Grocery shopping every week or two weeks can take a big chunk out of your time and can take away from the time you’d rather spend doing something else. The key is to make your grocery shop better and faster—so that you can get the ingredients you need and leave the grocery store with plenty of time to spare.
Make Lists
The first step for a better, faster grocery shop is to go into the grocery store with a list of exactly which ingredients you need for your meals during the week. A great way to put this list together is to leave it on the fridge and add to it when you’ve run out of an ingredient or realize that you might need an ingredient in the future. By the end of the week, you should have a list of exactly what you need so you don’t have to worry about forgetting any ingredients or making multiple trips to the grocery store. Knowing exactly what you need can help you have a better, faster grocery shop because you can just focus on what you need when you’re at the grocery store. Therefore, the chances of taking more time getting distracted or picking up ingredients you don’t need are lowered. If you really want to cut down your times, separate your list into diary, meat, vegetable, cereal and bread sections or separate your list by aisles. This way, you know exactly what you need to get from each section of your grocery store so you can have a better, faster grocery shop.
Avoid Peak Hours
The best times to grocery shop are off peak hours. During peak hours, grocery stores are crowded with long lines which can add to your time. The best way to avoid peak hours is to shop during the week instead of the weekends. This can lead to a better, faster grocery shop and you can have your weekends to rest or spend time with your family.
Collect Coupons
Saving money is a great way to reduce your grocery budget and have a better, faster grocery shop. Before you go grocery shopping, make sure you skim through your local paper and look for coupons for the ingredients that you need. You can use the grocery list you have already made to know exactly which coupons to look out for. This can help you save money and make your grocery shopping more efficient.
Know Your Grocery Store
Although you may need ingredients from different stores, make sure you keep your grocery store consistent. Have you ever shopped at a different grocery store and noticed the amount of time you spend just looking for ingredients? Shopping at one grocery store can help you know exactly where everything is in the store, which can save you time for a better, faster grocery shop.
Choose Your Checkout Lane Wisely
The last time for a better, faster grocery shop is picking out the right checkout lane. This is a key component to cutting your time and having a better, faster grocery shop. Being stuck behind many people with a lot of items can be frustrating and time consuming. Instead, make sure you pick the lane with the least amount of people, regardless of how many items they have. Studies have shown that with each person, more time is added for their payment, greetings and for them to load and unload their groceries on the belt. If you have one person with a lot of items, that will be much faster than standing behind two people with less items. If you are comfortable with self-checkout and the line-ups are shorter, that may be another option for you to have a better, faster grocery shop.