The Art of Grocery Shopping

What are your helpful hints for navigating the grocery store? My way doesn't seem to be working.

I used to love grocery shopping, but as the years go by I don't find it to be too much fun anymore. I used to stop at different stores for different things based on coupons and sales, but now it's all I can do to drag myself to one store when it comes time for a massive shopping trip.

And maybe that's my first problem. I used to keep up better on what needed to be replenished at home, so that I would only have to run into a store for a few items at a time.

But then, once I started to get tired of shopping, I got into the bad habit of waiting 'til there was NOTHING LEFT TO EAT in my entire house before getting in the car and to a food store.

And by nothing left, I mean the only two things we had left to eat were bread and push-up ices.

So I had the boys each eat a piece of toast before we headed out the door for this giant grocery trip. After all, I didn't want them to go to the store hungry.

So we grabbed two carts and I started off full of good intentions in the produce aisle.

Luckily, Sal, the produce manager at the grocery store I like to go to, greeted me and spouted off what was fresh and what was on sale. That was a good idea...because I totally went on strike from making a shopping list, figuring I needed something from every aisle anyway, so I'd just walk around pulling things off of shelves.

And yes, I know that was a mistake.

By the time I got to the other end of the store (dairy) and had passed by all of the deliciousness that you see when you're hungry and your fridge is empty at home, I had impulse-shopped through just about every aisle. And then wondered why I had put so many produce items in my cart to begin with. (I do this every time. Produce looks so fresh and healthy that I swear I'll get that and nothing else...only to find at the end of the trip that I over-produced and will never use all that stuff before it goes bad!)

We were cranky, the bill was higher than I would have liked, we still had to go through the whole loading up of the car, unloading at home, putting things away, and then cooking something for dinner process....

....and then I realized I had forgotten at least five important items after that whole fiasco. Including milk!

Do you think I have since gone back and gotten those important five things? Nope. Can't stand the thought of going back. So lazy!!!

What are your strategies for shopping?