Most people perceive grocery shopping as simply something they have to do to stock food in their kitchen pantry and refrigerators. Make a casual list, walk into the store and just start piling in the cart. After being somewhat of a professional grocery shopper for about 8 years now, I developed a system that would get me in and out in the fastest way without forgetting anything and with organized steps along the way. I used to walk in Albertsons 6-7 days a week when I used to do alot of catering and personal chef stuff so I was able to develop this system with lots of practice. Below is an organized and efficient way to minimize the headaches of being in Wal-Mart for a long time.

First thing is to make a list. I would start making a rough draft list 2-3 days before you go. That away as additional needs pop up, you add it to the list until you feel like you covered everything you need for this trip. Looking at expiration dates on perishables can help put something on the list that may surprise you in a couple days….ie bread, milk, sour cream, salad dressings, etc…After you write out the random list, get another grocery list paper thing that you write on. This new paper will be your final grocery list organized in catergories based on items and where they are located in the store. Below is the order I write the list out from top to bottom and acquiring these items in same order.

Taking Wal-Mart for example where we do most of our staple items shopping, I list toiletries and non food items first on the list. They are usually all on the left side of the store. This includes anything that is not a food item…air filters, light bulbs, clothes, stationary, diapers, etc…Stack these in the back of the buggy under the child seat area. The next part of my list is heavy drinks or liquids. When acquiring these items, place towards the front of the buggy. You will be able to place them on the conveyer belt at the check out line first and they will be the first items in your buggy after rung up. This prevents a case of bottled water or laundry detergeant from crushing chips, bread, or other soft items that are already bagged up in the buggy. Next are pantry foods, room temperature items that do not require refrigeration. Keep these items together in the middle of the buggy. The next items to gather are all your cold items. You want to gather these last to minimize the time they are away from refrigerated or freezer conditions. It will also help in the long run if you have other stops prior to going home. These items too need to be kept next to each other in the cart. Last would be your fresh fruits and vegetables. They are not as crucial as keeping cold as the ones before, but you don’t want to damage them being stacked underneath other items.

Upon check out, just like you grouped the different items together, I recommend stacking them on the conveyer belt at the check out line in the same groups.. starting with the heavy liquids and larger items. The cold stuff will all go in the same bag and help keep each item cold. When stacking the fresh fruits and vegetables together, the cashier will be weighing all those items one after another and get in somewhat of a zone….versus having to weigh items every 5 or 6 items she rings up. Believe it or not, this helps the cashier do their job faster.

Lastly, when you get home, your groceries are organized in the white bags in their respective categories to make for easy unloading and storing in pantry, freezer, and fridge.