Is the act of grocery shopping right up there with visiting the dentist or cleaning the bathroom? Well, you are not alone. Grocery shopping for many is a necessary, though not enjoyable, chore. So how can we make it easier?
5 Ways to Make Grocery Shopping Easier
1. Have a Plan
Browsing many be fun when you are looking at shoes but not when you need to fill up your grocery cart at the end of a long day. I never head to the grocery store without a clear plan of what I am going to buy when I get there. And I very rarely do I have that “Oh @*#!” moment when I get home and realize I forgot the eggs or the toilet paper. Frustrating, right? So, have a plan. Keep a running list of items you have run out of on your refrigerator, then the day before you go shopping create a weekly menu plan. Add the items you need to make those meals to your running list so you have only one master list to follow. To really speed things up, set up your list to reflect the locations of your supermarket. For example:
Produce
Bakery/Breads/Cheeses
Deli Counter
Seafood Counter
Meats
Toiletries
Canned Goods
Ethnic Foods
Frozen Foods
2. Check!
As you go through the store, check those items off your list. Doesn’t it feel good to check items off your “To Do” list? Checking things off your grocery list gives you that same tiny feeling of accomplishment. I know. It seems silly but it really does make you feel better to work through the list and mark everything off. Even better, you won’t have that continual feeling that you are forgetting something.
3. Crank up the Tunes
Who says you need to shop in silence? Or worse yet, shop with elevator music and grocery specials going through your head. Bring your iPod filled with you favorite tunes. Just need to wind down at the end of a long day? Put on some classical or jazz. Need some energy to get through the store? Pump up the volume and play some dance music. Just try to keep the dancing to a minimum unless you don’t mind drawing a crowd. 🙂
Need a few dance move ideas?
4. Bring the Kids and Make it a Game
OK, this one could be a bit risky but if you have well behaved children, having them come with you could make the experience quicker and more fun. Give your kids a list of their own that they need to complete. Give them something to find in each aisle.
You could even use the time to teach them a bit about nutrition and label reading. If cereal is on your grocery list, have them compare a few of their favorites for sugar content and calories. Give them some guidelines. The cereal must contain less than 8 grams of sugar. It can’t contain colors not found in nature. When looking at produce, have your kids help you select the fruits and vegetables that go in your cart. It may help get them to eat more of them! Tell them to put something from each color in the cart. For more ideas, check out this great article from Kiwi.
5. Hire Someone Else To Do It
If you really just dread the grocery store, pay someone else to do it for you. Options include giving a list to the grocery store and letting them fill the order for you to hiring a personal chef to hand pick the best looking items in the store. Sometimes pawning off the things that really make you stressed, bothered or bored is the best solution. While it may cost more than doing it yourself, it frees you up to do more enjoyable or productive things like spend time with your family, exercise or get caught up with the pile of work on your desk.
What other ideas do you have to make grocery shopping a better experience? Please share in the comments below!
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