Grocery Shopping Tips

Good morning! No it's no ones birthday today and hopefully I'm not forgetting anyone although there still are some more coming up. Today I have to start my grocery list. It takes me three days to prepare it. The first day I have to come up with a menu for dinners for the following week for my family. I write the menu down. Then I go through each individual meal to make sure I have the ingredients in the house. If not, I add it to my grocery list. Then I cut coupons in last week's paper and add them to my coupon baggie. So the first day is done. The second day I actually go through the cupboards, fridge, etc. to see what needs to be added to my grocery list. Plus I'll ask the family members if there is something they want or need. Then I'll decide if their request for gum or the dog needs a new bone is going onto the list or not. After I added everything on the list I will mark a letter before some of the items. If it's cheese and milk, I put the letter 'D' for dairy. If the items are apples and carrots, I put the letter 'P' for produce. And some of the items on my list won't have a letter in front of it. Then I get my markers out. I will take my orange marker and color over the letter 'F's' for freezer. I will take an brown marker and color over the letter 'D's' for dairy, etc., etc. I do this to save me time at the grocery store and because my cart is heavy. Before I leave the dairy section I will check my list first to make sure I have everything that's on my list. Or Before I leave the produce section I will check all the green 'P's' to make sure I got everything in produce before I move on. And it really does help me. My grocery store is big. I'm still on the second day...after I mark all through my list and use the markers I will go through the coupon baggie to see what coupons I can use that week. Then I set my list on my counter for the next morning to go grocery shopping and I put my coupons in my purse. The third day is grocery shopping day. Right before I go I read over my list and make sure I bring it with me. Before I get into the car I make sure I grab all the empty cans. Then I'm off...I would love to hear about your grocery shopping tips.