Simplifying Life. My Life-Changing Grocery Shopping Method

I haven’t gone grocery shopping in one year.

Yup. You read that right. It was last September when I decided grocery shopping was taking just too much time and something needed to change.

When we moved almost two years ago, we went from living walking distance to the grocery store to about a 25-minute drive one way. We tried lots of different ways to deal with it. For awhile my husband and I would do a “date day” every Friday. He’d drive me down to the grocery store and we would do all of our errands while out. It worked for awhile, but even so, it meant an hour of driving, plus at least another hour in the grocery store, and then even more time if we added other errands in.

I tried just doing a big one month shop so I wouldn’t have to go as often. That too worked well at times, but more often I still ended up having to fill in during the month.

And then I discovered our local store’s online shopping.

Life changer.

I can order all of my groceries online, and for a $2.95 fee (FREE if I spend over $150, which I usually do) the store has all of the groceries waiting for us when we show up at our designated time. I can order the very same day, as long as it is four hours before the pickup time.

They load the groceries into the car and I pay right there in the parking lot, just as I would in the store. Yes, you can still use coupons. Everything is just the same as if you shopped yourself. You are not even allowed to tip the employees. It is simply a service of the store.

The best part is my husband works onsite at a client a few days each week, and he has to pass the store on his way home. So we don’t have to drive out of the way to pick up the groceries. I simply order when I know he will be working there. Even if I had to make the trip there just for the groceries, it still saves time because I am not actually in the store.

I love it. So much.

Really. I can sit with my family at night while we watch a show before bed, and do my grocery order. Or when I have a moment, I can sit with a cup of coffee in my own home, and place my order. The nice thing is, the previous lists are saved, so I can even just check off things I want again. I can click on the sale circular and order directly from there as well.

Or I can start a list and add to it for days if I want. It’s an incredible time saver.

It is also a huge money saver. There is no impulse buying. I make my list with my monthly menu plan right in front of me, and I ask the kids for any requests. My bill is tallied as I go, so I see exactly what I am spending. There is no walk up and down the aisle of the store, and putting things in the cart just because they are there. It truly saves so much money.

So there you have it. My life changing grocery shopping method. If your store offers this service, it may be worth looking into.  Less time in the grocery store means I have more time for my family, and that brings me joy.

 

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