Grocery Shopping Gone Crazy

When you hear the phrase, "grocery shopping", do you instantly cringe with dislike or smile with excitement?  It is almost like a puzzle for me that is not completely solved until the groceries are put away. Yesterday, I went grocery shopping and was thinking that there must be a better method. Keep reading and you will see why.

Grocery shopping for me is not one of those favorite activities for me.  It is one of those overwhelming and daunting tasks for me on most occasions.  I will fully admit that there are times that I will put it off until I absolutely need to go or we may starve...well, not quite that bad but, close.  I know, many of you must be thinking...Are you kidding me?!  Grocery shopping is nothing to get worked up about.  You just walk up and down the aisles and grab what you need.  The funny thing is, when I was growing up, I loved to go grocery shopping with my mom because it was fun!  Most times we would go without a list and just throw whatever looked or sounded good into the cart.  This was a fantastic way to do it!  Nothing to stress about, except if they were out of my favorite Barnum & Bailey animal crackers that came in the cute box with the string handle. Do you know these?  My favorite as a kid. 

Well, once I was all grown up and had a family of my own, grocery shopping took on a whole new significance.  I had to be a bit more frugal than what I did as a child.  The way I started doing it, could seriously make for a full time job.  That is how much it would consume me sometimes.  First, I would wait for the weekly grocery store ads and find out what the good deals are for the week.  Then, clip coupons and try to match them up to what is on sale or whatever.  In the midst of all of that, I would come up with a meal plan of sorts.  For awhile, I would just do a week or two at a time and then I switched to planning an entire months worth of meals.  I will let you know that I really enjoy cooking and am always searching for new things to make.  I never just make the same five or six meals over and over again.  I like some variety!  So, this recipe searching just adds in a whole other entity in itself.  I have more recipes, cookbooks, cooking magazines etc. than I know what to do with!  Is this normal?!  I could probably make a new recipe everyday for the rest of my life and still have some leftovers. No kidding! 

So, once I have the meal plan, and the coupons, I would write a list.  I am very organized about how this list is written.  I write it by categories and mark what items I have coupons for and so on.  Usually, I will end up writing this list several times before I have the final copy that is ready for the shopping trip.  I have been known to type my list before.  Freaky...yes, it is! 

Are you exhausted yet, just reading about the preparation to grocery shop?!  This is ridiculous, I know.  So, off to the store I go and the shopping begins.  You would think that because I walked into the store so organized with my list and coupons, that I would be free sailing from that point.  I become so focused on my list as not to forget anything and usually, I can complete the shopping within an hour or two.  It all depends on how long the list may be.  By the time I hit the checkout, I feel wiped out and often have a migraine in the works.  Isn't this crazy?  Am I the only one who feels this way? 

Thank goodness, home is the next and final stop!  One last hurdle to cross...putting all of these groceries away.  This is not any picnic in itself.  This house is lacking pantry space in a major way.  I can't seem to organize it in a user friendly way.  Until I can reconfigure something, I use shelves in the storage room in the basement. 

Do you have any tips or secrets in making grocery shopping more enjoyable?  Who would think that being so organized about it would cause me such anxiety and exhaustion, not to mention unwanted headaches.  I prefer the old way of shopping, just grab and go.  :)

I know I have said this before but, I would love to hear from you.  I could really use some advice on this. 

Have a wonderful afternoon!