Oh you guys, how I relate. That made me go back and tally, and I have 13 for the month. Why can't it be 4 or 5???
The incredible thing is, this was me CUTTING BACK. I specifically did NOT grocery shop as much as I used to. I was Uber Frugaling January! I was batch cooking!
I guess I actually shopped almost every day before? I do have grocery stores on the way home from both places I work and I do often just pop in and pick something up.
Oh, the changes I have planned....
I made a spreadsheet for everything I bought this month, and listed Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4. Then I noted how often each week I bought which products. Not the cost, just how much I am buying.
SO for example for milk I bought:
Week 1: 2 gallons
Week 2: 3 gallons
Week 3: 3 gallons
Week 4: 2.5 gallons
So now I safely can assume I'll use 5 gallons of milk every 2 weeks.
I have identified the 20 things I buy the most frequently, at least 3 weeks in the month, to see if I can bulk purchase them more cheaply or at least more conveniently. I have an aversion to buying in bulk because (a) small kitchen and no storage (b) I waste too much food that way. But now that I have a record of what I have used the most this month, I can be more confident that this food won't go to waste.
The foods I bought most frequently were (when I list "bags" that means just the normal, everyday size the food is often sold in a regular grocery store - not family size or bulk size. I'm not sure of exact ouces):
bacon - 4 lbs
milk - 10.5 gallons
cheddar - 6 pounds
eggs; 5.5 dozen
butter- 7 pounds
OJ- 4 bottles
fudge brownies - 3 containers
cheerios - 4 boxes
yellow potatoes - 15 pounds
various greens: 9 clamshells
carrots: 9 pounds
peppers: 9
yellow onions: 12 pounds
strawberries: 4 pounds
apples: 18 pounds
bananas: 16 pounds
PB Pretzels: 4 bags
potato chips: 3 bags
Goldfish- 3 bags
Some of these things I can't buy for the whole month ahead. I don't have enough fridge or freezer room to store everything. But for others I am going to check out Costco and see if they have something similar in bulk sizes, for a better price than Aldis. OR I can just buy all I need for one month in one gigantic shopping trip!