Looking for shopping hacks

[deena]

We recently added a baby and kids from my previous marriage, going from 3 people to 9, virtually overnight. Needless to say, I'm slammed with the work of it. The non-stop dishes, sweeping, child disagreement mediation, diapers, breastfeeding, you all know the drill. But I've got to say, HANDS DOWN, the chore that is slamming me the hardest is food shopping. I go twice a week, both times a full to over-flowing cart. I don't mind, so much, the frequency, because I like to have fresh fruit in the house. But the fact that it's always an exhausting afternoon affair is so hard. I would love to use a shopping delivery service or maybe add dry goods to our Amazon subscribe and save, but I'm afraid their prices will be far too high. I would love to hear suggestions on how to make this easier. 80% of what I buy is the exact same thing week after week, surely this could be automated somehow?!

[SewingGreenMama]

I would just do Walmart or other grocery store pick up. So you're not walking around the store picking all your items. Even if you do it for all the easier items like butter and milk and then you run in and pick out your own produce and the shopping trip that could have been to 3 hours is now 30 minutes total

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---------- Post added at 11:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:52 AM ----------

And definitely priced out bulk. It is expensive upfront but you do a little bit at a time this week you buy two weeks worth of rice and the next week you still by your wait is worth of rice even though you have an extra week at home and then when you have a little extra money again you buy two weeks worth of rice and then you always have two weeks worth of rice in the pantry so that you get sick, can't go to the store for a week, or the bank messes up and you don't get your whole check when week or whatever it happens to be you have that little bit of space.
And you do that a little at a time I would do it with beans and rice personally because we eat beans and rice and it's a really cheap meal so it is also cheaper to buy extra of. And just slowly go from there. But be careful to buy extra of what you will actually eat and use as a family and not just because it's cheap or on sale..

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[passthemanna]

first- I'm happy to hear your children have been reunited with you! I use Imperfect Foods for food delivery. You fill your cart once a week. Lots of produce choices. They deliver. They recycle the cold bags and icepacks if you leave them out. In my area, there are gluten free and other specialty pantry items available. Some items can be more expensive than the grocery store, but it's really not bad. In addition to the convenience, I feel like I am reducing my plastic use a lot.
I don't have any grocery store delivery options where we are. My sister loves combining Ibotta coupons with walmart delivery. I like to use fred meyer and target grocery pickup. fred meyer also has great deals for shipping dry goods. I've gotten tons of rebates combining ibotta with online shopping.You can usually just duplicate previous orders pretty easily. I think Imperfect has an option to repeat orders.

[Maedchen]

Curbside pickup is a great thing for those with little energy to go through the store.

Here in my area you can have curbside pick up from WalMart, Dollar General, Big Lots (they have great deals on even some GF items in the pantry. I get Maple syrup in the 32 oz bottle for about $14 but sometimes when in the store I can find it for $10. They also have a huge bag of Himalayan Pink Salt for either $4 or $5.) Those are curbside, so you can shop at home.

Walmart will even ship to your home free if you spend so much money on an order or if it isn't available for curbside when you place your curbside order.

I have started looking at the weekly specials for WalGreens and have them deliver for free. (Coffee for $5 a can on our brand, so I have it shipped.)


Vitacost has the private label for Kroger and they are very reasonable (If you join their free email sales, they send you coupon codes for so much off a month. THey have even had the sale apply to the private label lately.) If you spend at least $49, you get free shipping to your door.

If you join the free emails of WalGreens, BigLots and Dollar General, they have digital coupons and sometimes send you coupon codes that can be applied to your order.

Check your Ethnic grocery stores in your area for cheaper prices. I have found that the local India Grocery store has great prices on my rice and rice flour. Their spices are great also. My Mediterranean grocery store sell fantastic meat at really good prices. I can get a gallon of olive oil for about $30 from them as well.

There is a place online that you can purchase in bulk. Bulkfoods.com and if you spend about $75, I think they charge $5 shipping. They have flours, grains, legumes, baking supplies even candy and some powdered health items.

There is a food delivery that you buy in bulk, but the name escapes me now. It is organic foods that you can go to a drop site and get in your area (possibly)

---------- Post added at 12:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:21 PM ----------

One other thing I just remembered which is a huge help to me because our Whole Foods is about a 40 trip because of traffic and very difficult for me to do energy wise.

If you are a member of Amazon Prime and have a Whole Foods 'near' you. You might have the option for delivery.......which is available and you add a tip. You go to Amazon Prime and then click on the Whole Foods portal. You can shop their weekly sales, and they even deliver frozen, sea food that is fresh and all over items in a normal grocery store.

I have used this way of shopping several times now and have been very pleased. My sea food arrived chilled and I just had them do delivery to the porch so no contact. They texted me when the shop started and when they were on their way and finally when it arrived on the porch.

[ECingMama]

Your children

[Lady Grey]

I would do Walmart pickup orders and use a smaller store in between for getting more produce. Sam's Club also does curbside if that is an option for you.


You can also order a lot of household goods and non-perishables on Walmart.com - they have two day shipping if you spend $35 but for me lately most of it shows up the next morning via their local delivery service. I think prices for a lot of things it works out better than Subscribe and Save, plus you are not bound by a monthly shipping date.

[RealLifeMama]

Yep, wal-mart pickup.
I don't shop at wal-mart much, but their grocery pick up and ordering in by far the easiest and best. You can even pick acceptable substitutions for OOS items while you are ordering, which is so much better than not getting an item at all.
Sometimes, they sub something and give me the more expensive version for the price I ordered if it is OOS.
And, you can toss in the occasional random, non grocery item, like a laundry basket or school supplies.
The other thing I like is that when you search for an item, like "pancake mix" it puts the ones that you have ordered before at the top and they say "previously purchased." so ordering groceries is really quick.

[Soliloquy]

I'm so happy all your children are with you!


Walmart grocery pickup is fantastic. Other stores have it, too, but it's not as seamless.



I hate shopping, I'm so drained afterward. When I do prefer pickup, it's glorious.

[Quiteria]

I like Aldi's for paring down the food shopping. Most foods have only one brand choice, and they've eliminated most artificial colors and preservatives, so there's very little decision-making or label reading.

When I go in person, I think about what I need by aisle while I'm driving there. I make ONE pass through the store, up and down the aisles in order, and if I forget anything, we can live without it until next week. I can get an overflowing cart there for less than a half-cart anywhere else.

To make it easier, some people type up a checklist of the most common items, again by aisle. So, like: apples, bananas, salad from the produce aisle; milk, cheese, eggs from the dairy wall, etc. That helps for being able to build a grocery list faster when most of it is the same as last time.

There are some free phone apps that will hold repeating grocery lists by department like that, but it takes a bit of work to get things added to begin with, so I haven't figured out which ones actually save time.

The online prices for Aldi pickup are still cheap, and WalMart's. Our local grocery store upcharges on each item, but I don't think Aldi and WalMart do. WalMart just has a minimum order of $35 in groceries to avoid a fee, and Aldi has a flat fee of $2/trip or $10/mo, but their prices are low enough that I'm saving more than that on any trip. ETA: The Aldi pickup orders have you pick substitutions for things that are running low, and they send automated texts while the shopper is getting your stuff, so you can reply if they make a substitution on the fly that you don't like.

[marbles]

Kroger also has free pickup on orders over a certain amount, like $35 or maybe $50 now. My frequently bought items are remembered so I can just check them off. They don't let you pick substitutions, you can not allow them but otherwise they will pick the better item or the closest sub.

[tempus vernum]

Delighted to read this and praying.

I don’t grocery shop (DH does) so I cannot help but was beyond moved to hear you have your babies back

[RiverRock]

Would minimizing your list help? One large family I know of has really simple meals. An example would be a big pot of spaghetti sauce and noodles. That's it! I personally would have a hard time with just that and want to add at least baby carrots and sliced cucumbers but something can be said for simplicity. I find putting groceries away to be very tiring, so to have less to put away would be lovely.

Shelf stable staples is also a good idea. Think of what can be served over rice or noodles. If you have freezer space you can buy a bulk bag of ciabatta buns and have pizza buns or cheese buns.

I would tackle the issue thinking of fewer ingredients, less prep needed, and fewer dishes. Grocery shopping is only part of what is taking time and energy when it comes to feeding a large family.

[Close2MyHeart]

Excited for you!! Shopping is overwhelming sometimes for our family and TBH, we're not super organized with it. We buy meat from a family member and fill our freezers during butchering season. We have staples on hand all the time: pasta, rice, baking goods, etc. We always have back up in the basement. Once the items from the basement come upstairs, we put them on the list to buy next time we're in town. That way we don't run out. We do bulk shopping at Costco and get fresh fruits and veggies from the local market. We combine shopping with kid activities... so if one is at ballet, we run to the store to grab what we need while they're in class.

I've heard the To Go options are good, but I always worry they won't pick the freshest things.

[deena]

You guys are so kind with all the love regarding the kiddos. I need to write a full update for you. As for the groceries, I'm working on a big Walmart pick-up order for dry goods and clearing out a space in the basement for them. I'm excited to see if this makes it more manageable for me.

[KarenBoo]

I am so happy for you to have your kids!!!!