Better grocery shopping for busy people

Grocery shopping doesn’t have to consume hours

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is about how to save time and be
more efficient while grocery shopping, so you've got a better
shot at keeping any resolutions to eat healthier Each year.

(00:26):
A great many people make New Year's resolutions to lose weight. Frankly,
I am not a huge fan of this idea because
weight is an outcome goal, not a process goal. The
easiest way to lose weight is to get very sick,
but that is not really the point. Better to focus
on good habits. Eating more vegetables and less junk will

(00:47):
likely lead to weight loss over time, but even if
it doesn't, you'll be much healthier than if you hadn't
made that change. For most people, eating healthier means eating
more at home, and in general, eating healthier meals at
home means making smarter choices in the grocery store, and
here we encounter a major obstacle to keeping this resolution.

(01:10):
Many listeners tell me that grocery shopping is a real
pressure point in their households. After making lists, shopping often
at multiple crowded stores, and then unloading and putting away
the groceries. People feel like their weekends have been consumed.
No wonder we're attempted to hit take out by Wednesday.
But I don't think it has to be this way.

(01:31):
Grocery shopping doesn't have to be a time consuming thing
if you're smart about it. One of the easiest ways
to save time shopping is to almost always buy the
same things. We've talked in past episodes of Before Breakfast
about the genius of Taco Tuesday, and the upside of
having most meals on a regular rotation is that your
grocery list can stay the same week to week. When

(01:55):
it does that, you can seize the time savings of
one of my favorite innovations, online grocery shopping. Many major
grocery stores offer online shopping with pick up in the
store parking lot or even delivery to your house. Most
will let you reorder from a saved list, so you
can get bunches of kale and broccoli without needing to

(02:15):
make an active decision. To be so virtuous, you can
put in your order in the five minutes while you're
waiting for a phone call to start. The system isn't
perfect well, you sometimes get seated grapes when you wanted
seed lists. Well probably, but in my experience, grocery orders
are fairly accurate and the downsides are far outweighed by
the savings from not having to walk the aisles where

(02:37):
those seasonal donuts in the bakery start to look really enticing.
If online shopping isn't an option, or you do want
some variation based on what looks good, that still doesn't
mean that you personally have to spend time in the
grocery store. If your family has an after school sitter,
for instance, perhaps that person could start work ninety minutes

(02:59):
earlier one day a week week and shop off a
list that you give him or her. When people shop
for other people, they tend not to go for impulse buys,
which means that paying someone else might actually save you
money and keep you but from buying those treats that
you probably shouldn't or you could outstarce to family members.

(03:19):
Older teams can be given the use of your car
on a weekend afternoon, with the stipulation that they'll pick
up the groceries while they're out. Everybody wins in this arrangement.
The team gets use of the car and some experience adulting,
and you avoid grocery shopping yourself. Whether you're sending someone
else or working from a list yourself, it helps to

(03:39):
organize the list by store section. The fundamental layout of
your grocery store is not going to change week to week.
You will always hit the produce section before the cereal
and before the milk, so group your list that way.
This saves you time consuming trips back to the other
side of the store when you realize that you didn't
pay up bananas. Some larger grocery store chains even have

(04:04):
apps that give you directions in the store so you
don't miss anything on the first pass through. I'd also
suggest shopping as much as possible at one store. In
an earlier stage of my life, I was very much
into frugal grocery shopping, and I knew that the store
closest to my house had a lot of items, but
a place a little further away had cheaper produce, so

(04:26):
I'd spend my Saturday's going to both. And maybe this
made sense then, but it doesn't now. Checking an extra
hour of what could be precious leisure time to save
five dollars amounts to valuing your time at less than
minimum wage. And finally, you can make the whole grocery
shopping experience easier and less painful by shopping at times

(04:49):
when the shelves are stocked but the aisles are empty.
Going to the grocery store on Saturday or Sunday afternoons
or on a weekday from five to six pm, it's
pretty much asking to do battle with too many other
carts in narrow aisles. If you've got a twenty four
hour store, try going late at night, or on your

(05:09):
lunch break, or in the early morning. Back when my
youngest child was waking up at ridiculously early hours, we'd
sometimes go grocery shopping at six am on Saturday. Now
I wasn't happy to be up, but it was pretty
nice to shop in a store with more employees than customers.
We were in and out in a jiffy. How do

(05:32):
you make grocery shopping less painful? You can let me
know at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

(05:54):
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.
That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

(06:16):
is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.