Here’s how to make the most of your next grocery shopping trip! You’re tired after a long day at work, the kids are moaning from the backseat, and you can already envision the line of pre-dinner shoppers swarming the supermarket aisles. Don’t panic! There’s no reason to dread buying groceries if you do some clever planning to be in and out of your local store in a flash.

Make a list

First and foremost, you need to go in prepared. If you don’t know what you are looking for, you will most probably end up ambling down the shopping aisles. Think about what’s needed for dinner, what’s almost empty and what never goes to waste. Jot it all down on a piece of paper or save a list on your phone. Group your items based on their aisles so that you shop quickly and effectively.

Here are great shopping apps to check out:

AnyList
List Ease
Mealime
OurGroceries

Go “10-items-or-less”, if you can

If you only want to pick up a handful of ingredients for tonight’s dinner, try to keep the number of goodies you need to under 10 items. Not only will you be in and out of the store in less time, but you will also get to work your way to the front kiosk where t e line is usually much shorter. 

Divide and conquer

Whether it’s your kids, your partner or a friend, divide the shopping list between everyone who came along and meet up at the till as soon as everyone has the items they were sent to find. They don’t say “more hands make light work” for nothing!

Tip: grab your frozen goods, meats and fish produce last before heading to check out, so they don’t sit in your basket or trolley for the entire shopping process. 

Don’t be afraid to ask

If you are looking for something specific, but can’t seem to find it, ask one of the staff to help you. If it’s an ingredient that you know they usually have, but don’t this time, ask the manager when they will be receiving new stock so that you know when to go back for it. Otherwise, look up a simple substitution and avoid a return trip altogether.