How to Streamline Your Grocery Shopping

Does a simple trip to the store to buy groceries take you all afternoon? I used to feel like I lived at Walmart. But not anymore. Now I have a system and a plan to tackle grocery shopping in the most efficient way possible and I’m ready to help you learn how to streamline your grocery shopping too!

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Once a Month is Enough for Me

drive there and back, but there was also the shopping to do. It was taking up far too much time for us to do it every weekend. After hitting Sam’s Club, Aldi, and Walmart we lost an entire day of our weekend. Eventually this got moved out to every two weeks, which I still found to be too frequent. So we decided to only go grocery shopping once a month. That turned out to be just enough for me.

Unfortunately, it still took us an entire afternoon to do the shopping. When curbside pickup became popular we gave it a try. It was a game changer. We could get the shopping done in about an hour. Although there are still times that the time slots don’t work or I forgot to add something to the order, we have saved a ton of time and money by learning how to streamline our trips. So now, I am going to show you how to streamline your grocery shopping too!

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How to Streamline Your Grocery Shopping Before You Leave the House

Make a meal plan.

Having a meal plan means that you will be intentionally purchasing foods that come together to create meals. If you aren’t sure how to make a meal plan, I can help you there.

Create a shopping list.

Once you’ve got a meal plan, you can start a shopping list. I put everything on the shopping list. Then I go through and shop my own kitchen first. Doing this will help prevent you from buying things just in case and ensures that you have all of the ingredients.

Place a pickup order.

You will save so much time by using curbside pickup. We are willing to pay the extra $4 at Sam’s for curbside because we probably save more than that by not going into the store. We have no self control around snacks or books. Plus it saves us about 45 minutes. That is my number one tip if you are trying to figure out how to streamline your grocery shopping. Let somebody else do it for you.

Eat some food.

Shopping hungry isn’t going to be good for your waistline or your wallet. Or your marriage, you hangry monster. So do everybody a favor and eat some food before you set foot in the store.

Have a gameplan.

Simply knowing how you intend to tackle the shopping trip will help make things run smoother and therefore quicker. If you can, leave the kids at home. If not, make sure they are fed and have been potty. Bring a magnet pad or LCD drawing pad to keep them entertained. Know your budget. Get your coupons organized. Make a grocery list for each store. Group the items on your list like they are in the store.

How to Streamline Your Grocery Shopping At the Store

Choose curbside when possible.

Some stores offer curbside or pick up in store. Always opt for curbside. You don’t have to get everybody out of the car, fight the crowds, or have the temptation from good advertising.

Only go down the aisles on your list.

Only go down the aisles that you need to go down. If there isn’t candy on the list, then don’t go down the candy aisle. This will save you time, money, and little kid tantrums.

Avoid the middle.

Grocery stores are set up so that you need to pass through as much of the store as possible. This is how they get you to make those impulse buys. Most of that stuff is in the middle. Most ingredients and truly healthy ingredients are on the edges anyway. Meat, milk, eggs, fruits, and veggies are not usually in a center aisle. Do waste your time wandering through those places.

Set an impulse buy limit.

Whether it’s a dollar amount or a number of items, limit the items you purchase on a whim. My mom used to let us each pick out a snack. We tend to stick to one item since neither of us are big spenders. This will save you time wandering around looking for “deals” and sales.

Buy in bulk when possible.

In the last several years, we have started purchasing things in bulk. For example, I buy 6 month’s worth of flour at a time. We only have to buy sugar once a year. Azure Standard is great for bulk purchases. But you could do the same thing at the store. If the cheese you normally buy is on sale, grab a couple extra blocks. You can always freeze it for later. This will save you time down the road.