), but this is what my monthly haul looks like these days. To learn more or find a CSA near you, check out Local Harvest.). I've got it down now, but if I were to start over again, I’d take a month to record exactly how much of everything we typically eat before attempting a monthly shop. SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you start slowly it doesn't have to be a huge investment. This answer varies depending on what sources you read, but it's recommended that you have at the minimum, a three day supply of food in your home. And with Lord knows how many other viruses China may let out! Does our closet look super cute and amazing now? When I researched how other people shop once a month, I learned that they either meal plan for an entire month ahead of time, or they buy lots of ingredients and plan meals based on what they have. The first Saturday of every month I go to Trader Joe’s or Costco (sometimes both, if I can swing it) and stock up on what we need for the next four weeks. Ad Choices, I Only Grocery Shop Once a Month for My Family of 4. During this time in our lives when we’re very aware of where every dollar goes, saving money has been a huge bonus for our family. If we occasionally run out of something that we really, really can’t do without, then I load the kids into the minivan, drive to our local market, and get it. As a busy mother of four, I do a monthly grocery shop. I also have a upright freezer we use to stock up on meat. Simply reducing the number of times I’m in a store means there are fewer opportunities for impulse purchases, buying something just because it’s on sale, or grabbing an item we might run out of in the next seven days and believed we couldn’t survive without. So every Saturday morning I’d grab my reusable bags and leave our house by 7:40 A.M. I’d roll up to our nearest Trader Joe’s (which is actually 20 minutes away) just as the doors opened, coffee in one hand and shopping list in the other. It was convenient, but I inevitably forgot to add a few things to my cart and still ended up hitting the store. We also stroll the farmers market each week as a family, which assuaged my doubts about being able to keep fresh food in the house. What I never imagined was how much personal fulfillment this little experiment would bring. When it comes to self-care or me-time, I’d take wandering around a grocery store over a bubble bath any day. 52 weeks is a year’s supply, but you may calculate for any other number of weeks. If you have a massive pantry, a basement, an extra room in your home, amazing. If I run out of something, I try to make do without it until the following month. We have fruit on hand to add some sweetness to meals, and veggies to round out our dinners. If you just purchase more of things you already use, you don't have to think too much about it. I’d get the me-time grocery shopping fix that I still craved—and the other weeks, I'd be able to spend quality time with the whole family together. One unexpected, but much appreciated, benefit of my monthly grocery shop is that we’re saving about $100 per month. The reality is though, you can fit food storage almost anywhere. 4. I have a deep freezer that I stock with meat, veggies, and other ingredients. I was on a mission to cross everything off of my list, but I’d also give myself the occasional moment to pause and inspect a new product or taste the sample of the day. I’ve roasted broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and more by dumping the contents of a freezer bag onto a baking sheet, tossing with some olive oil, and sticking it in a 425-degree oven for about 30 minutes. He takes care of numerous other household tasks.). (Children 12 and over count as adults because they tend to eat full portions.) If I was going to do this, I was going to do it right—and for me, that meant without sacrificing the health, freshness, and quality of my family meals. As a stay-at-home/work-from-home mom with a baby and a toddler, alone time was a pretty elusive thing. Bucket Of Food We don’t eat the same thing every single week, but certain ingredients make an appearance more often than they used to by virtue of the fact that I’m now buying in bulk. While there might be some savings at those sales, I've seen very similar pricing at Walmart all year round. Over the weekend Derek and I made our very first serious purchase of food storage. Same with soups, beans, and fruits. At the beginning of the month, our refrigerator looks pretty intimidating packed with a month’s worth of food. Instead, I buy ingredients I know the whole family will eat, in bulk, and then come up with a plan at the beginning of each week using what we have. If we’d have to spend the last week of every month dining on frozen pizzas and pot stickers, that would be a deal breaker for me. No. Now I do those tasks once a month instead of once a week. We spend $300 once a year to make our monthly budget go down slightly. Why? (For my favorite meal-prep inspo, check out @theleangreenbean and @shutterbean on Instagram.). I can accomplish a huge amount of meal prep in 60 minutes or less. But do we have food for our family for any emergency that might come up? If you're cramped for space like we are, you might have to get creative. I’d return home around 10 A.M., unpack and put away our groceries, and rejoin my family. With trial and error, I’ve learned and continue to learn tricks that make it possible. Finally, I realize that this is an ongoing process that I’ll continue to refine as time goes on so I try to be gentle with myself about the whole thing. I tried grocery shopping on a weekday with both kids in tow, but that was more stressful than going alone. I was so committed to this routine that I even did it the day I went into labor with our youngest son #truestory.