Usually tomorrow (Friday) is my grocery day! But this week, tired of the overwhelming mess in my pantry, I’ve decided to challenge myself by not grocery shopping – or at least drastically reducing the amount spent.
The plan: Use as many items in my fridge/freezer and pantry as I can.
Exceptions: I am allowed to purchase Milk, Bread/Wraps, fresh salad ingredients and fresh fruit (lunches and snacks). But ONLY when I’ve run out of the items we already have.
I have plenty of items to bake snacks for school – biscuits/cakes/slices, my freezer has enough meat and misc. items in there, as does my pantry. There were some things I’ve purchased because they were for a recipe that I never made (Tamarind Paste anyone).
My normal grocery budget is $180/week to feed a family of 4 (2x adults, Miss 5 and Mr 4). Overall, I would love to cut that down if possible.
My Goals:
- To save as much money as possible from my grocery budget.
- Stop unnecessary overspending.
- Get creative with my recipes using food I currently have available.
- Declutter my freezers (we have one fridge/freezer combo plus an additional freezer).
- Declutter my pantry.
- Become more intentional and smarter with my grocery shopping and hopefully get my budget down as much as possible.
What I will report back: Recipes used, actual money spent on purchasing groceries and what I bought, updated pictures of my pantry, a list of anything I’ve thrown out (because of out of date etc) and amazing discoveries (because who knows what’s actually in the freezer & pantry).
CHALLENGE: Look in your pantry and freezer – could it do with a clean out? Instead of throwing out and being wasteful, could you maybe skip a week (or 2) grocery shopping and save yourself some money? What difference would this make to your family?
Let’s bust this grocery budget!!!
Christine xx
Happy Little Housewife 
Go for it. I just did a $21 challenge to make dinner for a week for my family of three. It forced me to use what I already had. A few weeks on and I am regularly spending $20 less at the supermarket. It was great.
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Oh that’s awesome!! I know I have one largish purchase to make this week (laundry detergent), but otherwise, I’m not sure I’ll need much except milk, some fresh produce that I’m out of. I want to last as long as I can to tidy up my pantry!
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Sounds great. I am enjoying the space in the pantry. So much easier to work with.
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At least once every two months I will go on grocery shopping strike and force everyone to eat everything in the house so I can do a complete cleaning of the fridge, shelves and storage containers. It also helps to use foods so they don’t expire and gives me a paycheck where I have a little wiggle room.
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I think that’s a fantastic idea! I might take that on board once we’ve gotten everything down to a more manageable size! It’s crazy how quickly it adds up and how much I actually do grocery shopping because it’s Friday. Not because we necessarily NEED anything besides milk, bread and fresh produce. It’s just a habit I’ve formed and I’ve always spent at least the $180 because “that’s the budget”. So it’s an experiment that will hopefully break a habit.
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The hardest part is when you have a craving but not the supplies 🙂
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🙈 eek!
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We do this is my house every March it is truly a cooking adventure you might enjoy these post.
https://reallifeofanmsw.com/2016/03/01/pork-loin-meets-dry-rub
https://reallifeofanmsw.com/?s=Freezer
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Oh thanks 🙂 I’m interested to see how long I can go seems as though I haven’t purposely “stocked up” on anything.
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I spend about 400 a fornightly on food without meat or milk or fish or nappies. I don’t have a garden cause it costs more in the summer and with it being a drought i’m glad I didn’t put one in (tank supply for water and it costs $600 to fill it up). Any 1 have any tips, I plan meals and shop fornightly. Family of 4 with 2 adults and 2 children under 5. I have found though if they have collectables at the supermarket shopping bill goes up.
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Angel, I stopped shopping at Woolworths for exactly that reason! I got frustrated with their rewards program and the collectables just seemed to make me spend more!! I now shop at Coles or Aldi. I try to bulk up meals to make them last longer by adding extra veggies etc. (grated carrot/zucchini, frozen peas & corn). Some of the favorites for the kids are: shepherds pie, nachos, spaghetti bolognaise (or use pasta), sausages and veggies. I tend to buy frozen vegs. I think I will write up a post this week about my hints to keep my grocery bill down on a usual week.
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Hi happy housewife,
I host a Linky party on Mondays. Many bloggers come with articles like these. You remind me of their posts. If you came, you could meet like-minded bloggers.
I met you on Danny Ray’s site Congratulations on being his featured blogger. I was his featured blogger too! Maybe you can check out my blog if you need a blogging tip or two. That’s what I write about. I also have regular blog parties like Danny. I’m actually having one now and would love for you to come. I blog over at MostlyBlogging.com
Janice
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