Would Anyone Be Willing To Share....

pixie1

Would Anyone Be Willing To Share there menu planning / stock cupboard control spread sheets with me?

I would prefer not to try and reinvent the wheel is there is already something out there:money:

Im looking for something where i can list all the food in my cupboards, fridge and freezer and also menu plan if possible.

Any help or pointers would be much appreicated.

Thanks

pix

VfM4meplse

pixie1 wrote: »

Would Anyone Be Willing To Share there menu planning / stock cupboard control spread sheets with me?

Can't help - a search using the forum tool should do it - but I cannot hide my envy: you live in Oz and presumably are basking in sunshine.

My heating came on 20 minutes ago

pixie1

Well its the first day of summer on monday but the weather doesnt seem to want to comply this year, so Im currently listening to thunder with very grey skies. Its warm though - weird!! cant get used to it really. esp a HOT christmas.

Thanks

pix

Catcherupper14

I can't help with spreadsheets as they didn't work for me. I keep my mealplans and inventory (and shopping list) on the fridge (held on by magnets).


I found that unless they were right in front of me I'd forget about them.

[Deleted User]

Catcherupper14 wrote: »

I can't help with spreadsheets as they didn't work for me. I keep my mealplans and inventory (and shopping list) on the fridge (held on by magnets).


I found that unless they were right in front of me I'd forget about them.

Me too, I have a freezer list that I update and reprint every so often Its tyeped on a M/S office word document (just realised how old my MS OfficeWord is 2003 :eek: but it still works OK
I have it saved on my 'puter and just open it and revise it when I need a new list printed .I have done the same with my store cupboard and as I use stuff I just run a biro through what I have used and then can see whats needed if I am running short .Inside all of my food cupboards I have a list printed off from my own typed up M/S/Word documents and blu-tacked so its there as I open the door.If I had to do it on my computer I would probably forget I find it easier to have it in front of me.I also have my freezer list stuck on the front of the freezer with some magnets .I just update it with a new revised one printed off every so often .Usually when the existing list has lots of lines through what I have used.;)

toastking

It may not be seen as moneysaving but I bought a 2 part pad of paper where 1 half split down the days of the week and the other side a shopping list.

Works a charm and magnet even sticks it to the fridge. Has saved us a fortune for the £3-4 it cost from Rymans. Easily save that every week by having the plan and there are easily 200 pages on each side. Bought one for my mum too (she loves stationary, planning, budgeting and eating properly so it was ideal).

amandaatnumber7

pixie1 wrote: »

Well its the first day of summer on monday but the weather doesnt seem to want to comply this year, so Im currently listening to thunder with very grey skies. Its warm though - weird!! cant get used to it really. esp a HOT christmas.

Thanks

pix

You must be in WA

LameWolf

I use an OpenOffice spreadsheet (like Excel, but it's freeware):money:
I have one page for the meal plan itself, a second page for cupboard contents, and a third for freezer contents.

I'd copy and paste it if I could, to show you; sadly that won't work, so I'll try and describe it.
This may be a long post.....:cool:

Page one:
Columns headed:

• Date,
• Meal,
• Prepare in advance,
• Notes.

Date and meal are obvious - prepare in advance is things to get DH to do for me the night before, eg cut spuds and leave in a bowl of water, as I have arthritic hands; notes is anything I need to remember is happening that day, eg hospital appointments (so that I plan an easy meal that day)
I put the meals down in red if they can be changed at short notice (I sometimes swap two days about if I'm feeling rough and need to do something easy), blue if it's "set in stone" and cannot be altered, and black once we've had it - I keep the list for a while, for inspiration and to ensure I'm not serving the same thing too many times in a short period.

2nd page: Columns:

• Tins/packets;
• Number thereof;
• Bottles/jars;
• Number thereof.

When I shop, I update the sheet with what I've bought, and when I make a meal, I deduct the items used.

So for instance the Tins/packets section could read:
Baked beans:.................. 2
Tinned toms: ...................3
Veg soup (pkts).............. 3
Tomato/basil soup (pkts): 1

And so on

3rd page: Freezer:

• Drawer 1 contents;
• number/amount;
• Drawer 2;
• number/amount

and so on for all four drawers, making 8 columns in all on this page.
Similar method when I shop and when I make a meal.

So for instance, Drawer 3 could contain:
Strawberries: ........... 1 box, 1 small box
Pineapple chunks: ......Part box
Gooseberries: ............1 small box + part small box
Nut loaf: ....................6 slices

And so on.

I also have a 4th page where I keep a record of the grocery spend throughout the month.

I hope I've explained that clearly enough - putting things across to other people isn't my strong suit.:o

I find it works well for me, as I have the computer on at least once a day, and I dislike bits of paper all over the place, so keeping it on the computer is my preferred method.:o

HTH

pm2326

I hav 3 lists saved as memo's in my mobile phone. 1 for freezer, 1 for cupboards and a shopping list.

I find it easier to cross stuff off the list as I go, no need to boot up a pc or hunt out a pen. Always have my phone when shopping so no worries about forgetting my list and if I find a bargain I can check if I have the ingredients already in to make a nice meal.

K9sandFelines

If you have a smart phone there is a free app called mypantry that works similar to what you describe.

splishsplash

I use an excel spreadsheet workbook.

The first page has column headings for freezer; fridge; baking goods; herbs, oils and spices; pantry/dried/canned foods; other.
Each column heading has two sub-columns labelled Item and Qty.
I use conditional formatting in the qty column - if I have an amount I'm happy with it's green; once it falls below a certain threshold it turns red so it's easy to see what needs to be added to the shopping list.

Page 2 of the workbook is for meal planning.
That's just a straightforward list of columns - days and dates down the side; breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks along the top. I fill it in as inspiration strikes for the coming month.

Page 3 is a calorie count of all my homemade dishes. I bake and make most meals from scratch so I like to work out the count per portion from time to time.

Page 4 is my Price Index where I compare prices in the shops and track price changes.

My shopping list is a notepad (an actual paper notepad) which lives on the kitchen windowsill and things get added as I notice I need them, then I finish off the list using the spreadsheets.
I just rip off the page to bring with me when I go shopping. If I don't get everything on the list, I just add it to the new list for the following week.
I shop once a week; I usually only buy milk during the week.