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OT - Grocery Shopping….. How I do it.
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GrateEggspectations
Posts: 9,269
Recent comments I read elsewhere about grocery shopping got me thinking about the various ways in which one can conduct this activity. I often think deep, deep thoughts about this, because my process differs wildly from that of my wife.
v) Still prior to heading to the store, organize the grocery items on my list according to my trajectory through the store. (Obviously, to do so, I must be well-acquainted with the layout of the store I will be visiting. Bonus points if I can route my trip down the aisles such that I hit up the cold and frozen items last. Note that Costco employs powerful and effective countermeasures to this step by re-arranging the placement of their products, thereby thwarting efficiency and generating the potential for impulse buys.)
…And the only in-store step…
vi) Shop at my chosen store, right at opening if possible. (I get parking closer to the door. All carts will be available. Shelves will be more well-stocked. Produce will be topped up. Equipped with my list, I will not need to think. There will be fewer people in the aisles and at the registers, which renders me safer and more efficient than were I to go into a crowded store. With less people there, I will be more likely to get the privilege of being served by a real human cashier, who can scan my items more quickly and with less technical difficulties than were I to use a self-serve station, for which help from staff would invariably be needed. Because I have taken step “v” above, I will be first at the cash as well.)
How do you like to get the job done?
For me, this is the recipe for success:
i) Keep a running list, at all times, of items that I have just run out of or am in short supply of, including stocks of pantry backups to in-use products. (When I head out shopping five days from tonight, I won’t remember that in making tonight’s stir fry, I finished the oyster sauce. This one is good for those with deficient memories. Keeping a list will also mean that I won’t be making as many impulse buys once in the store.)
ii) Consider any recipes I plan on making and add those supplementary ingredients to my running list.
i) Keep a running list, at all times, of items that I have just run out of or am in short supply of, including stocks of pantry backups to in-use products. (When I head out shopping five days from tonight, I won’t remember that in making tonight’s stir fry, I finished the oyster sauce. This one is good for those with deficient memories. Keeping a list will also mean that I won’t be making as many impulse buys once in the store.)
ii) Consider any recipes I plan on making and add those supplementary ingredients to my running list.
iii) Prior to heading to the store, check my fridge and pantry to gauge stock of staples that are essential (e.g., eggs, milk, etc. Staples are just my individual preference as dictated by repeated consumption patterns.)
iv) Identify the store most likely to stock all of the ingredients on my list and seek its opening hours if not already known. (Reason detailed in step “vi”.)
iv) Identify the store most likely to stock all of the ingredients on my list and seek its opening hours if not already known. (Reason detailed in step “vi”.)
…Now this next step is absolutely crucial for minimizing my time within the store…
v) Still prior to heading to the store, organize the grocery items on my list according to my trajectory through the store. (Obviously, to do so, I must be well-acquainted with the layout of the store I will be visiting. Bonus points if I can route my trip down the aisles such that I hit up the cold and frozen items last. Note that Costco employs powerful and effective countermeasures to this step by re-arranging the placement of their products, thereby thwarting efficiency and generating the potential for impulse buys.)
…And the only in-store step…
vi) Shop at my chosen store, right at opening if possible. (I get parking closer to the door. All carts will be available. Shelves will be more well-stocked. Produce will be topped up. Equipped with my list, I will not need to think. There will be fewer people in the aisles and at the registers, which renders me safer and more efficient than were I to go into a crowded store. With less people there, I will be more likely to get the privilege of being served by a real human cashier, who can scan my items more quickly and with less technical difficulties than were I to use a self-serve station, for which help from staff would invariably be needed. Because I have taken step “v” above, I will be first at the cash as well.)
How do you like to get the job done?
Comments
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Very nice approach!
I just send my wife
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I'm much lazier than you and don't do any of those things and just go to the grocery when I need something, but my wife and I do use an app that will sync the list across multiple stores (iOS -grocery gadget, no idea about android) so we also have a running list of things to pick up while we're there.
NOLA -
The grocery store is about a quarter mile away, as the crow flies, probably twice that by the road. No biggie if I have to make two trips. ACE Hardware is about the same distance if I need lump. I do keep recipes on my phone so if I plan on repeating a previous cook I can pull up the ingredients.
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Me:
1. Go to store
2. See stuff I want, throw in cart
3. Checkout
4. Go home and try to figure where items 2 goes______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
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SWMBO has a photographic memory of our inventory, she does the serious grocery shopping.In New Orleans, locals call grocery shopping "making groceries". I know, doesn't make sense to me either.So my simplistic shopping is really getting stuff I like that she doesn't, beverages, which are sugar free (she hates sugar free). Stuff on sale that looks fresh for hoarding (chamber sealer) and whatever holes in my list to cook for the day and next couple if I've planned out that far. And sweets, I have a sweet tooth since quitting the booze.We split the bills up and I give her a few hundred extra bucks for making groceries.Our bills anymore are just insurance, groceries, communications and utilities. Everything is paid for. Oh, and tools. Lots of tools. And cat treats.______________________________________________I love lamp..
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I use the Kroger app. Able to scan bar codes to add to the list. It also auto sorts items based on aisle location in a particular Kroger store. Now if I goto another store that isn’t kroger this doesn’t help but at least I know what we need.Large and Small BGECentral, IL
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first isle to the right is eggs bacon milk juice, usually just get milk and oj because im stocked up on eggs and bacon. then theres the cheese island, im stocked up but theres always something to grab. then head for meat, what looks good and whats out which tells me what to get at produce. bones for the dog, sodawater and tonic means limes,. lunch counter and im done. every other month i do a stockpile run. will go on thursday early unless theres a storm on friday which means i shop a no crowd store on friday. the supermarket doesnt care if theres 2 feet of snow, it will be open. my plan is big weekend cooks with leftovers for the week. i alawys have a short list that changes when i get to the meat counter
fukahwee maineyou can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it -
pretty much my routine @GrateEggspectations though I don't reorganize the list, I pre organize, in other words produce goes at the top, and I will leave space and put flour halfway down because its about halfway through the store and back fill as time goes on. We are 12 miles from a real grocery store so its worth the effort.Also mid morning seems to work here to catch a slow time. Weekends or evenings? forgettaboutitSouth of Columbus, Ohio.
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If we run out of something, we add it to the list using Alexa. I am usually the one who does the shopping, so while I am at H-E-B, I check the list on the app.Midland, TX XLBGE
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I use an app on my IPhone, AnyList.
It is hooked up to my Alexa. So anytime, myself or Shelly, sees the need or wants for some we just tell Alexa. It is sharable between us so whether I add it, or Shelly does it will display on both of our phones.
You can have as many lists as you want. HomeDepot, Lowes, Liquor Store.
I just throw it all in the Alexa "List".
Works with Siri (ShortCuts) and Google also.
Large BGE, MiniMAX BGE, 2 Mini BGE's, R&V Fryer, 36" Blackstone Griddle, Camp Chef Dual Burner 40K BTU StoveBGE ChimineaProsper, TX
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to add to what i wrote though, theres so many grocery stores near me that i can just pick something up when needed, im there for lunch regularly. a meatball sub is $3.99, half a large all meat pizza is $2.99. theres 6 full sized market baskets within 5 minutes to the house not counting aldis, whole foods stop and shop etc
fukahwee maineyou can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it -
I keep my grocery list on Alexa. I know, I know, I am jeopardizing my safety, security and privacy because now Jeff Bezos knows that I add eggs and hamburger buns to my list nearly every week.
I tell Alexa to add "whatever" to my shopping list, and she does.
Then, I have two separate methods.
1. Hy-Vee delivery. I take my Alexa app and add the items I want from Hy-Vee to my list, and they automagically show up, bagged and ready to be put away at a time that is convenient to me.
2. For some items, I actually stop at a store (I buy different stuff at different stores) and pick it out myself. This works good for produce, meat (from the case), and those few items that are needed before I put in another Hy-Vee delivery order.
But, everything goes on the Alexa list and comes off the Alexa list once purchased.Clinton, Iowa -
I like the organized approach. Used to be a just go to the store, see what looks good, and throw it in the cart. Found we would waste a lot of food that way. Changed to basically making a weekly menu, righting a list of needed ingredients and any staples we are lacking and then heading to the store. Always early on Saturday when numbers are relatively light. And since my wife and I have switched to a keto diet shopping has become so much less complicated. Pretty much simply avoid the middle of the store. Shop fresh produce, then meats and seafood, then dairy. Helps to live in an urban area where the grocery store has been fully stocked throughout the pandemic.
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Angie does the majority of our grocery shopping and utilizes the Alexa List feature. Seems to work well. And thanks to @nolaegghead I add "guns and dildos" to it every few weeks. Smart girl but she hasn't figured it out, yet. Always laughs and says "how did those get on there?".
LBGE, LBGE-PTR, 22" Weber, Coleman 413GGreat Plains, USA -
In the store the food items are inventory/supplies/staples etc. Buying food items turns them into groceries.nolaegghead said:SWMBO has a photographic memory of our inventory, she does the serious grocery shopping.In New Orleans, locals call grocery shopping "making groceries". I know, doesn't make sense to me either.So my simplistic shopping is really getting stuff I like that she doesn't, beverages, which are sugar free (she hates sugar free). Stuff on sale that looks fresh for hoarding (chamber sealer) and whatever holes in my list to cook for the day and next couple if I've planned out that far. And sweets, I have a sweet tooth since quitting the booze.We split the bills up and I give her a few hundred extra bucks for making groceries.Our bills anymore are just insurance, groceries, communications and utilities. Everything is paid for. Oh, and tools. Lots of tools. And cat treats.A bison’s level of aggressiveness, both physical and passive, is legendary. - NPS -
This just made the whole thread worthwhile; I'm slowly migrating everything to iDevices, but still have an Echo in the kitchen (of course, then I'll have to get in the habit of carrying my phone with me). Thanks Hotch!Hotch said:I use an app on my IPhone, AnyList.
It is hooked up to my Alexa.
I follow the OP's except for rearranging my list, and since retirement have discovered the joy of shopping when they open in the morning, nice!
I hit the Commissary about once a month for non-perishables (bacon, eggs, frozen meats, canned items, pasta), but their fresh produce is usually pretty poor. Every few days I alternate between my local grocer and a huge Asian market for fresh meats and veggies; the prices at the Asian market are fantastically low, but they don't carry some things like apples and blueberries, and the local grocer also has a huge cheese kiosk (>150 varieties!) which I love.
I do a lot of stir-frying, which really gives you flexibility. I can go to the store thinking "Beef with Green Peppers", but if the peppers look tired and a good piece of pork is on sale, switch gears. It's also a good way for a single person to avoid leftovers all the time._____________Remember when teachers used to say 'You won't have a calculator everywhere you go'? Well, we showed them.
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some here, the local liquor store is just a personal warehouse
fukahwee maineyou can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it -
Wegmans has an app where you can add items to your list, and it will arrange everything by department/aisle. I add things to the list as we identify the need, or when we plan menus for the next week.
They also have an app where you can scan the barcode and bag while you're shopping, and then scan a barcode at one of the self-checkout terminals to transfer everything you've got in your cart so you can just pay and go.LBGE
Pikesville, MD
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If you have a personal chef, do they also do the shopping for general stuff, or just the meals they cook you?A bison’s level of aggressiveness, both physical and passive, is legendary. - NPS
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Ours charges extra for anything not associated with the meals. When that list has dildos and guns, it can get pretty pricey.Ozzie_Isaac said:If you have a personal chef, do they also do the shopping for general stuff, or just the meals they cook you?
______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
Thanks @nolaegghead, I tried that and am now locked out of my Kroger app. I have no idea if it was the dildo or the gun on the list.
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I am laughing so hard right now....sorry!Legume said:Thanks @nolaegghead, I tried that and am now locked out of my Kroger app. I have no idea if it was the dildo or the gun on the list.
______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
I usually park far away from the entrance, to get those few extra steps in. While shopping, rarely go into the middle isles, that's were all the junk is located. Unless I'm feeling for some of that junk of course. We just do one big circle around the store to the cash register.Dave
Cambridge, Ontario - CanadaLarge (2010), Mini Max (2015), Large garden pot (2018) -
This is a good time to discuss whether it should be "dildos" or "dildoes"...#1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February 2013 • #3 Mini May 2013A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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Dildiicaliking said:This is a good time to discuss whether it should be "dildos" or "dildoes"...A bison’s level of aggressiveness, both physical and passive, is legendary. - NPS -
The PA gets all my non-food related items. My amanuensis wrote this post.nolaegghead said:
Ours charges extra for anything not associated with the meals. When that list has dildos and guns, it can get pretty pricey.Ozzie_Isaac said:If you have a personal chef, do they also do the shopping for general stuff, or just the meals they cook you?A bison’s level of aggressiveness, both physical and passive, is legendary. - NPS -
Is that like ditalini?Ozzie_Isaac said:
Dildiicaliking said:This is a good time to discuss whether it should be "dildos" or "dildoes"...Large and Small BGECentral, IL
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