Grocery Boot Camp - Phase 1: The Clean Out

The first step to stop overbuying and overspending at the grocery store is to assess what you have. Do you have one of those refrigerators that is so stuffed to the gills that Jimmy Hoffa might be somewhere in the back? When was the last time you cleaned out your fridge? How many garbage bags did it take? Or are you a compulsive fridge cleaner who chucks things the second they reach their expiration date? Either way, when you are throwing spoiled, uneaten food in the trash you are throwing away your MONEY.

I suggest you go and get a garbage bag and start cleaning out the fridge. While you are cleaning, keep a tally as to what each item that you are throwing away cost. I bet you will be SHOCKED at how much you are putting in the trash each week or at the end of a month.

It's easy to lose sight of the fact that food costs money and that since we eat it, it must be disposable. Obviously, I understand that having some food waste is inescapable. I'm not talking about the one serving of leftovers that didn't get eaten. I am talking about bags and boxes of food that go bad on the shelf of the fridge or the pantry before you've had more than two bites or the gallon of maple syrup that you bought 3 years ago at your warehouse club.

After the fridge move on to the pantry. Keep your tally and pay attention to patterns. How long have some of those boxes been sitting in there? It's time to say goodbye to that box of graham crackers you bought two years ago. That's $3.99 that's been sitting on your shelf wasted and now you are throwing that $3.99 in the trash. Please do not buy graham crackers when you go out shopping, as strong as that urge may be. Take note of some of the other items that you are tossing that you have never eaten or that your kids decided that they didn't like. Also, take note of the things that you bought too much of that went bad. Do you automatically buy bread and eggs each time you grocery shop? If so, I bet you found three half eaten loaves in the recesses of your pantry (I speak from experience on this one). Or maybe a dozen of expired eggs that got buried in the fridge behind the carton of nearly expired eggs (and please don't ask me how old the ones on the door are)! Ok, go get to work. This step is critical in order to be an efficient shopper.

At the end of this exercise, you should be able to see what food you have, know what you need to buy and know where you are overbuying. You will also have a financial tally of approximately what you are throwing away in uneaten food each week or month. This information will serve you well as we move on tomorrow to grocery store basics.