Food Shopping is an Art

Everyone has to go food shopping. It is something that anyone who runs a household must face. Mastering the art of food shopping isn't any easy task. You go to the store, pick out what you want, pay, and you are done. Right? Sure, food shopping can be simple, if you don't mind going every single day, and don't mind emptying your savings account.

To shop efficiently, takes a lot of effort. More effort than anyone could ever give a person credit for. The shopping adventure begins before you even leave your house. First thing anyone should do is CHECK their own fridge! How many times do you go the store, purchase something, come home and realize...Damn, I already have 3 of those! Secondly, you check all the local circulars to see what specials or coupons are available. (Not Q-pons, I can't stand when people say it that way)  Then plan out what you can cook with the things that are on sale. You make lists of the items you need and the stores with the best prices. At this point you leave your house and finally get to the store. Now this is where strategic navigation of the store begins. At this point, the shopping list mentally gets separated into things that you can put in your cart immediately, and things you should pick up as you are about to exit the supermarket. For example something like cereal can be put in the cart at any time, vs. ice cream which if you decide to put in the cart first will be soup by the time you get home. I try to start over by the fresh vegetable section and end in the freezer/dairy section.

Sales, can be a huge money saver but can be disastrous as well. Just because watermelons are on sale this week, doesn't mean you should buy as many of them as you can possibly fit in your cart. If you purchase things in large quantity's, you might not get to eat all  of the merchandise before it spoils. Only buy what you know you can eat BEFORE it grows some mold.

Once you have checked out of the supermarket, and get home everything must be stored appropriately. It's best to make sure and double check you got everything out of the car, to avoid that "Hmm my car smells funny, I wonder why" a week later when those bananas are rotting in the trunk.

And lastly...If you buy coffee beans at the store, don't forget to ground them, like I did earlier today! Have I food shopped before? Yes of course. But now that I'm doing the food shopping and running a home on a daily basis...there is a lot to learn. I'm sure I will have more epic supermarket failures coming my way.