I LOVE the month of October, and this October was no exception. I had a great birthday weekend, a fabulous fall couples trip to Lake Geneva, insanely perfect weather…. and also a lot of work stress, illness, hectic weeks and big emotions.
I basically crawled to the finish line of October this past week.
November is the start of the holiday season (yay!) and the start of Asher’s swim season. But at least for the next few weeks, there’s a lot more white space on the calendar than there has been.
Turning the proverbial calendar page has made me feel refreshed and ready for a fresh start! It helps that I’m finally feeling fully better. After a full 5 days with no workouts (ugh), I got back to the gym this morning, complete with a new November program!
I returned a couple books at the library yesterday and came home with this little stack, found while browsing:
Hoping to keep doing some regular reading in November! I finished almost 3 books in October which is great for me.
I’m woefully behind on doing any sort of monthly recaps, and I’ve done no November/ quintile 5 planning yet.
But I got to inbox zero last night in my Gmail, so that was good at least. Oh, and tomorrow our new roof goes on! Exciting.
One thing routine-related thing I’m mulling over for November:
GROCERY SHOPPING.
You may recall I did a little overhaul on our system last year, which led me to start grocery shopping religiously every weekend, either Saturday or Sunday (instead of the random ad hoc system I’d followed for years…).
This has worked much better, on the whole. We’ve done a lot better job of meal planning and it feels nice to start the week all fully stocked.
But I also kind of hate it. The grocery stores are SO BUSY on the weekend, and even though I always “say” I’m going to clean out the fridge and do meal planning before the weekend (Thursday or Friday, so I only have to actually shop on the weekend), it seems like inevitably the weekend ends up including cleaning out the fridge, making the meal plan, making the grocery list, going to the grocery store (usually two stores, because I’ve been on the Aldi train but can’t get “everything” there, so I end up going to both Aldi and Woodman’s), and then home to put it all away.
😩 I feel like no matter how I slice it, we end up spending way too freaking long dealing with food and grocery stuff on the weekend. And this is before you add in any EATING or cooking of any kind… (which admittedly we don’t always do every meal at home on the weekends, but definitely some). Or any other chores, cleaning or errands.
I’ve been wondering if maybe I should try to shift to a mid-week grocery shop instead, especially now that I’m not running kids all over the place. I also technically do have a somewhat flexible job- I could theoretically do an Aldi run over my lunch hour on a Wednesday, provided I was prepped in advance. But I don’t think I’d have time for two stores.
Also, the nights we cook the most at home are Monday- Thursday. It’s nice that if I buy fresh meat and produce on say, Sunday, I’m all set for our high volume cooking days. Whereas if I shop Wednesday, well, it’s harder to have fresh meat ready to go for Monday and Tuesday dinners… Hmmm.
I could make more of an effort to go earlier on Sunday morning, right when Aldi opens. But I’m sure I’m not the only one with THAT idea, and also, I kind of like lazy Sunday mornings…
I could also just send Ivan on the weekend, who actually doesn’t mind grocery shopping. But I kind of PREFER to do it myself, since I WFH and eat way more meals at home, and I’m also the one who wants all these certain “high protein” things and whatnot… 😆 It’s just easier to do it myself.
Anyway! When do you all grocery shop?? I am not sure why this feels so complicated, but I just resent the whole process. lol.
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for new month energy. Some months it’s needed more than others. 🙂
Costco delivery (sometimes I shop in store but really just because I love Costco)– it’s through Instacart, but you do not have to have an Instacart membership. I get an order every week and can often just re-order the same things
Whole Foods delivery– not every week, but probaby twice a momth.
Hyvee online for pick up every week. They let you inspect your produce when you pick up, and if they forget something or gave you the wrong item, they will immediately Door Dash a replacement. IT IS GREAT.
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Haha I actually almost texted you about this because I was like, ok Sarah has FIVE kids and manages to do this, I bet she has some tips! 😅
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For the past couple of year we have used the same grocery system. I plan the following week on Friday morning and while I am doing that I meal plan. I am already thinking about what each day will look like and we use a meal template so I am really only deciding on 2-3 dinners. On Saturday morning I make a quick list (I keep a list in google docs and add to it via Instinct as needed during the week) and pull out any past-their-prime leftovers (I don’t do a full fridge clean out weekly just a quick scan).
Then my husband and I head out together. We drop our food scraps, hit the farmer’s market, and the grocery store. And we are efficient! This week we left the house at 9:30 and were home at 10:30. And that included running into an acquaintance in the parking lot and chatting for a few minutes. Food scraps and farmers market at 1/4 mile and the grocery store is a 10 minute drive.
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Our grocery shopping habits had to change recently and I’m leaning in to pick up orders. I place. Walmart pick up and then I get our veggies and fruit at Kroger as well as the things we can only get at Kroger. Bonus if I know what I couldn’t get in our pick up so I grab at Kroger. Then I’m only really shopping one store. I go Sunday late afternoon and it isn’t very busy.
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While I was working full time I remember hating the need to go shopping every Saturday or Sunday morning. I did try to get in earlier as much as possible. I’m retired now and cheat a bit. I do have a toddler I watch all day so he goes with me. I usually do a Costco run every two weeks, and because the toddler doesn’t do well traipsing from store to store, I cheat. I do pick up. I order the groceries the night before, the store is right across the street from Costco so it’s a quick stop. At some point I’ll go back to doing my own shopping because I hate other people choosing my produce and proteins. But for now, it works.
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I can never find time to grocery shop! Most weeks I do an online Meijer order for delivery (basically all of our staples) then I often stop in to Aldi for anything I forget or run out of each mid. Occasionally a Costco or trader Joe stop for a few favorites too.
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We have a pretty rigid schedule around these things but the schedule has been in place for years so it’s such a habit for us now. We have a shared Apple note shopping list. We put the 1-3 meals I will make each week at the top and often Phil will put meal ideas on there before we discuss it on Friday night (I don’t cook every day as we love leftovers and our kids often eat different things since they eat asap when they get home and Phil and I eat 1+ hour later).
Phil grocery shops on Saturday and ideally leaves our house at 9 so he gets to Aldi when it opens. I manage the kids during that time.
We are in a different stage of parenting with lots of active management of schedules in the evening and then when the kids are in bed around 8, we are both so tired so watch a show and then I go to bed. When the kids are older and more independent I could see Phil shifting his grocery shopping to a week day. But I am more likely to retire before we hit the independent kid stage and then I will take over grocery shop and do it on week days. I kind of miss grocery shopping sometimes but it was the decision of labor we settled on after having kids as previously I was meal planning, shopping and cooking. Now we share meal ideation, he shops, I cook.
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I’m not sure if it is helpful or not to say YES I RESENTED THE WHOLE PROCESS of feeding a family. My first recommendation is to give yourself a huge pat on the back, and my second recommendation is to embrace the Hot Couple’s Grocery Shopping Date. It is really tough to squeeze it all in on the weekends, but it’s still a pain to try to shift it to the week. I feel like you might be giving up a dog walk to do that.
Anyhoo, you might have crawled to the finish line but you still made it. Happy November and happy Q5!
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Could you mix it up a little? Order online and do a midweek grocery pickup for non- perishable, frozen,dairy etc, and a brief run on the weekends to get the fresh fruit and vegetables?
I don’t meal plan formally -I just buy stuff i know we’ll eat and go from there. And I am a very boring cook. I only work part-time, so I can hit the store for something i forgot on the way home. I shop Sunday mornings at one store, maybe another if they have good sales. Sam’s club about once a month . I do online order non- perishable from Sams occasionally as well. Target online ordering when i realize I forgot milk or vitamins.
For a mom of many who’s been feeding a crowd forever, I’m not very efficient. But I love dropping into a store, grabbing some things, and checking it off my list. I used to shop with 5 or more kids with me, so going by myself still feels like a vacation.
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I’m an Aldi shopper as well and I go right when they open Sunday morning, which is not till 9am. I wish they opened at 8, because I’m definitely a get up and go person in the mornings, but alas, 9 it is. There’s a decent amount of people that do the same, get there as it opens, but it’s no where near as crowded as it is midday on a weekend.
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Ooh ok, good to know! I am leaning toward keeping it on the weekend but trying the earlier time slot, and I was curious how busy it would be. In my head I’m imagining Black Friday level shoppers storming Aldi as they unlock the doors 🤣 which I am sure is not the case, lol!!
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Delivery from Walmart works great and from the other stores!
I’m also a huge fan of Saturday night at 7pm shopping (during a big sports game! Empty!) or especially before 8 am Sunday. It’s quiet then and I can really knock stuff out. Home at 8, unloaded and still have the rest of the day and my morning.
We keep a shared Notes on grocery list items and I have Claude plan the menu based on our fave sites weekly as a routine.
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SIGH. I usually shop once on Sunday, and another time mid-week. But every time at at the store on Sunday I think “isn’t there a better time to do this?” I don’t think there’s any perfect solution. My own personal solution is so not perfect, I’m not sure it’s even “good”, but I don’t cook dinners very often anymore. I’m basically buying ingredients that people are putting together into their own meals. Sometimes on Sunday if I’m motivated to cook, I’ll tell my husband “If you go to the store, I’ll make a dinner.” But then- I also know what you mean about wanting to shop yourself. I would then get my own personal things on my midweek grocery run. I wish I had better advice!
Yes to November and the holiday season!!!!!
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Hahaha — love that cartoon. I am so NOT that person (I prefer to keep Christmas in December) but I love people who are ready to do Christmas immediately following Halloween.
I 100% endorse going to the grocery store first thing on a weekend morning. Yes, it is a pain. But, in our grocery store at least, NO ONE is there. It really cuts back on the crowds.
I also love shopping on Tuesdays. It seems like Mondays, the shelves weren’t properly stocked yet (but I would go right after school drop off, so the staff hadn’t had time to do a restock yet), so on Tuesdays, everything was available and ready to go. Plus, no crowds. But I definitely understand the desire to have fresh meat and produce on a Monday, so maybe the weekend is the way to go.
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We are 90% Target pick up orders and end up doing multiple/week because we are not super organized but it only takes 10 min so doesn’t faze us much. Every Friday during my weekly planning session I do an order for my breakfast and lunch prep for the following week (which I’ll prep that weekend) + 2-3 meals I want to make that weekend or early in the week. My husband does all other orders during the week for random things kids need. I strongly dislike spending time 1. in grocery stores and 2. on the weekend so rarely do it bc pick up orders are a dream. We used to do delivery but it really did add up with the tips when we already spend $$$ on groceries.
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I’m in a different stage of life (oldest kid is almost 2 years old), but I feel like grocery shopping is one area where our current routine is working well. I meal plan on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, which just consists of me writing down our three “anchor” meals (we eat lots of leftovers) and forming the shopping list. I use Apple notes, and about 80% of the list is recycled from the prior week. I work from home, and one day a week (typically Thursday or Friday), I start work a little early and then do a quick Trader Joe’s trip in the middle of the day. Anything that I can’t buy at TJs I have delivered, either through Costco or Amazon. I use the “buy it again” section to make it quick to order everything.
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I’m currently grocery shopping twice a week and it really works for me because trying to figure out a whole week of meals and then SHOPPING for said meals and then bringing all those bags up 4 flights of stairs… ugh. So I usually do a Saturday afternoon grocery shop and a Wednesday or Thursday morning shop (right at 7am when the store opens, it’s GLORIOUS). I like that I only have to think about a few days at a time!
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