Home & family
Weekly meal plan, shopping and prep in one sequence
Check what you have, pick meals, write the list, shop and prep, each step dated around your shopping day so dinner is decided before you're hungry.
What’s inside
Meal plan and shopping· 7 items
Check what's already at home
2 days before the shopping day
- Fridge, oldest food to the front
- Freezer, anything that needs using
- Cupboard staples running low
Pick this week's meals
1 days before the shopping day
- Four dinners that use what's already at home first
- One leftovers night
- One no-cook fallback for the tired night
- Breakfasts and lunches, roughly
Write the meals on the fridge or in this task's notes, so nobody has to ask.
Write the shopping list by store section
1 days before the shopping day
- Produce
- Fridge and dairy
- Pantry and dry goods
- Household and toiletries
Shop
On the shopping day
- Bags and list with you
- Only what's on the list, plus one treat
- Spending added in Money if you track it
Put away and prep the perishables
On the shopping day
- Older food moved to the front
- Vegetables washed and chopped for the first two dinners
Batch prep for the week
1 days after the shopping day
- One grain or base cooked
- One sauce or protein ready
- Lunches portioned
Mid-week check
3 days after the shopping day
- Anything about to spoil goes into tonight's dinner
- Swap a meal if plans changed
Why the plan comes before the list
Most shopping lists are written in the shop. That’s how you come home with a third jar of mustard and nothing for Thursday. This template puts the thinking two days early: check what you have, then choose meals that use it, then write the list. Each step is a separate dated task with a short checklist, so you never face “plan the whole week” as one heavy job.
The list is grouped by store section, so you walk the aisles once. The prep happens on shopping day and the day after, while the food is fresh and you still have some energy.
Changing it for your week
- Shop twice a week? Apply the template twice with two dates, and delete the steps you don’t need from the second copy.
- Ordering online? Rename “Shop” to “Place the order” and move it a day earlier.
- If you track spending, add the receipt in Money with quick add. The seeded Groceries category is already there under Food.
Templates in Thendoo don’t carry repeat rules, so this one is applied fresh each week. That’s on purpose: shopping day moves, and the offsets move with it.
An honest tip
Plan four dinners, not seven. Plans fall apart on the busy nights, and the leftovers night and the no-cook fallback are what keep the week from turning into takeout.