There's Gotta Be a Better Way
Ok, so I stole the infamous line from Donny Deutsch himself, but there REALLY has to be a better way to...food shop.I just can't bear it. In this modern day and age, where time is so limited, who has the patience to get to the supermarket, traipse up and down aisle after aisle, picking and choosing your products (step 1). Trying to place them just so in your cart to make the most of the space one has (forget it if you have one or more children with you!) (step 2). Finally after an hour or so picking the food and items out, placing them in the cart, we now have to load it onto that dirty and yucky belt (step 3). Watching as each item is scanned appropriately through the electric scanner. Ugh...I have so much produce, which adds another 5 minutes onto the process. Finding the sticker with the code. Right, it's not there on most. So the high schooler needs to thumb through the book to find the proper barcode information.
I try and watch the dollar amount on the screen, because I know they are screwing me out of some type of sale that they've advertised. But I simply can't do that because I want to pack my bags, because if I don't than you know they'll either be too heavy or not heavy enough so that unpacking at the house is even more torturous.
The scanning is all done. Step 4...Now the hurry up and pack the rest of the item phase comes in. The scanner person starts trying to help me finish the bags, but with my OCD issues, I simply can't have it. She's messing up my whole process.
I pay the girl, of course an inordinate amount of money since everything in the economy is out of control. Pack the bags way above and beyond the means of the cart and start pushing to my car.
KEEP READING
Now is the unload: Step 5 - arranging the bags appropriately in the car so that not every items spills out on the drive home.
Now I'm home: Step 6 - carrying the bags in through the garage to the kitchen. Placing the bags on the floor. Back out to the car to get more. Back into the house. Back out to the car. Back into the house. Back out to the car. Back into the house. WHEW. Done with that.
Step 7 - unpacking the groceries.
Step 8 - making room in the cabinets, pantry and refrigerator. Throwing out old items to make room for the new.
Step 9 - look at the receipt. DAMN! I knew it - I didn't get the sale price for those Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs!
Step 10 - Sit down and stir about what a miserable time that was and relish in the fact that it has to be done again next week.
And mind you - this was one of the more enjoyable supermarket experiences because I was able to go by myself. When you throw kids into the mix of the shopping excursion, well, simply add another 20 steps or so!
THERE'S GOTTA BE A BETTER WAY!!
Does everyone feel this way or am I just so challenged for time and energy that the thought of grocery shopping is by far the bane of my existence. Perhaps it's because I'm such a believer in the technology revolution that I know there has to be a better way than this. Someone please create it. Whether it's a handheld scanner device so that you place the items in your basket once and pay with your 'speed pass' key chain at the end. Something.
We are lucky enough where I live to have a service called Peapod. Now this is through my grocery store Stop & Shop and it is by far the best idea since the internet. You go onto peapod.com and shop. Check out with your credit card, decide on your delivery time and day and poof - the grocery man comes to deliver it all to your house. This has been my saving grace. Not my husband's however. The cantelope is apparently not ripe enough, the grapes are brown and the meat, not as lean as he'd like. But I'm sorry...DEAL WITH IT. It saved me about an hour and a half of my life and enabled me to multi-task while I food shopped. Now that's a better way. But I'm still convinced that people need to shop in food stores and there has to be some type of technology to assist in the process. Let me know when it comes out - because I will be the first person online to buy it!
What are your thoughts on food shopping? I'd love to know!
Now I'm home: Step 6 - carrying the bags in through the garage to the kitchen. Placing the bags on the floor. Back out to the car to get more. Back into the house. Back out to the car. Back into the house. Back out to the car. Back into the house. WHEW. Done with that.
Step 7 - unpacking the groceries.
Step 8 - making room in the cabinets, pantry and refrigerator. Throwing out old items to make room for the new.
Step 9 - look at the receipt. DAMN! I knew it - I didn't get the sale price for those Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs!
Step 10 - Sit down and stir about what a miserable time that was and relish in the fact that it has to be done again next week.
And mind you - this was one of the more enjoyable supermarket experiences because I was able to go by myself. When you throw kids into the mix of the shopping excursion, well, simply add another 20 steps or so!
THERE'S GOTTA BE A BETTER WAY!!
Does everyone feel this way or am I just so challenged for time and energy that the thought of grocery shopping is by far the bane of my existence. Perhaps it's because I'm such a believer in the technology revolution that I know there has to be a better way than this. Someone please create it. Whether it's a handheld scanner device so that you place the items in your basket once and pay with your 'speed pass' key chain at the end. Something.
We are lucky enough where I live to have a service called Peapod. Now this is through my grocery store Stop & Shop and it is by far the best idea since the internet. You go onto peapod.com and shop. Check out with your credit card, decide on your delivery time and day and poof - the grocery man comes to deliver it all to your house. This has been my saving grace. Not my husband's however. The cantelope is apparently not ripe enough, the grapes are brown and the meat, not as lean as he'd like. But I'm sorry...DEAL WITH IT. It saved me about an hour and a half of my life and enabled me to multi-task while I food shopped. Now that's a better way. But I'm still convinced that people need to shop in food stores and there has to be some type of technology to assist in the process. Let me know when it comes out - because I will be the first person online to buy it!
What are your thoughts on food shopping? I'd love to know!
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I totally agree with you about shopping. I have three boys still at home and both my husband and I work full time. I don't have time to shop!
To get around this I order my groceries online through Albertsons. It is so fast and easy! I just created a master list (ok so this part takes a while) but after that each time you shop you just check the box next to the item you want and how many, and poof! It adds it to your cart. If you order by 9pm today you can have it delivered as early as tomorrow morning and you can pick your delivery time. I like to have mine delivered while I'm at work, but after the boys get home from school, that way they can put everything away and when I get home I have groceries!
It costs very little and it is so worth it! The best part is that they send you the best produce, the best meat, etc. They don't want to send you crap, they actually have people who know what they are doing! I have yet to be disappointed!!
There is also an option to pick up your groceries for an even smaller cost. You can order online and have it ready at a certain time, then you pick which location you want and you can pick it up. It will be all ready for you and they will even put it in your car! You should see the people in the check out lines look at me in amazement when I walk up to the service counter and ask for my groceries and walk out five minutes later.
I would recommend it whereever it's available!!
I totally agree with you about shopping. I have three boys still at home and both my husband and I work full time. I don't have time to shop!
To get around this I order my groceries online through Albertsons. It is so fast and easy! I just created a master list (ok so this part takes a while) but after that each time you shop you just check the box next to the item you want and how many, and poof! It adds it to your cart. If you order by 9pm today you can have it delivered as early as tomorrow morning and you can pick your delivery time. I like to have mine delivered while I'm at work, but after the boys get home from school, that way they can put everything away and when I get home I have groceries!
It costs very little and it is so worth it! The best part is that they send you the best produce, the best meat, etc. They don't want to send you crap, they actually have people who know what they are doing! I have yet to be disappointed!!
There is also an option to pick up your groceries for an even smaller cost. You can order online and have it ready at a certain time, then you pick which location you want and you can pick it up. It will be all ready for you and they will even put it in your car! You should see the people in the check out lines look at me in amazement when I walk up to the service counter and ask for my groceries and walk out five minutes later.
I would recommend it whereever it's available!!