O/S Daily Monday 18th March

save-a-holic

Hi Lottiesmum

I just wanted to let you know that making a menu of the weeks meals before I go shopping has been a total and utter godsend for me. I know exactly what we are having so I know what I need to buy - the menu is generally based around what we already have in/need to use, so if we have a pack of sausages in the freezer then we will have sausages in onion gravy one night, etc.

I have a 'shopping list' of essential items (storecupboard items) and just before I go shopping I do a stock-check to see if I need to stock up on these when I go shopping (milk, flour, washing powder, shampoo, etc). I buy the bread on shopping day and freeze it so we never run out - I always have bread flour as a storecupboard item as I make this as a treat during the week. I buy long-life milk and this is therefore also re-stocked once a week when I go shopping too.

When I have the stuff from my list in my trolley I always swing ythe reduced/whoopsied sections to see if there is anything ofninterest (these will then form the basis for next week's menu).

It always amazes me just how little I really need to buy. Before the days of menu-planning I would spend about £70-£90 a week on groceries and now it averages £25 a week. Beforehand my freezer and cupboards would be straining with food that I didn't even know that I had (it was lost in the food-clutter) and so had little chance of using before it expired - such a waste! I've been menu-planning/shopping listing for about 7 years now and can't imagine any other way. )

It's just a matter of practising it until it becomes habit. Once I realised how effective it was, I was hooked!

Perhaps you could think about joining a grocery challenge here on MSE? That might give you the encouragement, support and incentive to stick to it and also to perfect your technique - find out what works for you.

A final point - which I now apologise for if anyone is grossed-out. I read with interest your problem with Sodium Laureth Sulphate and can totally empathise that this seems to be in most things. When I tried to abstain, I had to buy specialst brands from the health food shop (and BOY did they COST!!!). I wonder if you have considered (and I through ths idea into the ring, that is all) abstaining from washing your hair? This would save you the cost of specialist shampoo and conditioner in one action. The hair is actually self-cleaning and it is only it's reaction to the stripping properties of shampoo that actually MAKES it greasy. There are umpteen article on the internet (and I seem to remember that there was a Challenge here on MSE about 5-6 years ago) after a programe was broadcast on tv about this. You could only use water on your hair, but no cleaning products. A thorough hair-brushing was also a daily requirement to stimulate the scalp and distribute the natural oils.

At first the hair became greasier and greasier (that's when people started dropping out of the challenge) but those that stuck with it saw the two-week mark as the turning point, when the hair started to begin to self-clean. At the end of the challenge women were reporting that their hair had never been so soft, shiny, healthy and luxurious (with previous dandruff problems clearing on their own) - and no smell.

It's something to consider.... For clarity, I should point out that I followed the challenge with great interest but did not take part - I had a short-ish, 'spikey' hairstyle that needed copious amounts of mousse and other products to maintain the style.