Writing a shopping list

[mrsoutnumbered]

Can I just start by saying I am a 38 yo Mum of 3 and really should know how to write a proper list by now!! 😂

I have never been able to achieve a 'weekly shop' without running to the (very expensive) co-op at the end of my street 4-5 times a week.

I do a weekly meal plan, write down everything needed for those meals and buy those things. But we always seem to run out of bread, milk, fruit, and snacks for the kids. And then there's lunch. I never buy anything for lunch and then dh goes to the shop and ends up spending £10 on pizzas or olives and dips.

When you're writing your list, what method do you use? What do you normally get in for lunches and snacks that can last an entire week?

You know what you run out of - bread, milk, fruit, snacks, lunches.Therefore add those to the list, and meal plan for lunches, and add those things to your list.

In the short term, every time you run out of something that you have to run to the Co-op for, write it on a list. Then you'll see a pattern of what you need to add to the main shop. Add to the list things that you notice have nearly run out, not things as they've run out.

If the milk you're buying isn't enough for the week, do you have a milkman locally? Or just buy extra milk at the supermarket and freeze it. Ditto bread.

I have found shopping online is sometimes easier because I can look at what I've bought on a screen and then thing, that's an awful lot of x, that's not much y, and edit accordingly.

In terms of snacks - I would buy what you think is reasonable for a week and when they've run out, too bad. I'm assuming that snacks are things like crisps and biscuits, rather than fruit/veg though.

You can keep bread in the fridge so it lasts longer, but it can go a tiny bit stale (ditto the freezer) but tbh not enough that I've ever noticed.

Wraps tend to last longer than bread ime, and pitta bread lives in the freezer because I only ever eat it toasted and dipped into something. Tinned stuff is for later in the week.

Shopping lists belong on the fridge door btw. Fact.

If you are also doing a weekly meal plan, then the list should evolve from that.

I keep a notepad in my bag and add things to it during the week that are running low (cleaning supplies, tinned goods, cereals, tea and coffee), the things I don't buy automatically.

You could also do the list on your phone, I'm just a luddite .

Thanks for your reply!

I think my problem is that I have a very small kitchen and a serious lack of cupboard and freezer space. So for example i can only buy 2 extra loaves of bread, which isn't enough for a whole week.

The kids get through a lot of fruit and I guess it's not something you can really stock up on.

Snacks - yes, crisps, biscuits etc. Also crackers and 'healthier' things.

I buy six pinters of milk and have at least one 'spare'
Bread - I always buy an extra loaf and freeze it as soon as I get home from the shop, never had a problem with it being stale. (DS1 would let me know. He would let you ALL know)
Lunch - I buy lots of the cartons of soup, tuna, spuds for jackets, noodles,crackers - that the kids don't like, not going to perish as well as cheese, olives etc on the big shop.
I did run out of bananas until I read a few weeks ago that if you wrap cling film around the top stalks, it stops them ripening too fast. Lo and behold it actually works! So I can buy shitloads now
Disclaimer* My DCs are relatively small and unlikely to nick food though so I know exactly what's left.

You could try making a "basics list" of items that you use regularly but that might not necessarily feature on your meal plan. Before you go to the shops, check your basics list to see if there's anything you're running low on. Mine includes things like bread, milk, cheese, cereals, fruit, juice, frozen peas, baked beans, eggs, pasta, pesto, fish fingers, tea & coffee, as well as boring stuff like loo roll and fabric conditioner. If you have these sorts of things in stock, you can rustle up a quick lunch of beans on toast, pasta and pesto etc too.

If you're running out of milk, is long-life/UHT milk an option? It does taste slightly different to fresh milk, but doesn't need to be stored in the fridge (until you open it) so you can stack it behind the door or under the stairs until you need it.

But it sounds like you might need to shop twice a week if you are low on storage space! Or one big supermarket shop and then a couple of top-ups locally during the week.

If you don't have storage space to get enough in for the week, could you do the list for half the week and then make a second trip to a less expensive supermarket later in the week instead? But try to use a list for both, and if you can, get most things for the week in the first trip so even if you do have to rely on the more expensive shop for mid-week trip, it is only for bread/milk/fruit etc.

Maybe, for the next few weeks, literally write down everything that you have to run to Coop for, in a notebook, without changing shopping habits. And use that to build up the list a bit more - noticing the things that run out fast.

I was thinking the same; you need to shop twice weekly rather than once.

I shop online and the system saves your favourite items and previous shops. DH and I add to the ‘list’ throughout the week (mainly DH as he cooks more than me) and I can look back at our previous shops and favourite items to make sure the basics don’t get missed. It also reminds you of items you usually buy. We don’t meal plan so meals are from whatever we’ve bought.

We do plastic boxes for lunches so each person chooses their 5 crisps, 5 snacks to go in for the week, the rest goes in a communal box. I find apples, pears etc last all week and are often cheaper if they’re underripe when you buy them. Bananas go within about 2 days. Some bread types have much longer lifespan than others (eg crusty bread lasts a day!)

I always used to be doing top up shops because oddly enough I trying to save money at the shops, so would try not to overbuy. Reality is, a family of five eats a lot of food. I’ve started buying more and it lasts through the week and in the long run it costs less just going once a week. The other way I’ve done it previously is to go shopping for 5 days worth of meals/food, so go more regularly but no top up shops, only full shops. This could work for you op is storage space is a problem?

I am brilliant at this and I’m talking genius level.
I shop once weekly with one or two unavoidable mini top up shops - just a couple of items each, eg bread, berries. I can’t completely avoid a top up as those things go off.
My list system:
Keep list on fridge during the week and, when I notice we’re out of something, I add it to the list straight away.
I write my meal plan for the week, with days by each meal, on the back of the list.
My list is organised by sections, according to area in the shop! Sounds anal, but you’d be impressed at how quickly I zoom round the shops ( I only have five child free hours a week so have to make the most of my time).

What Nuffaluff said.

I have a staples list that I refer to when finalising my list, but there is a running list on the wipe board in the kitchen (which DS is also trained to use). I also write my list by section (geek)!

If you have to do a top up then don't take much money with you.

Meal planning is your friend

Thank you all for your replies, they are very helpful and I will take them all on board!

❤️ Mumsnet!

We keep a list pinned to the fridge of stuff we’re running out of.
Then I do a meal plan and add to the list above stuff that I know we need for that.
Finally I do the online shop, going through favourites and ticking stuff we need, from list and feel.

I've always used Sainsbury's online and their app works well as I add things as I think of them (my own online shopping list). I pay around £50 a year for unlimited deliveries, but as there is a minimum order of £40, I often plan for two smaller orders a week, depending what we're up to.

Don’t think anyone can buy bbread for a whole week op, I never aim to. Unless they freeze of course.
I have a handy coop too, and get reduced bread there most evenings.

The list making I can do but finding the energy for cooking by the time children are in bed, gym/ run/ housework done? Not got that nailed

I live alone so am pretty good at some of this!

Fruit wise - I buy berries, apples and ripe and not ripe bananas
Berries eaten first, then ripe bananas, then apples and then the not ripe bananas are ready!
Bread - I tend to swap it up so I get something like wraps and a loaf, wraps have a longer life so I eat the loaf first or freeze crumpets to have
Milk - I always have emergency long life stuff in a cupboard, just a couple of pints

Freezer is your friend.
I freeze milk and bread. Halving loaves and wrapping in cling film so only have out what is needed. Bread defrosts very quickly. A 2 pint container of frozen milk goes into the sink and covered with cold water, speeds up defrosting if needed.

Another loner. I have multigrain bread and will take over a week to get through a full size loaf, I usually only have to throw the last couple of slices away unless it’s really hot weather (in fact once I stuck the remainder of a loaf in the fridge, went on holiday for a week and then had toast when I got back). A six pinter of milk will last me over a week, again I only have to throw the last few drops away (I am religious about keeping it in the fridge though, would never leave it out on the worktop to start warming up).
I should add that I pay no mind to sell-by dates, my logic being that I managed to survive half my life before they were even thought of.

I struggle with the whole meal planning/shopping thing too.

Can I ask when do people do their main weekly shop and do you try and stick to the same time each week? I'm always trying to fit in shopping trips between work & school pick up but such a rush. Weekends at the supermarket stress me out!

Thanks again everyone, it's useful to have so much info. I think I will benefit massively from doing a bit of lunch planning as well as dinner planning. That way, I should only need to top up fruit, bread, milk.

Thankfully I'm moving to a bigger house in a few weeks so should hopefully have more room to stock up on things.