Tips for getting in (and out) of the grocery store faster than you ever imagined!

It’s a well known fact that the longer you stay in a grocery store, the more you will spend. Additionally, most people that I know have better things to do with their time than to shop for groceries.

I hate this job and created a system to get me in and out in record time.

Open a text file in Notepad and save it to whatever name you like (mine has the original name of Groceries.txt).

Now make of the categories of food you use ordered by the way you find them at your store. For example, when I walk through my store, I go through produce first, then the deli, and over to fresh meat. Don’t stress if you can’t remember all the categories, aisles or their order. Just do the best you can (you’ll make corrections on this list during your next shopping trip).

Next think of the things you always to have on hand in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer. Type these items under the appropriate category. I like to use notation like this:
[] milk
[] bread
[] cheese
The little check box is made by typing an open bracket followed by a closed bracket.

Once your list is done, print it out before you go to the store. Go through your kitchen and cross out anything that you have on hand. I like to write our week’s menus on the list. If there’s something unusual I need for those menus, I write it in.

When you get to the store, you’ll walk through once picking up what you need. I keep a tally of how much I spent (just rounding up to the nearest dollar) at the top of the list. I broadly overestimate and then there are no surprises when I get to the checkout line.

The first time or two you do this, you’ll probably make a few corrections to the order of the categories on your list and add some items you overlooked. As you cook during the week, you’ll probably find a few more food items you need to add. After a few weeks, you’ll have a complete list that you just print out each week.

Finally, if you can pick a time to go to the store when it isn’t crowded you’ll get out even faster!! I go early in the morning and I can do all our shopping from start to finish in 30 minutes now!

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