It’s an inescapable fact of life: the weekly, biweekly, twice-weekly, or even daily shopping trip. However, regardless of how much time you cut out of your calendar, it always feels as like you’re rushing through the store like a crazy person, grabbing everything you need before moving on to the next spot on your list. It seems hard to find ways to make grocery shopping faster, doesn’t it?
Nevertheless, while shopping is annoying for most of us, it does not have to take as long as it does. From list organisation to previewing sales, here are some tips for streamlining your approach.
Begin by inspecting your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry.
Take inventory of your items before you leave the house. There is no need to purchase an additional bottle of mustard or bag of Doritos if you already have some buried among the other cupboard staples.
Additionally, you may plan your weekly meals based on what you currently own. By planning breakfasts, lunches, and dinners around the idea of utilising the remainder of that jam jar or carton of eggs, you might just save money, space, and time.
Make a realistic grocery list
This may seem self-evident, but it’s all too easy to forget to make a solid strategy before heading to the shop. How do you envision your next week? Consider the following: How many meals are you planning to prepare at home? Are you a packer of lunches? Additionally, select supper recipes or create a meal plan, and determine which products you may need to purchase. Staples that you take for granted should be double-checked. Consider your meals and how each purchase will be used.
Knowing what you’re going to make for the week ahead of time will help you be more efficient, save money, and minimise food waste.
Sort your list according to category
By categorising your list, you can chop off hours of time. If you know you’re going to need cheese crackers and grated parmesan, for example, combine them on your list! There is no use in wandering in circles or attempting to locate a single object if you will return to the same place later.
Bulk buy
Reduce the number of trips required by stocking your cupboards with essentials. Make one large trip every month or two to stockpile non-perishables (purchasing as much as your cupboards can handle), and you’ll be able to spend less time at the supermarket on a weekly basis, shopping simply for vegetables and dairy.
Avoid shopping when hungry
Plan food shopping trips to occur immediately following a meal or at least an hour or two before the next one. When you shop when hungry, you are far more likely to purchase meals and snacks that you had not intended to purchase. Shopping after a meal is beneficial to both your money and your health.
Make it enjoyable
Make every effort to make your shopping visits more pleasant. If you’re a fan of audiobooks or podcasts, listen to one or create a playlist of your favourite tunes as you buy.
Extend your range
While we all have favourite food brands that we lean towards while shopping, consider expanding out! Unless you’re ready to take a chance on anything, you’ll never know what’s available in terms of quality and pricing.
Numerous local businesses at the community centre sell high-quality items sourced from all across New Zealand. These are products manufactured by your fellow Kiwis that fulfil the criteria for what we seek for in daily products.