023 08:37

I get mine delivered as I hate the food shop. I have a delivery pass and always promise myself I’ll do smaller more frequent orders… but I don’t! Once a week ish and DP pops for what we run out of if needs be

Arewehumanorarewecupboards · 07/05/2023 08:37

Gusto comes on a Thursday and I shop for breakfast, lunch and snacks on a Friday after work.

As we don’t have much cupboard space we only buy what we will need and what will be used that week. This means that the cupboards are bare by Friday morning.

Willmafrockfit · 07/05/2023 08:45

the bread goes stale,
no room in the freezer
we run out of milk,
i drive passed a shop,
so i am less likely to do a big shop and more likely to do several small shops.

SunshineLollipopsAndRainbows · 07/05/2023 08:47

I meal plan weekly which really helps, although it’s flexible. I do a main shop & try really hard not to go for too many top ups, although obviously we need bread & milk etc. Before the fridge/freezer died, we were trying to eat just from there as it was overloaded. When we get the new one, I am determined not to fill it with reduced ready meals! Trying to cook more from scratch & we love beans on toast so have that at least once a week.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 07/05/2023 08:47

I get an online shop delivered on a Thursday so I don't have to worry about it when I finish work on a Friday.

I don't meal plan, just order what I fancy on a Wednesday night but we don't have children so it's less of a worry.

LadyGaGasPokerFace · 07/05/2023 08:50

One big shop Saturday morning, then a midweek shop which generally lands on a Tuesday. We are away this weekend so I stretched it out to Thursday so we took fresh stuff with us.

DucksNewburyport · 07/05/2023 08:53

I get a delivery once a week and occasionally have to buy milk etc in between. I meal plan too.

yikesanotherbooboo · 07/05/2023 09:05

I try to do one main shop with planned meals for typically Sunday to Friday .I might have to pick up milk and bread in the week. On Fridays we might eat stuff from the fridge / freezer , leftovers or occasionally a takeaway. Saturdays vary depending on people's movements but often the adult DC will shop and cook. There are 5 adults a baby and a dog in the house so a degree of organisation is needed when I am at work.I've been off for two weeks and planning has been a lot less evident but I will be back to it for this week.

vestanesta · 07/05/2023 09:06

This does my head in.

In theory we meal plan and do a big shop on a Monday. It's dhs job.

The reality is he gets bored, we forget stuff, we vary from the meal plan etc. we have always had a problem as a family eating the same foods (I'm a veggie, dh is not great with the veg, dd1 can't eat potatoes, dd 2 is the family dustbin and will chance her luck with anything if it has chilli sauce). Throw is work hours, sports club stuff, school etc then it's a mind field.

We have 4 supermarkets close but the closest, easiest to park and frankly nicest to shop in is Waitrose. Dh is always popping in and can never just get milk or bread or whatever. We don't seem to have a well stocked cupboard and there is often nothing to eat as we've not stocked up properly. So off to Waitrose he goes....

Put all of this together and last month the amount we spent was horrific. We are very lucky that we have a fairly generous living budget after bills etc but this isn't the way I want to spend it!

On the plus side we don't have much food waste.....

Oblomov23 · 07/05/2023 09:11

We meal plan quite a bit, but sometimes just don't fancy what we've planned. I have loads of freezer space and well filled cupboards with pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes, coconut milk etc. I batch cook a lot, always make 2 of everything. Shop in Sainsbury’s and Aldi. And go to Costco. And Iceland, Morrisons, Asda occasionally.

Tonight I could have one of about atleast 10 meals if I chose: chilli, curry, spaghetti and meatballs, spag Bol, lasagne, jacket potatoes, fish and chips, chicken kievs, new potatoes and 3 steamed fresh veg. I have Costco chicken, that I made skewers - I cut up and marinated, in the freezer too.

We go shopping every 3 days I guess to get bread and milk and fresh fruit.

mydogisthebest · 07/05/2023 09:19

Although both me and DH love cooking and eating we both hate shopping so we don't even shop weekly.

We usually do a big shop every 4 to 6 weeks and shop for fresh fruit and veg roughly every 2 weeks.

We do have a fridge freezer, a tall freezer and 2 small freezers though and a walk in storecupboard.

Always have bread and milk in the freezer plus lots of frozen veg (shop bought and lots we have frozen ourselves), home made soups and pasta sauces, home made meals such as curries, lasagne, pasta bakes, pizza, stews, pies etc.

We have a good stock of things like tinned tomatoes, pasta, rice, different lentils, different beans, chickpeas, oat milk, coffee, teabags.

We also always have a stock of shampoo, toothpaste, washing liquid, washing up liquid, washing up sponges etc.

We do a rough meal plan for a month but can easily change it if we want as we have such a good stock of meals.

The only thing we ever get low on or run out of is eggs. We only buy from local chicken owners and they don't always have any

HBGKC · 07/05/2023 09:35

It will depend also on how much fridge/freezer/cupboard storage you have. I don't have much fridge or freezer space, despite having a big family, and it's a pain.

I generally manage to get to Lidl once a week to buy most of our food and household stuff. Might need to top up bread/milk/fruit during the week, from wherever's convenient.

Sometimes I'll do the odd Asda home delivery or Click & Collect, particularly if I want a 10kg sack of rice or to bulk-buy something else heavy/on offer.

ScarletWitchM · 07/05/2023 09:49

Meal plan weekly and have an Ocado delivery every Sunday morning. Order everything we need and Ocado hardly ever substitute or miss stuff so don’t need to do a top up shop

Swipe left for the next trending thread