I'm not a big fan of grocery shopping, mainly because of the time it takes. But we need food, and I don't want to pay extra for a shopping service. If you're like me and you don't want to spend much time in the store, here are some very easy ways to make your grocery shopping trip quicker and easier.
Shop the Perimeter
In a typical grocery store, all the fresh food is around the perimeter, or the outer edges, of the store. Produce, meat, seafood, dairy, the deli and the bakery are all on that outer ring. The rest of the store has the shelf-stable items like cereal, candy, soda and snacks, etc. Those shelf-stable items are often full of preservatives and artificial colors, and are not very nutritious. They also tend be “convenience foods” that are more expensive.
So if you can shop the perimeter and avoid the shelves – unless you need specific staples like coffee, tea, spices, oil, flour, or sugar – you will be eating healthier as well as sparing yourself all that time going up and down the inner aisles. With fewer things to look at, you can also avoid getting snagged by impulse buys, which can save a lot of money, too!
Plan Ahead
You know where everything is in the grocery store, so make a plan before you get there. As you're making your grocery list, write the items in the order you will encounter them in the store. I always turn right after I enter and go around the store counterclockwise, so I know I will see the produce section, then frozen foods, then meat, etc. I write my items down in the that order so that I never have to run back to a section I was already in
Load and Unload Your Cart the Right Way
As you go through the store, be mindful of how you put your food in the shopping cart. It won't take you any extra time to put your cold food all together, your produce all together, and your heavy stuff all together. When you get to the checkout, you will be ready to unload your cart onto the conveyor belt in a way that will make sense and save time for both you and the cashier.
Place all the heavy items, like cans, on the belt first so they can go into the bottom of the bag (also place your reusable shopping bags/cloth totes here). Follow up with lighter items and delicate items that need to go on top, like eggs or baked goods. Place all your cold items together so they can be bagged together and keep each other cool while you are taking them home.
Last but not least, your produce, because most of those items will need to be weighed. Placing them all together in a group will ensure that the cashier can be in “weighing mode” and do the same tasks in a group, instead of stopping the flow of scanning over and over to weigh items that you've stuck haphazardly in with all the other things. Having all your like items grouped together will also save you time at home when putting them away, so consider that a bonus!
If you follow these tips and tricks, you will successfully hack your grocery store shopping trip and save a lot of time and money. You might even start to like grocery shopping!
Image credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/couple-buying-groceries-at-a-supermarket-4198970/
More shopping tips:
http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-guide-to-purchasing-amateur-boxing.html
https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2018/11/top-five-gift-cards-for-goth-kid.html
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