Creating a Grocery List

I use a system that I learned while I was a restaurant manager and by the nature of my job "had" to control food cost.

1. I created a full inventory of everything we used. This means, everything.
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2. Once I did that I created a spread sheet with the list.
3. I then inventoried everything, sat down with my wife and talked about what we needed.
4. On our next trip I inventoried and tracked, "actual usage" and with many items, we were surprised on how little we used, while with others, we were right on.
5. After you peg this for a 2 or 4 week period you pretty much have it dialed in. We shopped once per month (monthly salary) and some people looked shocked. However, our pantry, freezer, and fridge thinned out.
6. Don't be worried about your food thinning out right before your next trip, that's what it's supposed to do.

By Donald from ID