Sunday, December 10, 2006

'dissin the "dys" and gettin' some unction in my function!

OK so that sounds like a T.D. Jakes sermon. Sorry. It was fun to type.

In all seriousness, I am hoping to say bye-bye to the dysfunctional way I have been grocery shopping for the last year and return to order, clarity and peace. For most of our married life, I have made a month long menu and then a corresponding grocery list. Over the years, my lists have matured from hap-hazard, unorganized random lines to columns and rows that go in order of the aisles of the stores. When we lived in DC, I got away from this plan as there were days that we didn't even know if we were eating until the 9:00 morning meeting (C'mon! Let's fast for 40 more days!) Since we moved back, I have been playing catch up and find myself quite often in the trap of, "Oh, no, it's 4:00, what will I make for dinner??" Yesterday was the first day in many months that I actually ventured out with a LIST made from a menu for the next 18 days. I can actually tell you what we will have for dinner each night until the OneThing conference. My beautiful creation was complete with a color coded system. Yellow for Whole Foods, green for Costco and purple for anything that could be purchased at HyVee or Target (although there are a few items that most certainly could ONLY be procured at HyVee - like 5 lbs of fresh ground whole wheat flour!). I felt like I had been set free, flying like an eagle, a horse let out of a stall. Who knew that a LIST could bring so much joy??

I started by making columns: "Produce", "Canned", "Frozen", etc. You get the picture. Then each needed item was placed in it's respective column and highlighted depending on where I would shop for it. At a glance I could see the green items while pushing my heavy duty cart through the Costco warehouse and only shop for those things. Then head down to Target where I only look at the purple items. When I got home, I had the entire Suburban full of groceries and a very happy heart.

Randy made fun of my dear list because it was hand written and did not utilize the latest in technology. Call me crazy, but it works for me! I know, you may think why not just jot down "milk, juice and bread" on the back of a WalMart receipt or used envelope like the rest of the world? All I can say is that I have been like this for a long time and it feels good to get back to my roots. And like I always tell my husband, some day my lists are going to save his rear!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't worry too much about not using the latest in technology to generate your list. I recently watched an interview with Chief Justice Roberts who announced that he authors all of his opinions by hand (that is, without the aid of a computer). Some things just don't require the use of technology - things like grocery lists and Supreme Court opinions.

Anonymous said...

Dear wife - thanks for caring so much about my rear...both it's relative size and condition...to make such an amazing shopping plan.

If I can find it, I'm going to scan it and post it. I promise you, Reagan invaded Granada with far less planning than this.

Kristi Walsh said...

I'm with you, girl! I will be the first to admit that, although my lists aren't quite as sophisticated as yours, I couldn't live without my weekly menu and shopping list. (Yes, divided into several categories, "produce", "dairy", etc.). It really is the only way to conquer the fine art of domestic engineering. :-)

Anonymous said...

The only thing better would have been SUPER DOUBLE COUPONING! :) ~melody

P said...

just think if you DID use the "latest technology" your husband and son use. Within a week or so, it wouldnt boot up, the document wouldnt load, or it would crack. Then you would be off to ebay for a new one,a nd you would be starving.