We shop for food weekly. It’s part of our routine. We make grocery lists. Another routine. In order to consistently gather and replenish our food storage, we need to establish other food storage routines. It’s that simple. Successful food storage is all about establishing habits.
FOOD STORAGE ROUTINES
Many of my food storage routines repeat weekly, monthly or annually in my calendar. (I didn’t list the annual ones.) I add them once and Google repeats them for me. Love that! But you can add routines to a paper planner or calendar as well, or print out a schedule and hang it up.
Below you will see the various food storage routines I’m trying to incorporate in my life. I love getting these tasks out of my head and onto a specific day of the week at a specific time. On my calendar, they are listed just like an appointment and highlighted in orange. Obviously there are other things I do with my day, however I only listed those involving food storage. You can see how I incorporate coupons, grocery shopping and food storage stocking.
SUNDAY
3:00 – 3:30 p.m. Sunday Ads (Weekly) – gather Sunday ads from neighbors, keep ads I want, recycle the rest. Date ad inserts and put in file folder box. Clip only coupons I might use and organize into coupon binder.
3:30 – 5:00 p.m. Menu Plan (Weekly) – create My Menu Plan using Master Menus list. Make My Shop List for the store(s), add weekly food & home storage goals, search for needed coupons, and paper clip to My Shop List. Put in Coupon Organizer. Get kids involved!
MONDAY
10:30 – 11:00 Fridge Clean-Out (Weekly) – toss old food, do quick wipe down of shelves, and write needs on My Fridge List
11:00 – 12:30 Shop & Stock (Weekly) – shop at grocery stores using Coupon Organizer, then date cans and boxes with permanent marker, and put groceries/food storage away.
TUESDAY
10:30 – 11:00 Inventory (Weekly) – only count area listed on the 52-Week Food Storage Inventory Schedule. Or follow the schedule from the Monthly Food Storage Shopping List. Add urgent needs to My Fridge List
WEDNESDAY
other chores
THURSDAY
other chores
FRIDAY
10:30 – 11:30 Coupon Clean-out (1st and 3rd Week) – clean out expired coupon inserts
10:30 – 11:30 Drug Stores (2nd and 4th Week) – shop for deals at drug stores
SATURDAY
11:00 – 11:30 Restock (Every 4 Weeks) – refill kitchen pantry and cupboards with food storage cans and items stored in other areas of the home. Get it out of the basement or from under the bed, and in the kitchen. And get the kids involved!
You can see there is a lot to do to save money shopping for food and food storage. Establishing food storage routines will help you get the job done. I hope this idea helps you become more organized with your food storage.
Goal #4 – Establish Food Storage Routines
(more worksheets coming!)