Do you get lost in your grocery store? Criss-crossing from one aisle to another and then backtracking yet again because you can’t find the things on your list?
I ran around my store 2 or 3 times every week until I tried a new method (Yes, I’m still human and miss something now and again…sigh). But my shopping is quicker and more successful when I put my shopping list in the order of the aisles of the store.
Know your store
There are large areas like produce, meat, refrigerated and frozen that you already have in your head. Come on, you walk in that door and, assuming you’ve been in this store before, you know where those things are. But do you then cruise every aisle of the store looking for things on your list? It’d be easier if you knew what was where!
Field trip!
What you need is a research field trip! You can try to do this while you’re shopping, but it’s easier to make one extra trip to get this part down without distraction. (Right about now, even the grocery store is a great outing…just don’t forget your mask! Or maybe you go in and scope out the layout first, then go back for your list and come back in to shop.)
Take a notebook or some paper and write down the order you come to things. For instance, the Kroger closest to me starts with produce, then bread, then meat, then natural foods, then…you get the picture. By the way if you’re not familiar with it, there’s a whole philosophy of shopping around the perimeter for the healthiest foods. So, you should focus on those areas anyway.
But then there are those center aisles…canned goods, boxed food, condiments, pet food, cleaning supplies, and the list goes on. I don’t have pets so why would I go down that aisle? I also eat VERY few processed foods. So, I’d rather not spend time “hunting” for the things I DO use. It’s easier to just know where they are.
After you have the big areas blocked out, list which items on center aisles you use and which aisles they live on. I use some Whole 30 compliant canned goods, broth, oils, coconut milk, pasta sauce, and salsa and then some cleaning supplies. I know where those things are and can skip the majority of the other aisles saving me lots of time!
Putting your shopping list in order
Now you can put your shopping list in the order you’ll come to things. Here’s my list for Aldi. It has all my MUST HAVEs on it and some slots to write in other things.
Every month, I print out 4 and use one each week. I saw at one point recently that Aldi was making their aisles one way to help with social distancing. My special list would have been CRUCIAL then (thankfully it never came to that in my area).
Practice is practical!
It won’t be perfect (certainly not the first time you do it anyway) BUT as you continue to practice putting your list in order, you’ll find it easier and easier to breeze through the store, cheerfully grabbing what you need, and not being distracted by the areas and aisles you don’t need to frequent (this keeps me from craving less healthy things, too).
I’d love to hear how this works for you! WARNING: people in the store may look at you funny as you’re drawing it out. But they’ll get over it and you’ll be the winner when you see how much this helps.
If you live in the Nashville area and are interested in a layout for your store, email me at missmellie@missmelliecooks.com. If I have one, I’ll share it! And if you draw one and want to share, I’d love to see it…please include the store name and address so I can share with others if they ask. We’re in this together!
Check out these resources for creating a better shopping list (and menu plan):
