Don’t we all want to know tips for quick grocery shopping? For most of us, grocery shopping is just another chore that is on our list. We all want to mark it off and get on with our day. Because I really strive to use good time management skills, I have done my best to learn some tips for quick grocery shopping. These tips help me get in, out and on my way.
I would never want to go grocery shopping without a list. That is a nightmare waiting to happen. One of the best tips for quick grocery shopping that I have found is to go with a list. If you have no list, you have no plan and you are going to spend valuable time wandering the store, trying to figure out what you need. It is worth taking ten to fifteen minutes to make a list before you shop.
If you go to grocery shopping at peak times, you are really going to slow yourself down. I have found that the best time for me to grocery shop is early in the morning. This may vary from area to area but you generally want to avoid the after work rush, Fridays and the first of the month if you can. I try to get to the grocery store no later than eight am. When I do this, I can get in and out in about an hour and that is shopping for two weeks at a time.
Sometimes you have to take little shoppers along with you when you go. I am a mom and I certainly get that. But if you can, choose a time they are in school or can stay with dad or grandma. If you do have to take them, be sure to choose a time they are well rested and more willing to be cooperative. Also, if they are still small enough, put them in the buggy. It will make your trip much faster.
I am not an extreme couponer but I do use a few coupons with each grocery trip. I always try to have those organized and ready. It isn’t going to make anyone happy if I have to stand and go through my coupon organizer while I am checking out. It will also really slow down my process of checking out.
If you want to get in and out of the grocery store quickly, you need to stay focused. Don’t allow yourself to venture into parts of the store where you don’t need things. This is especially true when you shop at a supercenter for your main grocery store. There are many distractions there and that is easily done. Stick to the list and only go where you need to go.
Having a menu planned out before you go grocery shopping goes hand in hand with making a list. It is a total time waster if you stand in the middle of the grocery store and have to try to think of meals for your family. This leads to even more time being spent in the grocery store because you usually have to go back for forgotten ingredients when you are making up meals on the go. It is so much easier to have all of the meals planned out and a menu planned for every day that you need it for until you return to the store. Double checking all of your ingredients before you shop is also a helpful idea.
There are things you can do to make checkout easier and help it go faster. First of all, choose a lane with less people in it, which is a given. Secondly, if you shop in the same place all of the time, you more than likely know which cashier is quicker, so try to go for them. You can also help speed things along when you group like things together on the conveyor belt. Pair all of your frozen items together, all of your boxes together and all of your canned goods together. This helps the cashier bag the groceries quicker and get you out of the store quicker.
I hope these tips help you to get the chore of grocery shopping completed quicker. I would love to hear your tips too, though. How do you get grocery shopping done quickly?