Saturday, September 3, 2011
Grocery shopping
Just curious today....when do you do your grocery shopping?
I used to get up bright and early on Saturday and get it done. Sometimes grocery shopping involves two grocery stores and I would not get home until almost lunch time. It took a lot of my day and the worst part was when I got home, the house was usually a mess because no one did anything while I was gone. So then, I was faced with groceries to put away and a mess to clean, or direct the cleaning of. It wasn't a good start to the weekend.
Lately I have been shopping on Friday night. During the fall, or more specifically high school football season, Doug and at least one of the boys take off on Friday evening to a game. That leaves Faith and I to head to the store, which is o.k., but still not great. On Friday evening, I'm pretty wiped out, and I could find about 600 things I'd rather do that grocery shop, followed by unloading and putting groceries away.
But that really is the crux of my problem, at any given time I can find 600 things I'd rather do that grocery shop. I just don't like grocery shopping.
So, my question is, when do you do it? How do you make it a more enjoyable task, or is that just not possible?
;-)
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12 comments:
I shop every other Saturday (pay day week) This is my off Saturday and I'm enjoying not having to go anywhere!!
My shopping includes Sam's Club and Wal-Mart for groceries. I try to do Sam's Club on Friday evenings or sometime on Friday. If I go during the day, that means I bring all the kiddos and they love to go for lunch, which only costs around $11 to feed everyone there. It's quite a deal!! But it takes a long time and I just want to go and get it done! Along with lunch, comes potty, add another 15 to 20 minutes and by that time, the little one is ready for nap and not very pleasant to shop with.....even with all the samples they have on Fridays...which also add lots of time to the whole trip, but the kiddos love the demos, so it makes it fun for them.
If I go on Friday night, There are no demos and we've already eaten, so I bring one or 2 kiddos and can get it done in about 45 minutes, not including drive time and unloading into and out of the van and putting away.
Grocery shopping, I always want to get up early and go early, but it never happens, I get sucked in and have a million things to do for everyone, so I never leave before lunch. I take one and sometimes 2 kiddos with me (it's Saturday, so daddy is with the rest) and we go for lunch, usually subway or Arbys and then shop, they help cross off things and I let them look at what they want to look at before we get down to business (Barbies or Legos)
It becomes a nice time for the kiddo that comes with me....kind of, but from start to finish, it's about 3 hours. (including drive time, lunch, potty breaks, and unloading---well, unloading might add another 1/2 hour) -That's if there's no other extra stops, like the Catholic store to get Scapulars, or something like that.
SO,
No it's not fun for the mama. It's a lot of work. It's worse when I'm pregnant, I always feel contractions while pushing that big cart!!
I'm exhausted afterward and it's a long day for daddy home with the kiddos.
I also hate it, but try to look at it as some time with the kiddos who "get" to go with me. Sometimes they want to and sometimes they don't. My son Loves to go with, if no one else goes with, he enjoys the quiet away from the girls.
(but he also loves time with dad when I take a girl or two with me)
Great question, I'll be back to read your other comments!!
I must add, that I always am working on my 2 week grocery list on the morning before I leave too. picking which meals from my master list and cookbooks. It adds to the loooooong day of shopping!!
I get to Walmart about once every 6 weeks and to Costco about 1-2 times a year. I've been shopping this way since I took care of my parents who both had Alzheimer's.
I HATE, loath and detest grocery shopping, so I do it at night if I'm going to Walmart, about 10:30 or 11pm, so I check out before they shut down the registers for count out at midnight. I have to drive 40 miles to Walmart and 100 miles to Costco. We have a tiny grocery near that carries expensive limited things & where I generally go once every 2 weeks to get some extra produce.
It's not easy living in the middle of the desert!
We stop in and out when we need to. I do a big-haul shop about once a month, usually on the weekend when my husband can watch the kids! Hope you're well. Stopping in after several quiet months over at my blog! But there was a good reason!
During summer vacation, I shop on whatever weekday I can manage to arrange for Middle Sister to watch Little Brother so I don't have to take him with me! It often worked out to be Thursdays this summer, which was good, because our store often features "4-day deals" that run Wed. through Sat.
I love grocery shopping and like to take my time about it. With an organized list and coupons ready ahead of time, I can usually shop at a leisurely pace and be at (if not through) the checkout line in an hour.
And yeah, I sing along with the Muzak, because none of my kids are there to be embarrassed when I do :)
Often I just bring in the perishable stuff and leave the rest in the car for kids to bring in after school.
My husband does our grocery shopping. He knows that if I go, it will take longer because I have parent/teacher conferences in the aisles. He is thrifty and rather good at it. He enjoys running into people we know. When they ask, "Where's Angie?" he always says I am grading papers! It's true. I usually am! Gotta love the man!
I usually head to the grocery store when the milk runs out - somewhere between 4 days and a week generally. (And that is buying 3 gallons at a time!) But I try to keep it basic and only get what we absolutely need (usually fresh fruit and veggies, milk, coffee creamer, and another misc item or two that I need for cooking). But keep in mind, the closest grocery store (Dillons for us – called Kroger for the rest of the world) is three blocks from my house so it is no big deal to just pop in for a quick stop. In fact I often make it in and out and back home within 30 minutes - even when toting kids! Now that they have fun kids carts (with a little car for two kiddos to ride on in front) I don’t mind taking them. Although I tend to go in the morning on a week day when the older three have school/preschool so it is just me and the baby.
I do a "stocking up" shopping day about once a month. (Less often if I can help it – this is my least favorite shopping as I ALWAYS forget something or second-guess myself on a deal, or do we need this much of that item now, etc) I do not bring any children on this visit as they would slow me down or take up precious cart space. Sometimes I do this at Dillons (although the prices of some things are higher) - otherwise it is Wal-mart, but I REALLY dislike Wal-mart here. It takes FOREVER to get there (ok all of 10 min, but I'm spoiled with the 3 blocks to Dillons) and you have to walk 6 miles just to get in and then the produce is yucky and the fruit is bruised and. . . Often I think it is just not worth it to save a few dollars here or there. But my mood changes periodically.
So there you have it. All I can say is. . . I miss the milk man days :)
I am in the process of readjusting my shopping schedule right now. I have a part-time job for the first time in seven years. Goodbye shopping on Thursday afternoons when the stores are empty. Since we homeschool, all of my daytime hours are filled with school, housework, meals and real work. I shopped yesterday (Saturday) and eeks what a crowd. I do three stores each week: the retail grocery where I get things on a great sale and things I can't get elsewhere. Then the discount grocery (Aldi) where I do about 60% of my shopping. Finally, the local produce/deli/meat market. Superior produce and the lowest deli and meat prices. About once a month I drive to the next county to the warehouse club store (BJ's). I am not liking shifting this all to Saturday. But, at night I am tired. Plus I don't feel safe in parking lots in the dark. And I try very hard not to shop on the Lord's Day.
Ugh, I really, really dislike getting groceries. I too used to get up very early on Sat. morning to get groceries, but I really like having a morning at home that I don't have to get up and get going for the day. I started going through the week so I didn't have it as a weekend task, but taking 6 kids 10 and under to the store just isn't fun. Normally they are well behaved, but I just can't think straight trying to get everything on my list as well as answer endless questions etc. Now, I have been going on Sunday after early mass. Next week the kids start religious ed so my dh and I will run to the store and get the job done while they are in class. I hope it works out good.
Thanks for this post! I am trying to figure out the best way for our family of 7 and it's helpful to read what everyone has written. Currently I shop every 2 weeks at a minimum for our planned meals. My husband works midnights, so if we need something in between like milk or produce, I have him stop by the store on the way home.
...uhm
How much will everyone hate me if I say my husband does most of the grocery shopping? I'm not sure how this came about or if I'd change it. What's more, if I do go grocery shopping he is usually with me. Not because he insists or anything domineering like that. That's just how it seems to work out for us most of the time.
*stepping away now before someone throws a pie at me* ;)
When my children were at home, I grocery shopped while they were at school. I did it once every two weeks and it would take the better part of the day.
Barbara, you are so organized with your meal planning, I don't think it would be difficult to plan two weeks worth of menus ahead. If you need fruit or milk during the week you aren't shopping, you can make a quick stop while you are out doing something else.
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