My Once-A-Month Grocery Haul

and the power of the homemaker and the home-economy

Hello my friends,

When Stuart and I got married, we were making $12 and $10 an hour, respectfully. Stuart was stocking grocery shelves at a supermarket while simultaneously attending university and taking classes for his Elementary Education degree. I was working at a flower and garden house. We were paying off student loans, learning how to pay bills on time, and simultaneously navigating our new life as one.

During those very early years, we would grocery shop together every Saturday. Visiting the supermarket we went to, long since closed, was a weekly highlight for us because it meant life together. I loved buying food to nourish him. I loved preparing food for him. We would eagerly arrive to the supermarket, cash envelope in hand with clear instructions from Dave Ramsey not to overspend, and buy foods that we could fit into our $45/week budget.

Yes, $45 a week.

It’s impossible for me now to separate my memories and emotions from our “food history” as a family, from those extremely lean years, to learning to producing some of the food ourselves, to ultimately starting an online from-scratch cooking school all those years later.

It’s emotional. It’s powerful. It’s a good portion of my life’s work thus far!

In this week’s video, I’m not only walking you through my monthly grocery haul to show you what we’ve ordered month-in-and-month-out for almost the last fifteen years, but we’re also delving deep into the home economy.

Spoiler: the amount we spend on food is our biggest expense as a family.

While this may seem a bit off putting to some, we made that decision years ago and still stand by our principles that lead us there originally. We’ve often lived by the mantra “Pay now or pay later.” Fifteen years in, I’m happy to say that we’ve reaped enough fruit from our efforts that it’s given us momentum to carry on again and again and again.

When I first began putting deeper efforts towards the home economy, I was lead by Lindsey Edmonds of Passionate Homemaking. Through her blog (which hasn’t been updated for the past seven years), Lindsey introduced me to buying from Azure Standard, buying whole-food ingredients, and buying in bulk when it made sense to do so. I cannot quite put into words how Lindsey’s blog helped me navigate my own life as the homemaker and home economist: it was positively transformative.

I began to realize I had choices and I could mold the kitchen, the food, the budget, and my heart to do the job into not just surviving… but THRIVING.

If you’ve get to try Azure Standard, now may be the perfect time. With vacancies on the grocery store shelves and grocery prices up 39% since 2021, we simply must seek out ways to thrive. Now only in our budget, but also in our health.

You can get 10% off your first order with Azure Standard by using this link and code HC10. This promotion is only available for the first time Azure customer order, with a minimum of $50 order or more (orders to drop locations only). One time use per customer.

Just look how many drops are available now in the United States!

Intimidated? Don’t be. In the video, I show you the process of picking up from a drop, exactly what I order, and even touch on becoming your own drop point!

So here I am. 15 years later. Still ordering from Azure monthly. Still thoughtfully managing my home and thoughtfully considering once-a-month grocery shopping and how that plays into the home economy.

But more on that in this week’s video!

Cheers,

Shaye