Grocery Shopping

By far the worst part of going grocery shopping is coming home and putting it all away or maybe having to actually cook dinner with all that food I just bought, surely after all that hard work I deserve a night off? No? Ok.

To make my life easier I have a very specific system, there are those that sort bag by bag and others who take everything out and then sort it and put it away. I do the presorting whilst still at the shops, kind of like folding your washing as you bring it in, something that saves you a little bit of time.

I tend to shop where ever the best deals are, this seems to be my Woolies lately. They have even had name-brand products such as museli bars and cereals on special for the same price or lower than Aldi brand! Take the time to read your catalogues, you will save yourself some serious coin. If the deals are good I will go to Coles, Woolies and Aldi. If you are so inclined meal planning is also really helpful, this way you won't be going back to the shops during the week.

If we can't make it to the Rocklea fresh markets I will try to get some fruit and veg from the little shop near Woolies, they are always friendly and often have good products at fair prices. Just double check each item, sometimes there is a reason the potatoes are 50c per kilo.

Now, back to my system, you need to group your items. I never go to an empty checkout register, this stresses me out as they will bag faster than I can sort. Go to one with someone half way through and pop up your divider. Place all your items on the belt in grouped order, all my pantry items together, then fridge & freezer and finally fresh. I always save my eggs and bread for last so they don't get squashed.

By doing this your lovely checkout assistant will bag like with like, if they start randomly grabbing items ask them super nicely to stick to your system. It is worth it as once you get home and all your bags are in the kitchen you will have items bagged according to their destination. YAY! It is so quick to stand at your pantry and know everything in the bag goes in the pantry! No running back and forth across the kitchen, a big time saver for me as my fridge doesn't actually fit in my kitchen.

Do you have a system? Don't forget to let me know what works for you!