Now that we are almost through February 2011 you may be wondering how I am doing with my No Grocery Shopping Month Challenge.   I am wrapping up week 8 of my “No Grocery Shopping” goal.   This month has been harder because the pantry and freezer are getting lower but for the most part I have been doing well as long as I do my menu planning ahead of schedule.  When I go over what I am going to make for supper that morning, check for the ingredients, and have a plan everything goes so much smoother. Here are my criteria for purchasing any grocery items over the last 8 weeks:

• FREE – I don’t want to waste free grocery coupons that my family will use while doing this goal
• Necessity – Milk, Eggs, Bread, etc…
• For Someone Else outside of my household. For example I make meals for new Moms in our church and if I need to pick up an item for them on the way to deliver a meal that will be an exception.

Although with all that being said I did have to purchase a few items not really within my guidelines for one meal recently.  I was in charge of making our Community Group meal at church last Wednesday, we have an average of 16 to 20 people on Wednesday night.  While we still have plenty to feed our family of four, I did pick up a couple items from the store to make the meal last week since there are people in the group that have food allergies and I wanted to make sure I had items that they could eat.  The extra items that were not in my guidelines were:

• Bananas which I bought at Save A Lot | Rite Aid for $0.19 a pound to make homemade banana pudding, it was delicious!
• 2 lb bag of Green Giant Potatoes for $2.49 to make homemade potato soup, my friends recipe!  You can find more of her great recipes at Reflecting on the Simple Things in Life!
• 1 cup Heavy Cream for homemade potato soup
• 1 onion for $0.68 for the homemade beef stew

So now you know that I didn’t entirely hit my goal of no grocery shopping except for necessities.  When I first set the No Grocery Shopping challenge I was hoping to get through the month of January, the fact that I plan to make it to the first few days into March with only a few extra purchases during the challenge is a huge win (at least for me).  In the month of February the only other groceries I have purchased are:

• 5 gallons of Milk
• 2 packages of Cheese
• 1 Loaf of Bread

For the most part the No Grocery Shopping challenge went fairly well.  I spent a little over $19 (including tax) for the month of February on grocery necessities.   We even did extra activities during this time of cutting back.  Doing this challenge may seem silly to some but it has made a huge impact on my way of thinking.  It has been a wonderful learning experience and made me appreciate how many blessings we have in our lives.  I hope to do a similar challenge in the future to help remind me of the importance of saving as well as using the items we have on hand.  Even with the challenge we were still able to participate in several extra events in February while only using items in our freezer or pantry:

• Hosted Guests in our Home
• Made food for a Super Bowl Party
• Brought Treats to the Girls Valentine’s Party
• Brought Cupcakes and Drinks to the Girls Birthday Party for School
• Had Snacks for Girls Night

I do have to say that I had a hard time buying the few extra items that I purchased this month……I felt guilty buying extra food during this challenge especially when I know we still have plenty.  I am grateful for an amazing husband and two wonderful kids who put up with me throughout this adventure.  It is my plan to try and make it through the first few days of March (only 1 more week) with this goal, which will be 9 weeks of only shopping for the necessities (with a few hiccups in the mix). I want to thank everyone for all the support and encouragement along the way.  One of the BIGGEST ways that helped keep me accountable is that I knew people were watching, reading and commenting on the blog.  Thanks for being a part of my life and helping me at least feel like I touched a finger tip on my goal.

So what’s next!!!!  In the next few days I will be sharing with you my next Grocery Shopping Goal, don’t worry it won’t be as extreme, however I want to continue to utilize the stockpile we still have and not waste what God has given us.  With this new challenge it will allow me the freedom to Grocery Shop for the family yet stay within a budget, PLUS perks!  Stayed tuned as I unveil what is coming up next and if your up to it you can join me in the next adventure!

Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others.  Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff”  and if you are like us we just have too much.  I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives.  When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.

Photo by Little Blue Hen