We have five mouths to feed at our house so we are always looking for ways to eat more for less. One thing that has been my saving grace is my trusty list. I plan my menu for the week on Thursday because my sales papers come out Wednesday and Thursday and I use them to make my grocery list. I do NOT buy anything that isn’t on my list. I don’t care what it is, so I try to take my time when planning it. If I forget it, I’ll try again next week. Also, I am a firm believer in shopping the sale. If chicken is not on sale, it will not be among the featured items of the week in the Buckner household. Buckaroo thought this was so funny when we met, he didn’t have children (I did) so he didn’t get it…but NOW he understands. 
I also look to see what we already have and try to build something from the foods we have from the previous week that are leftover. For a while I kept my list on paper, and sometimes I still do if it is a small list. Buckaroo got me a Nook as a gift maybe two Christmases ago and I like to use it to put my menu apps on. My phone is dated to put it “nicely” so I don’t use it for that, but there are many apps available for smart phones and android devices that can help you organize your lists and save you money.
My favorite is Pepperplate. Not only is it FREE, but I can do so much with it. I would have to put a few apps together to do what I get from them in one app. I can put my grocery list on it. I can create my menu for the whole week, or month! (Although I admit, I’m not that ambitious.) I can create a standing list for staples that I purchase all the time like milk, eggs, and deli meat. I can even load my favorite recipes from across the web and it will add the ingredients from the recipe to my shopping list. It also stores all of my recipes that I’ve imported, recipes I’ve made on a whim, or called my grandmother to get and I don’t want to forget. I also can share my recipes that are stored here. I love it!
Writing a grocery list seems like a daunting task but once you start, it will become easier. Once you see how much money you are saving by having a little discipline in your life, you will like it even more. Whether its a paper list, an email to yourself, or an app, you have to find what works best for you and then make it happen! Be CHEWSY!
M.W.A.H.,
The Lady
Thank you – I will be using pepperplate.
You’re welcome. You will LOVE it!! If you don’t…come back and tell me why.
Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for sharing! I’m working on getting organized and making lists when it comes to creating meal plans and prepping food. I downloaded Pepperplate.
You’re welcome! Let me know how you like it!
We are also a family of 5. I need to do better about shopping the sales and using what we have!!!!!!! I really do.
Planning is key. Know when the sales papers come out and what you already have and you can build from there. It takes discipline, for me, that was the hard part.
This is fantastic, I recently lost all my apps with my ios7 update so I will be needing these! Thanks!
You’re so welcome!! Thanks for stopping by…AND hipping me to the game on the share buttons!
I use emeals for meal planning a lot, and they have a great app. I’ve never heard of Pepperplate but it looks awesome. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome. Pepperplate is awesome!
I use to write list but then I stopped cause I would always leave them at home. Might start again though.
These apps make lists so much easier, and Pepperplate can be downloaded to any device you have, (Phone, tablet, computer, etc.)!!
I like the idea of using an app, especially now that I’m getting things I don’t normally get to make dishes for the holidays.
It definitely simplifies things!! Pepperplate is the way to go, especially if you are using a recipe you found on a blog or cooking website.
Well, well, then! If the chef says to check out PepperPlate, I guess I’m going to have to check it out. Thanks for the tips!
Ha! Chef tested, chef approved.
I Love this post!!…OMG…and I cannot wait to use Pepperplate!!…this is going to help ya cooking girl out soooo much!!
You’re going to love it Sharelle!
I am a list fanatic! I agree with you on the list for groceries. I do the same thing. I look in the sale papers and I get my idea for what will be cooked that week. I am even challenging myself to have stock piles of certain things that I have gotten on incredible sale (this week it is Aldi’s buns and rolls, they were .25¢ each pack!) so I can try something new that I may see that is not on the list. I used to dread it now I look forward to see just how much I can save.
You sound like me. We could hang! Aldi has THE BEST honey wheat pretzels!
I had not heard of Pepperplate before. I will definitely be checking it out. Thanks for sharing!
Let me know what you think! It’s really cool.
I am trying to organize my couponing and meal planning better. I am going to check out this Pepperplate app.
I have the lists and planning down to a science. The couponing is something I’m still trying to figure out. Thanks for stopping by!
JUST today I tweeted about needing to cook more, b/c my two-year-old has dined at almost every restaurant in the city! I frequently go to the store without a list or without a plan! Going to check at least one of these apps out.
I am a “have a plan” preacher! Lol!! You will save money and a headache when you have a game plan.
I don’t have kids yet so me and my future husband tend to go on Saturday. We find that there is a larger working crew at the store to replenish items that go off the shelves during the first couple of days of the sale. Since our date night is on Tuesday, we’ll pick up ingredients for the weekend and Tuesday night
I’d love to plan out the meals for the week/month. How do you keep it all organized? Do you use a particular planning system?
Nice! We love “standing date nights”! This app really does it all. I can access it from my tablet, or my computer at home. If I had a better phone I could have it there too.
But I can manage the lists, recipes, and the menu for the week. If the menu I used in Week 1 of October was a success, I can just pull that menu right back up. Take a look at the app it does the organizing for you and it is very easy to navigate. It will make life SUPER easy when you and the future hubby have more mouths to feed than your own. 
I never use an app but I think I should because I do like lists to stay focused.
I don’t use many apps but these types of apps have definitely made my life easier at home.