How to Shop for Groceries in Less Time
September 20, 2006 by Maricar
Filed under General Housekeeping and Homemaking
Do you find yourself spending too much time shopping for groceries?
We all do it. In addition to the actual picking and paying for needed items, we also spend a lot of time in the grocery store, simply looking, wondering, and generally just lollygagging along. But there are ways to cut down on the time you spend in a store. Here’s how:
1. Make a list. Efficient grocery shopping starts even before you step inside a store. Writing down what you need to buy ensures that you won’t forget anything. List the items as they appear in the store aisles. Make the list as specific as possible by including preferred brands where applicable.
2. Choose your store carefully. Ideally, the grocery store you go to will have everything you need. There’s no sense in buying tomatoes from one store and driving halfway across town to buy milk, even if it’s on sale. Use the same store over and over so you become familiar with its layout.
3. Pick your timing. There are busy times in a grocery store, and there are busier times. Choose your timing carefully. Weekends are the worst times, especially in the afternoons. Mondays are not ideal even though there aren’t a lot of shoppers. That’s the time most stores stock up after the weekend shoppers have cleaned out the shelves. You’ll find a lot of employees and boxes of products that you’ll have to navigate. Late afternoons on weekdays are also busy times, when people coming from work stop by for a bit of shopping. If you can’t do your shopping on a weekday morning, do it later at night (after dinner), or very early on the weekends. And don’t be shy about asking store employees what their least busy time is.
4. Shop alone. If you can leave the kids at home, do so. If you have no choice but to take them with you, keep them contained. Strap little ones down; don’t let them run around. Bring toys and crackers to keep them occupied while you shop. If you have older kids, split the task and give them specific items to retrieve from different parts of the store.
5. Park strategically. Park as near the entrance/exit as you can. Park beside a cart rack, especially if you have little kids with you. This makes it easy to return the cart, which we highly recommend.
6. Walk with a purpose. I’m not advocating a single-minded march that disregards other shoppers. But don’t stroll either. Just walk in a business-like manner. If you really want to cut down on the time you spend inside the grocery store, avoid “window-shopping”.
7. Set a goal. Ideally, you shouldn’t spend more than one hour inside a store. Give or take a few minutes, depending on the number and variety of items you’re buying. But your average time from stepping inside the store to being on a cashier’s line should be one hour or less.
8. Start shopping from one end of the store. If you shop at a one-stop store, start at the end that’s farthest from the food area. If you need to buy items that are not regulars on your list (eg., cookware, flowers, greeting cards), get those first, going from the front of the store to the back. Include stops by the pharmacy and/or photo desk if you need to.
9. Zigzag your way from back to front. Start shopping for regular items at the back of the store, zigzagging your way from one aisle to the next. If you listed the items as they appear in the aisles, you won’t have to backtrack. Skip aisles that don’t have items on your list. When you’re done shopping, you’ll also be at the front of the store, where the cashiers are.
10. Be smart about how your purchases get bagged. Put heavy items on the conveyor first. Group similar items together. Even after you’ve put everything on the conveyor, don’t spend this time browsing the magazine displays. Place the grocery bags in your cart, with heavier things at the bottom/back of the cart. This makes sure your bread and eggs don’t get smooshed. By the time the cashier has scanned and bagged your last item, you should be ready with your payment.
Zipee-dee-doo-dah! You’re done and out of there!
[Note: This post has been submitted to this week's Group Writing Project at Problogger. For more how-to posts about a variety of subjects, see Darren’s full list.
Tags: grocery shopping, time management, housekeeping, homemaking
Excellent suggestions. I’ve found by going to the same store all the time, I can zip through in no time. Until they change the layout. BTW, my ProBlogger post has a tip (#7) for eliminating gorcery shopping altogether.
Hi Brad, Thanks for dropping by. BTW, I won’t tell my hubby about your tip.
Just by doing #6, I can cut time…I’m a stroller, but when I started moving a bit quicker, I got done quicker..imagine that!
Allow me to add the following:
NEVER go grocery shopping when you are hungry!! It sucks time AND extra money!
Yes to the not going while hungry thing, as well as never bring the husband or the baby along
. Our how-to is up as well if you’d like to check it out!!
Stay out of the deli place where they make fried chicken and all that other good smelling stuff. My How To is up also.
My girlfriend sure could use this advice.
My how to is up.
Thanks for the added tips. Matt, you’re so right about the cooking smells.