Save on Grocery Shopping ! Pay less, eat more & better!

It is prove that we spend a lot of our income in grocery shopping. And sometimes when you have  to cut somewhere this is the first place you are gonna cut. In a country where it is more cheap to eat a meal at the fast food than to cook, you have to be creative and have some tricks to eat healthy on a budget. Here is my few tips that is gonna help you save on grocery shop and make your life more simple! Because yes it is possible to save some money when you know where to start .

1. Plan!

I will say that for every aspects of your life : Planning is the key to save time , money , and be less stressed. Instead of rolling your cart like a chicken without a head in the grocery shop, make a menu, then a list classified by aisle (No I don't have OCD). It will make it so much easier to find the things you need, you will save time and you will enjoy knowing where you go. An efficient grocery shopping take me about half and hour.

2. Don’t go shopping with an empty stomach

It is the thing that everyone is gonna tell you, don’t go grocery shop if you are hungry. First you are gonna buy all that sweet stuffs you try to avoid, second you are gonna fill your cart with all kind of stuffs that don’t go well together and third, you will try to go faster and you risk to choose not quality products.

3. Choose the best timing

After work, you have only 20 minutes to go to walmart for your grocery, yeah right like you are gonna be the only one. Lunch break and supper time is the worst time to shop.  It is crowded, you don’t have much time, you are tired, you don’t have enough space to really look at the sale and you have less choice. You need one pound of turkey meat, there is the chance that the only thing left is the more expensive one or the less quality. This is not what you want. Find the best timing for you, when you have no rush and you can enjoy the experience.

4. Look at the circular, the savings apps and the coupons

Couponing is really popular these days and people go crazy about it. It is a good thing, when you need it. Buying 22 bottles of dog shampoos just because it’s 1 dollar, not really worth it.

The best thing with couponing is to make your grocery shopping list and after find coupons for what you are gonna actually buy. Also, look at your local store circular to base your menu on what is on sale. Be careful, most of the time there is a lot of junk food that is on sale and seem attractive.

5. Make it yourself

Cooking your own crust, pastry, cookies, cake, granola bar & desserts are more healthy cause you don’t have preservative in them. They also cost less money. You save a lot when you cook your own cookies and your family gonna thank you for it. They taste better, they are fresh and they are made with love. What can you ask more ?

7. Try to avoid aisle in the middle

Every grocery are build the same. You have the veggies and fruit, the meat and the dairy all around the store. In the middle, you have the processed food. If you have your list in your pocket, try to go only where you need something. Don’t make every line, it will end up with a bunch of cookies that you don’t need (neither for your health and for your budget)

8. Lower your eyes

Marketing make it easy for them, they always put the more attractive (and expensive) stuffs (oooops busted !) in your visual sight. You want to have the best deal, lower or higher (almost where you can’t reach it )your eyes. The best price are really often at the lowest shelf. This is why if you shop when it’s not that crowded you will have time and space to flex your knees and reach the best deals!

9.  Don’t waste

This is so important, if you are paying for food that go into the trash, your losing money and it’s not good for the earth. I always keep my skin of vegetables (garlic, onions, potato), the heart (cabbage, celery, brocoli, cauliflower) and I put them in the freezer. Once in a while, I make a veggie broth with everything that I collect. It is super easy you only put water in a pot with salt and your veggies, you boil for and hour or two and filter it. You got a healthy, free veggie broth for your sauce & soup.  When your fruits is borderline, make a smoothie. When your veggies are close to be rotten, cook them in a broth and mashed them to make a good veggies soup.  It is way more easy that you think.

10. Eat less meat

Meat is a huge part of the price of the grocery. Try vegeterian recipe and get used to eat without meal. Make a bolognese sauce with lentils instead of ground meat, make veggie burger, try tofu! Be creative about it and have fun! It is not true anymore that a meal without meat is boring. With all the resources like pinterest, blogs, TV show about recipes, there is no excuses to try something new!

11. Keep it simple !

A good piece of lean meat, veggies (fresh or frozen) and rice made a good healthy meal. No need to make all kind of recipes that use a lot of ingredients you don't have at home. Keep your meal simple, look for good recipes with few ingredients in it. Pinterest will be your best friend on that!

Really hope it help you guys, do you have any other tip that you want to share ? What is your routine of grocery ?

Can’t wait to hear about it!

How to start a more minimalist closet !

I plead guilty , a year ago, I own wayyyy to much clothes in my closet.

When I move to the states, the only space I had to carry my clothes was my trunk. I needed to make choice. A lot of them was not smart at all but I still reduce almost half of my closet.

After reading books & articles about minimalist, I did another round of choosing the clothes I need & get rid of the rest. (I donate the clothes to  the salvation army)

You are tempted to ask me : Why will I have a more minimalist closet?

Here is the reasons why :

• It is wayyyy more easier to chose your clothes in the morning. 
• You save money. Why ? Because you actually used your clothes and buy only what you need.
• You have more space for other things.
• You used your clothes!
• It's good for the earth.
• You own quality clothes instead of quantity.

Now that I got you curious about this here how to start:

• Look at every pieces of clothes you own. Analyse them. Are they fitting together ? Do you still wear them ? Are they fit your style and personnality? Do they make you look at your best? If the answer is no : Donate!

• Get rid of the clothes you haven't wear for at least a year, or the one they don't fit anymore. If you lose weight, you will want new clothes.

• Find the color that match with your skin tone, your hair & eyes. The cold colors fit you better ? That's mean you don't need that bright yellow shirt that you haven't wear in a decade.

• Find your own style. What is comfortable? What make you feel pretty? What is the message you want to send to the world ? What is still trendy and in good condition?

• Now divide your clothes by seasons : Fall & winter clothes together and spring and summer together. Only keep in the closet the clothes for the actual season and put the other in a plastic container in the attic.

• Ok, Now you know where you are going. You meditate on your style, on the type of clothes you like and you got rid of the one who didn't fit with you anymore. The principe of having a minimalist closet it's that every piece that you own fit together. The best way to get there it's by having classic & monochrome clothes. Not boring clothes, but clothes the same shade that will fit with every pants. Go wild & colorful with the accessories (necklaces, shoes, earings, belt...etc) But remember, you don't need 1 million necklace. Just one or two that fit with everything & that you truly love.

• We have so much clothes we never used, this is what minimalist is about. If you own just a few pieces in your closet you are going to wear them and used them until they are not good anymore. Own less, save money & live better.

Time to shop ? 

• Now you need new clothes because you actually used the one you have. Time to shop smart. Prefer quality to quantity. Pay a little more for one nice pull  that will last years and still be the same shape after washing it, instead of buying 3 cheap quality shirts that is gonna be waste in few months.

• Keep in mind that you know your style now, no need to buy that neon leggings that are super trendy but will be ugly in 3 weeks. 

You think classic fashion is boring ? Think about iconic women like Jacky Kennedy, Olivia Pope (ok I know she's not real) Claire in House of cards.. etc.

Classy never look old and boring ! 

What is your minimalist closet tips ? Follow me on IG : ve_allthelittlethings !

And keep following me for more minimalist closet tips!

5 easy steps to start a more minimalist lifestyle!

I’m not the only one who discover that she get over budget after the holidays. It is not the first time that I have been interested in that minimalist and simple lifestyle but it seem too much for me to really commit to it.

Six months ago, when I move from Canada to the United States, I need to pack my stuff to make them fit in my car. Considering that my precious dog was taking the passenger seat, everything need to fit into the trunk and the back seat. So I had to make life choices. I had to pick my favorites clothes, my favorites home decor, books, kitchen stuff and everything.

When I arrived here I notice that I made really poor choices for almost everything. My clothes were not appropriate for my new climate, I left my coffee machine for cookie stamps….(yes really) and by hairdryer for a ton of jewelery & nail polish.

After six months, I realised how much money I spent to buy things that I really need and clothes and shoes that is really useful insted of cute.

I’m now working from home so I don’t need a whole office wardrobe. I am living in the country so rain boots are more useful than highheels that hurt my feets. Nail polish? Haha a real joke.

I always use the same one anyway! So why are we so attached to superficial things ?

The answer is simple, we do think we need them to be happy. This is what marketing want us to believe.

My own example : the nail polish? If I ever ran out of my favorite one (which I doubt by the way) i’ll buy a new one.

My high heels? If I ever really need shoe like that for an event, I just have to borrow them to someone. You see where I am going.

We have to redefined our priority and our way to see material stuff. What makes me happy in life have nothing to do with a statuette in ceramic. Society, marketing, facebook and all social media make us think that to be happy we have to reach a certain standard of material. This is so wrong. Why ? Because happiness is free.

So in case you want to start a more minimalist lifestyle here is my first 5 easy steps.

1. Time to declutter your house!

When I first visit New york city, I bought Fridg magnet : I love new york, a statue of liberty in ceramic, a yellow cab in plastic...all stuffs that get dust in my closet and that I never really used. So the first thing to do is to identify all the things you don’t need anymore and get rid of them. A tip : if you haven’t use a thing for more than a year, you don’t need it!

Make 3 piles : To give, to sell and Trash.

Sell all the things you don’t need or want anymore and that you can have money for it. Use facebook site, app like let go, ebay ...etc. Take all the money that you make for it and keep it to pay your debt! You will see that the things that you don’t want anymore worth more that you think. 

2. Make a good inventory of your closet

Now that your house is clean make a really good inventory of your wardrobe. Classify your clothes by seasons and put in the attic your clothes that is not in the current season. This way, your wardrobe will be simple and you will know and see what you have. You will also use your clothes. You will probably realise you already have more than you need. You don’t need short in winter time, so no need to keep them in your wardrobe in that period. It took much space and make you lose time when you dress in the morning.

3. Need to buy something?

You need to buy something new ? Think. Do I really need it? Can I borrow it ? Can I make it? Can I buy it used?

With these simples questions you will realise if it’s a need or a desire. If you can live without it and if you can save a couple bucks by buy it used. It’s not about stopping wanting to buy things, it’s more making better choice, buy more quality that will last longer and used the things you already own.

Simple but this is what minimalism is about.

4. Look what you can cut off.

It’s not about cutting everything in your life all at once, it’s to simplify your life. What’s in it need to be cut off ?

Reduce expenses :For example, you have HBO and you pay for it every month and watch a movie once in a while ; You don’t really need it.

You buy a coffee every morning on your way to work ; try to make it at home at least half of the week.

You pay a lot of money on your hair or your nails ; learn to do it yourself.

Reduce stress and toxic : You realize that one of your friend is always negative and complaint a lot and make you feel anxious ; Try to reduce the contact with that toxic person for a while.

Work or school stress you ; Learn how to meditate, deal with your stress with simple tricks that work for you.

Reduce wasting time for quality time :

You really like to workout and you have the feeling you don’t have time for it in you busy schedule ? Take a close look at your habit ; you may waste a lot of time on social media, in front of the TV on tv show you don’t really like.

You can reduce the time you waste complaining, laying on the couch, scrolling your facebook etc to spend quality time doing the things you really like and make you feel alive.

Think about what is the thing you want to change, what is your goal, write it down and make a plan!

5. Be happy with what you have and learn to find happiness in free stuffs.

Walking with my dog , drinking the first sip of a warm coffee, writing in my journal, planning in my agenda, spending time in the nature with the people I love make me happy. All those things are free. For you it might be something else but if you really look at all those little things that you do that make you feel better, you have something. Write it down and even create a routine with it will help you be more mindfulness and you will learn to be happy with things that doesn’t cost a penny.

Another thing, is to be happy with the stuff you already have. Yes in this life someone will always have something prettier, better, more expensive than you. So what? Is it a sign of happiness? No. Be happy and content with what you already have, this is the way to be happy with a simple life. Material is not a sign of success or a sign that you will be happy. Happiness is an inside job and it can be create by yourself. After all, it all start with the choice that you made and the effort that you put in it.

That is my first easy steps to start having a more simple life. Do you have any tips you want to share ? Is this article speak to you? Leave a comment!