How do you grocery shop?

[Amber]

I go once a week while DS1 is at youth group. I have about 2hrs to hit Costco and another crocery store. I leave the other kids at home with dh. If I didn't have to pick up DS I would spend longer shopping

[milkmommy]

Major shopping on pay days Thursday's every two weeks. One store I bring a list shop alone when possible. Then sometime before the weekend ill stop by Wal-Mart which is around the corner from our house for some top off stuff or needed household items.

[BriansLovie]

We shop Martin's every Sunday morning.

We shop Whole Foods for some things every two and a half weeks.

Trader Joe's once a month.

We have a produce box delivered weekly.

[bananacake]

How do you get your produce to last for 2 weeks? that was my first thought.

I try to tie grocery shopping to other things. Once a month, I have a meeting on Saturdays in the city, and I hit Whole Foods on the way home. Once every week, I go to Weight Watchers to weigh in, and there's a Market Basket next door. The Trader Joes is next to a mall with an arcade and DH's favorite secondhand store is up the street, so we tie that together.

I wish there was a way we could just go to one store, but that would add about $300/month to our bill because it'd have to be Whole Foods. Trader Joe's isn't close enough to go to regularly. Eggs and meat are the main issue. WF has (by far) the cheapest cage free eggs. They are almost double everywhere else. And we spend $100 a month on eggs from WF. But I get almost everything else at other stores where it's cheaper.

[Chaos Coordinator]

Yeah just using one store would be impossible here.


I could double what I get at Aldi and natural grocers and only go once a month, alternating, and I've considered that, but I'm not sure I have the storage space in my house. Even with two upper cabinets devoted to food, a deep freeze, a side by side fridge, and mil has a mini fridge and a couple big baskets in her room. And on shopping day it's all full to overflowing except the deep freeze. It's about half full though.

[mom23sons]

I buy all my meat in bulk and that is once every month or two. I usually shop at Save a Lot to buy the essentials once/week. Then top off produce and such once/week at another store. Like others have said the kids are older so they stay home and do lessons while I shop. When they were younger though it was hit the store right after breakfast and try to get home get everything put away, lunch and nap for all.

[Chaos Coordinator]

As for produce there is not a lot we can eat in the winter anyway. A big bag of oranges and a few pounds of carrots gets us through.

[bananacake]

Yes, I just remembered you can't eat much raw produce.

[Elibellamiah]

We're pretty random about where we go and when we go. Sometimes I shop at Meijer for hours, sometimes my husband stops at a store on his way home from work. Sometimes I check ads and use coupons, other times I just go wherever I feel like going and have no idea what's on sale. I always avoid taking children which means I usually go out at night. I always bring a list or else I would have no idea what we need, but I usually buy a bunch of things that aren't on the list too. I don't know, it's not helpful, but I'm just adding in what we do.

[Elspeth]

I always have my complete list made before I go, with my meal menu on the list as well for reference and double checking. I don't use grocery stores, really. I used to, but my favorite one (Harris Teeter, they had the best deals and the nicest staff) left our city. So now I either go to Target or Walmart. I prefer Target because it's cleaner and has a Starbucks, especially when I have to take all 4 kids with me. I don't always get coffee, but on rough days, that $3 is worth some sanity to get through the shopping-with-kids.

Sometimes I hit up multiple stores, because if we (me and the kids) are out, then we make a day of it. I try to streamline the stops and make it efficient so I don't have to go into a store with groceries warming up in the car. It's too much hassle for me to go to one store, go home, go back out, repeat. Heck no. If we're going to be out during lunch, we either eat out (we don't have allergies to accommodate anymore) or pack something. Though honestly, I don't pack a lunch very often because if I'm going grocery shopping, chances are that we're out of bread and peanut butter so there's not much to pack for a lunch anyway.

Lately, I've been doing the grocery shopping after DH comes home from work. I take the baby and maybe my 5yo, and it's so much easier and faster.

I really want to check out ordering groceries from Amazon and online shopping through a local grocery store. I think it'd be helpful, at least in my situation.

[Soliloquy]

It helps that I'm pretty far out from many options. Trader Joe's is over an hour away. The Wal-Mart by us has hardly any of the foods we eat. We buy grass-fed beef in bulk for cheaper than Wal-Mart meat. I cancelled my Costco membership because it's over an hour away and I never stayed in budget when I went there. We do have a small, locally owned HFS and I go there for raw milk, as needed, but it's not planned and my dh will often do it as he is the one who drinks milk.

[milkmommy]

Originally Posted by bananacake

How do you get your produce to last for 2 weeks? that was my first thought.

I try to tie grocery shopping to other things. Once a month, I have a meeting on Saturdays in the city, and I hit Whole Foods on the way home. Once every week, I go to Weight Watchers to weigh in, and there's a Market Basket next door. The Trader Joes is next to a mall with an arcade and DH's favorite secondhand store is up the street, so we tie that together.

I wish there was a way we could just go to one store, but that would add about $300/month to our bill because it'd have to be Whole Foods. Trader Joe's isn't close enough to go to regularly. Eggs and meat are the main issue. WF has (by far) the cheapest cage free eggs. They are almost double everywhere else. And we spend $100 a month on eggs from WF. But I get almost everything else at other stores where it's cheaper.

Yea most produce lasts maybe 3 days so does milk and often bread... We do top off trips every few. Days. But tend to just get the above... I do tend to buy like apples onions potAtoes carrots and citrus in bulk which will take us two weeks... or should.
We have limited store choices. No whole foods t.j etc... basically just our local grocery a fry's which prices pretty well and Wal-Mart. I find our fry store a. Overall better quality. Wal-Mart win s in house hold stuff though.

[Sparrow]

I'll tell you how I shopped when the boys were littler because I don't bring them now.


First I'd check the flyer for our main store to see what meat was on sale. I'd meal plan around that. Then I'd look to see what staples needed to be topped up.

Since I only ever shopped at one store I know the layout. I know pasta is aisle 4. So I'd right my list in order.

We'd go after a hearty meal, usually mid morning. Our bakery gives free cookies so we'd stop there. And then I'd move like lightening. Stop at a park on the way home. Unpack while I gave them coveted cheese sticks and tv. Make lunch.


Then we'd go to our green grocers. I'd get our produce and natural meats (they did there're own pepperoni there) sometimes we'd get ice cream after.

Then we go home. Shopping day was kids choice dinner (within reason) as a celebration for making it through the day.



Now though... They don't come, I hardly meal plan on prices since all meat is expensive, I still breeze through the store so I can enjoy a Starbucks before I go home and DH is none the wiser. I mean groceries always take two hours!

[AngelaVA]

Usually I send DH to Costco with a list and then I do the big grocery store on the weekend or evening when he can stay with the kids. We used to do the whole day thing like you are describing but now the kids are older and have HS group, sports ect during the day and they get really mad about missing those things for grocery shopping.

[Elspeth]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Since I only ever shopped at one store I know the layout. I know pasta is aisle 4. So I'd right my list in order.

I thought I was the only one who did that! Yay, I'm not totally weird.