Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail

I'm not sure who first said "failure to plan is planning to fail" but I find this rings true with many things. Grocery shopping is one of them. I don't know about you but I find that if I can manage to go grocery shopping at a "big" store once or twice a month and then hit the local store once a week for essentials (bread, milk, bananas, etc) I'm happy. If I don't do this then I spend a LOT of time going grocery shopping and a LOT of extra money. I like how saving time and saving money tend to go hand in hand.

This is how I save time grocery shopping:

~ Plan out at least 5 meals a week and have a few (super quick and "floating" meals)

~WRITE DOWN your meals!! You don't have to assign them to certain days, but you need to write down the list so you know what you have ingredients to make.

~AFTER you plan out your meals and ingredients go to coupon.com and print off any coupons you can use. (I find if I print off coupons first I print off a lot I don't need and that wastes time and ink).

~ORGANIZE your list the way the grocery store is set up. Thank YOU hubby for this suggestion. This has been by far the largest time saving tip for me when grocery shopping.

Meal planning sound like a time consuming task but in the long run it saves you time and money. You already know what meals you have ingredients to make so you aren't rummaging through your cupboards at 5pm wondering what to make. (I can't tell you how many times that has happened to me when I haven't planned ahead!!!) Finally, you have a list of what you need to buy at the grocery store, so you don't have to go back and forth in the store looking for things.

Thank you!

I am dedicating this first blog post to my mother and grandmother. Now that I'm a mother I wish I had listened to them both more when I was younger. Luckily they are both still with me so I can still learn from their wisdom.


My intent with this blog is to share time saving tips and ideas. I have a wide range of interests so you never know what you will find here, but my favorite topics are cooking and green cleaning.


Here are some wonderful cleaning tips from my mother and grandmother:
~Get yourself a huge jug of vinegar. Vinegar is a great cleaning agent. Use it in the kitchen, bathroom, etc. Nothing gets rid of hard water stains like vinegar. Just put vinegar in an empty spray bottle. Spray on vinegar and let it set. Scrub and any hard water spots come right off.

~Rust stains? Apply lemon juice and set in the sun.

~Do your dishes IMMEDIATELY after a meal. (If you have small children this a great time for them to either play with dad or help you dry dishes.) This way you will always have a clean counter top.

~If you have unexpected company coming over...it is OK to take all your clutter and throw it in a box to sort out later.



Here is my own tip:

~Always empty the dishwasher immediately after running. This way you can hide your dirty dishes IN the dishwasher. This keeps your counters clean and bugs at bay.