Want to know how to save time grocery shopping? Here are 9 tips to save time when you grocery shop so you don’t spend all day at the store.

 

Last time on our Podcast or Post, we had discussed how to save money on groceries.

Today we’re continuing on the topic of groceries. But now we’re going to talk about how to save time grocery shopping.

For myself, as a busy mom and stepmom of now 6 kids total, I like to save as much time as possible when it comes to errands and household chores.

And I know I’m not the only one.

You’re probably busy too with family responsibilities or work or other things in life. And no one really wants to spend all day in the grocery store when there’s other things you need or want to do.

So today we’re going to share 9 tips to save time grocery shopping.

 

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✅ Download our free printable Flavorful Meal Plan Guide here. This will help you to meal plan successfully, while saving time and money.

✅ Sign up for Ibotta here to get cash back on groceries, & earn an extra $5 just by submitting your first receipt. (I’ve earned $3700+ in cash back since I’ve started using Ibotta, just buying things we already use.)

✅ Order groceries on Instacart & get $10 off of your first order here. You can order them for either pickup or delivery.

➡ You can now listen to our Podcasts on Spotify & follow us here.

➡ You can set up a Trello account for free here. (I use the free version of the Trello website/app to make my shopping list. And I use it to stay organized in other areas too.)

 

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1.) Check which food items you already have leftover in your fridge, freezer, and pantry.

 

 

Avoiding food waste and not buying items you’re already stocked up on will save you time at the store since you’ll be making less purchases.

As an added bonus, this will also save you money grocery shopping too.

I’ve unfortunately had too many times where I wasted both time and money buying things I already had. So hopefully others can learn from my mistakes.

 

2.) Meal plan in advance.

 

 

Before you go shopping, plan out what meals you’re going to make.

You want the meals you make and the food you buy to last you until your next shopping trip after this one. 

By planning out what meals you’ll make, you’ll save time when it’s time to cook.

But you’ll also save time and money grocery shopping, because you won’t be buying things that you don’t need for your current meal plans, (other than staples that you keep on hand.)

 

3.) Make a shopping list of staples & household items you need, along with any ingredients for the meals you plan to make.

 

 

Using a shopping list will help you to avoid wasting time and money once you’re at the grocery store, because you’ll know exactly what you need to get.

You won’t need to stop and think about what you need or worry about forgetting something important, only to have to make an extra wasted trip to the store to get something you missed.

For myself, I use an electronic list on my phone, either on a notes app on or on Trello, the latter of which is an organization site/app I use for a lot of different things that allows you to make notes and checklists. (And I just use the free version of Trello, personally.)

If you handwrite out your shopping list, just be sure to bring it with you. I very rarely forget my phone, but I have been known to lose or forget a handwritten list.

So that’s why I switched to doing it electronically. I’ve only ever had a problem one time with something getting messed up with the app I was using, versus losing or forgetting a physical list multiple times.

But use whatever type of list works best for you and how you function and think.

 

4.) Organize your shopping list by store & list items in the order of where they are in the store.

 

 

If you plan on shopping at more than one store, make a separate grocery list for each store you plan on getting groceries at. 

It’s also smart to organize your list by writing items in the order you’ll go through the store.

This will help you to save time while you’re in the store. You’ll be able to avoid backtracking or having to scan your entire list multiple times. 

If you aren’t yet familiar with where all the items are in the store exactly, at least try to group them in the same categories. For instance, list all the frozen items together, all the pantry items together, non-food items together, and so on.

 

5.) When grocery shopping in-store, go at a time of day that’s less busy.

 

 

The time of day that’s less busy may vary depending on the specific store you shop at and where you live.

That said, in general I have found that early mornings and later in the evenings/at night are the times of day that are the least busy at most grocery stores.

When I go shopping at these times, I generally cut my shopping time in half, versus if I were to go shopping at other times of the day, such as lunch time or 3pm. 

At times when there’s less people in the store, you can move through the aisles faster without needing to wait for too many other people around you that may be shopping in the same section. 

And you’ll be able to check out faster when there are either no lines or shorter lines.

As a bonus, I feel more relaxed and less stressed when I shop at times that are less busy too. This is especially helpful to me as a mom. When I have some of my kids with me, it can be stressful being in the store for an extended period of time.

I really don’t want to be in a store too long when I’m shopping with a baby or toddler. At some point they’ll need to be fed or changed or just be ready to go home. So being able to get in and out quicker is helpful.

Note: You want to be safe when it comes to the time of day or night when you’re out and about going grocery shopping. Make sure it’s safe to go to the area you plan to shop at during the time you’re there.

I personally feel safe at the stores I shop at in the evening. But there are other stores in the city where I live that I wouldn’t want to shop alone at during the same time. So it’s just good to take precautions so you stay safe.

 

6.) Order groceries online for pickup or delivery, or have them shipped to you.

 

 

When you order groceries online, you save time from having to shop in-store. 

Even grocery pickup will usually save you time since someone else is doing the shopping for you. All you have to do is pick them up. 

That said, having items delivered or shipped will save even more time since the groceries are brought straight to your home, and you don’t have to leave the house.

I personally have ordered groceries from Walmart for delivery or pickup.

In addition to saving me time, it also saves me money.

I’m able to get cash back on certain offers through Ibotta that I purchase from Walmart, which I would buy anyways. 

✅ You can earn $5 on Ibotta just by signing up and submitting your first receipt.

➡ I have also ordered groceries for pickup or delivery through Instacart.

If you haven’t used it before, you can get $10 off of your first Instacart order through my referral link.

In my area, several of the stores I shop at are on Instacart. But what is available to you may vary depending on where you live.

There may be other stores that aren’t on Instacart, that offer other options to order groceries for pickup or delivery. So you can always look into what’s available to you locally.

 

7.) Go grocery shopping for at least a week or more. 

 

 

The less often you go shopping, the more time you will save, because each trip takes additional planning and time.

If you have a bigger family, you may want to go once a week.

This is what I currently do because we have a family of 8. And a week’s worth of groceries will fill up the cart and our fridge.

When our family was smaller, like 4-6 people, I would shop for 2 weeks at a time.

I’d just make sure that any meals I made the second week used ingredients that wouldn’t spoil in that amount of time. You want to keep in mind that some fresh produce won’t last that long. 

But certain foods can be preserved to last longer. For example, I have often frozen certain vegetables so they wouldn’t go bad before I cook them.

And I actually preferred only shopping every other week. But it’s just more practical now for me to shop weekly because of the amount of food we need.

 

8.) Combine in-person grocery shopping trips with other errands. 

 

 

If you have other errands in the same direction as the grocery store, try combining trips to save time. 

It will also save you gas and money. 

When I have a doctor’s appointment, I’ll often go to a nearby store after. I’ve already driven over to that area and have taken the time to get ready. So why not?

The important thing is to plan ahead before you head out.

I make sure I already have my meal planning and shopping list done for that week before I leave. That way I’m prepared to get everything we need. And I can be in and out of the store in a reasonable amount of time.

 

9.) Check to make sure you have your form(s) of payment, coupons, shopping list, and anything else you need to bring, before you leave for the store.

 

 

As much of a no-brainer as this may seem, sometimes people do forget things. 

We’re all only human, after all. But forgetting any of these things can cost you extra time or money.

As I mentioned earlier, I personally do my shopping list on my phone so I always have it. And I check that I have the money/cards I need in my wallet before leaving the driveway.

The last thing you want is to be checking out with a cart full of groceries only to realize you don’t have your card or cash to purchase them.

And I speak from experience, because that actually did happen to me once. But I learned my lesson, and I’ve never let that happen again since.

So it’s important to make sure you have everything you need. That way you’re prepared to complete your shopping trip when you get to the store.

So those are 9 tips for saving time when you grocery shop. Many of these tips will also save you money too. And as the saying goes, “Time is money.”

✅ To help you with planning meals even more, you can download our free printable Flavorful Meal Plan Guide.

If you download this or are already subscribed to our emails, we’ll notify you when the next Podcast or Post is published.

We also have all of our Podcast episodes on Spotify now. So you can also follow us and listen on there.

Next time on the House Gone Sane Podcast or Post, we’ll be discussing how to save time cooking.

I want to apologize for the delay between this and the last Podcast or Post. I just recently had a baby, so I had to take some time postpartum to focus on her and give myself time to rest up. But I’ll do the best I can to post these as regularly as I can.

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Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

 

 

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