It's not that I don't try... OH, how I try! I just can't seem to force myself to operate that way unless I really have to. I mean seriously, I'm 46 years old, and I still haven't mastered the basics like (ahem) bedtime!
So when AnExactingLife left a comment in my last grocery shopping post asking how I shopped before this little challenge that I'm undertaking - well, I was stumped!
I guess the simple answer would have to be: haphazardly!
I've never had a "shopping day" or anything like that. I generally shop at one of the two stores that are in walking distance from my house, and to be honest, the timing of my trips is much more likely to be determined by the desire to take a walk than it is by the need for groceries.
I suck at making grocery lists. I do make them on occasion, but usually I'll make the thing, set it down, and then walk out of the house completely forgetting about it. Sigh. I've even been known to put it in my pocket and then forget to look at it once I get to the store!
But what "targeting shopping" I do is generally only for a few crucial items that I'm out of - eggs, onions, or something like that. When I get to the store I'll buy whatever is on sale and/or looks good and fresh - although I do have my moments when I throw caution to the wind and just say, "Oh fuckit! Life's short, I'm getting the $8/pound organic cherries."
I don't buy pre-packaged foods, mostly because of my allergies, but they're also expensive and usually filled with crap. And with the exception of a few things that I make specially for CatMan, I also don't shop with specific recipes in mind. I just buy ingredients that look fresh and good and aren't terribly expensive, and create something from there.
So being organized enough to read the weekly circulars and plan trips to a pile of different stores with specific lists of things to get at each store is... well... it's proving to be a bit of a challenge for me! At the moment I'm still enjoying the project, and the fact that CatMan is injured and we can't go for bike rides means that I've got some extra time on my hands.
I'm also using this as a bit of an excuse to get my old bike fixed up and optimized for errand running, and to get a bit of a biking fix that way. Being on my bike opens up a few stores that I don't generally frequent, so that's adding a fun twist to this whole little experiment.
So that's about all I can say about my shopping "habits!" So how about you? Are you a lover of routine or does it feel like prison to you?
I thrive on order/routines but don't always do them. Since you are self-employed and work at home, it must be extra hard to have specific routines. Also, some of us are wired to be orderly and some of us aren't. Some of us have internal structure and some of us need it imposed from the outside. I certainly see these different examples in my own family.
ReplyDeleteHave fun with your shopping.
I definitely lack the "internal structure" gene! And you're right, working from home has only increased my haphazard tendencies!
DeleteI used to write lists and try to stick to them, but recently I have tried just going to the shops and buying whatever meat, fruit and veggies are cheap, then turning them into meals throughout the week. Since where I live we don't have prices available to us before we go to the shops, this gives me some flexibility.
ReplyDeleteI find I have to stay on top of everything to make sure I eat it before it goes to waste, but shopping this way is saving me money. I do go on one day though, because the only store walking distance is very expensive (except for eggs funnily enough!), and I'm trying to limit use of the car to save money.
Does that mean that in Australia the stores don't send out weekly ads with all of their special deals? A big part of me thinks that's absolutely wonderful because think of the tons of junk mail that are avoided!
DeleteSince I've started this little challenge I've discovered that most of the stores post their specials online as well as sending them out in the circulars. This is helpful so I can know if it's worth going to a particular store or not.
I share your desire to drive less, so I'm trying to plot my trips so that I can have at least 2 stops whenever I have to take the car out. I do have to say, though, that you have to be careful about getting TOO good about driving less - if you don't use the car for at least a 20 minute jaunt each week you tend to wear the battery down - trust me, I know! :-)
I am definitely a creature of habit when it comes to shopping- I don't always make a list though, as there are usually so few things I need from the supermarket that I can just remember. I get pretty much the same order of dairy stuff from the farmer's market each week, and a veg box each week with the same fruit order..
ReplyDeleteI think it is definitely inherited- my dad is a creature of habit, and goes to the supermarket with his list at the same time every week. My parents have a rotating four weekly meal plan. I can't quite manage/be bothered with that level of organisation!
Holy Moly! I'm having a hard time fathoming your parents level of meal planning! I think that would make me psychotic in fairly short order! :-)
DeleteWhile it could get boring, I can see how getting the same order each week would mean you wouldn't have to think about it!
For me, when my time feels limited (like since I had children) I make more of an effort to be organized, because it saves me time. I don't particularly like grocery shopping, so I plan it to get it over with and done. And actually, buying large quantities of items on sale is a way that I spend less time overall shopping. I could buy chicken enough to last for one meal, or I could buy enough to freeze and have it last for 10 meals.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a set day of the week that I shop, with the exception of places that happen to be on my way home on particular days (I stop at one store for milk that is often on markdown, one day a week as it's on my way home from my one day per week job).
As for really sticking with a budget, maybe you don't have the intense need to, at this point in your life. (So be glad for that!) The $8/lb cherries don't feel like they will impact your life. I've got 5 people I'm trying to feed, and our budget is small for a reason. To do all we want to do on a modest income really makes those $8/lb cherries sound expensive for us.
I guess I'm saying is someone like me is highly motivated to figure a way to spend less (which usually involves some organization), but maybe your motivation isn't as strong. This isn't a character thing, but a motivational/need thing. If you really just had $25 in your pocket to buy a week's worth of food, then you'd be more inclined to make the most of it. One week of running out of food 3 days into the week, and you'd find motivation.
Continued good luck with your challenge!
You make an excellent point about my financial flexibility. There have been times in my life when I lived beneath the poverty level, and I'm not that far above it even now! But, I've always had savings to fall back on, so I've never been in the position of living paycheck to paycheck.
DeleteWhen I was young and totally broke, I worked summers at a live-in camp, which was really a great way for a young broke person to build up a savings account. Since all of my living expenses were taken care of, I was able to put all of my earnings into savings to have some flexibility throughout the rest of the year.
As you might guess, I've never been organized enough to have an actual grocery budget. But I guess I've always considered splurges like the $8/pound cherries to be in the "treats" category rather than the "food" one.
My shopping routine is to go whenever I run out of milk. There's not really room for two gallons in there, and it's my most important staple.
ReplyDeleteWhen I notice I'm about out of something I add it to the list on the refrigerator. I keep a bunch of envelopes on a magnetic clip, put the list on the envelope, and put coupons (or parts of ads that I don't want to forget about) inside. I've finally gotten in the habit of remembering my list and my grocery bags.
I like routines as a way to keep up with stuff, but they also need to be flexible. (I learned in college that keeping up with stuff gives me more flexibility. I could go to a party the day before an exam if I had been keeping up with the reading and studying all along.)
Wow... that envelope system sounds very organized! I might try something like that while I'm trying to stick to this challenge.
DeleteAnd you sound like the kind of person I was always jealous of in college. I just found that I wasn't physically capable of keeping on top of all of the reading that was required of me. Being partially dyslexic will do that! But school work also just gave me so much anxiety that I often found it hard to force myself through the anxious feelings until I absolutely HAD to. I'm still trying to figure out how I did so well in school! :-)
FYI, I was physically incapable of all-nighters and other cramming. My brain just turned itself off. I even tried drugs once (cola). During finals, I could only study eight hours a day at the beginning--by the end of the week, my brain was only available for four hours a day.
DeleteAnother thing that helped was that I had nothing much else to do--I didn't bring much with me, and my friends were very studious. "I have to study" was the almighty excuse why they couldn't ever do anything. So, I could study or clean. I did become neater at college. My mom was pretty excited. She asked if I also magically learned to like vegetables. Sadly, no. Just yogurt.
Back to my system--I'm usually in the kitchen when I figure out that I'm running low on something (except toiletries), so that helps, too.
Ha! Well, my technique for getting through college reading assignments was to lock myself in a "study room" which was a windowless room about the size of a closet. I'd put the chair up on the desk and then walk in circles reading out loud to myself. It was the only way I could do it without falling asleep!
DeleteBy senior year I'd totally given up and took only music and art classes. 6 hours in a dark room or in rehearsal beats an hour of reading any day! :-)
We'll have to see how I do with the list on the refrigerator thing. I've tried it before, but still couldn't remember to take the thing with me! Perhaps I should just make up a song with all the things I need to buy - that way I'd be sure to remember it!
Oh, that sounds like an excellent strategy for getting through boring reading.
DeleteMy mom has a list next to her front door of things she often wants to remember to take with her. I can't remember what's on there, but if I had one, it would have purse, glasses, keys, umbrella, and shopping bags and list. Plus other things I would add to it as I learned the hard way!
(I've always kind of wanted to embroider that list, but then it's not so updatable!)
Ha! Now that's an idea for not forgetting things. I think it might be more effective if I just tattooed it on my forehead! :-)
DeleteBut you can't read your own forehead! (Also, it's very easy to go out the door without checking the list. There's no escaping the new-habit thing!)
DeleteWhat? You mean the forehead tattoo doesn't automatically transfer the data to the brain? :-)
DeleteOh, maybe your front door is reflective. Or you have a mirror to check your look on the way out. (I am not that polite to my friends.)
DeleteHa! I'm thinking the mirror on the door for the purpose of reading forehead tattoos has got to be some sort of idiot's feng shui or something like that! :-)
DeleteYou are funny! :) I love your honesty. I typically shop on Tuesdays because (drum roll ... ) it's the day when I can get my 94 cent latte and the latte place is right by Aldi. I DO have a list but I have a family of 4 and if we run out of something crucial I will be stuck with another trip to the grocery store (bleah). I have gotten in the habit during the past year of reading the grocery ads and lining up the best sales but I do admit to the occasional impulse purchase. And I don't really "meal plan" for the week--I have a general idea of a few main meals but sometimes I just wing it with what I have on hand. I'm sort of a non-structured structured person. Too much of either extreme makes me crazy.
ReplyDeleteHa! I love your motivations... cheap latte and the avoidance of more shopping trips! Now those are things I can relate to! :-)
DeleteGood answer :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you approve - I'm sorta imaging that you have a strictly organized system... the kind that puts people like me to shame!
Deletemake that "imagining" - I might be "imaging" too I suppose... because I have an "image" in my "imagination". OK enough word salad...
DeleteI shop much like you but once I get baskets for my bike I'm going to need to make a list. I've tried to stick to a list before, but there's always something that looks more inviting and I never remember light bulbs until I'm home again. Good luck with your new system!
ReplyDeleteI've got some baskets for my old bike - though I need to reattach them. If you're considering buying rear baskets you might want to think about something like these instead: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Jz4f840sc_c/SJ0KJZhJPwI/AAAAAAAAA3c/a70Jj1_L93c/s400/100_2217.JPG
DeleteI've found that the baskets are sort of noisy and cumbersome, and the shopping bags have the added advantage that you just detach them and take them inside, and you've already got your reusable shopping bag built in! Of course, I got my baskets for free on Freecycle, and have been too cheap to go buy the bags! :-)
The other trick I use when I'm going to be carrying my groceries home (either on foot or bike) is to shop with one of those hand held baskets instead of a full grocery cart. That way it's really easy to gauge how much stuff you've got and whether or not you'll be able to carry it! I've found that I can fit about one of those hand baskets full into my rear bike baskets.
And in terms of forgetting things, you can either look on it as a failure, or as an opportunity for another bike ride! :-)
When I biked to the grocery store, I would bring only two bags (the skinny kind), and hook them over the handlebars for the ride home. Probably not the safest arrangement, but since I was borrowing the bike, I didn't want to make changes to it.
ReplyDeleteI used to be someone who looked over the weekly sale ad, made a list, and bought mostly sale items (at a traditional grocery store). Now that I've switched to doing much of my shopping at the farmer's market, I can't shop that way - there are no sales and there's no guarantee I'll find a certain food. Usually I buy whatever looks good that day ;) And I try to get ingredients that I know I'll use that week.
Right now we can afford to shop this way, but it might change if our family grows or our income changes. I wouldn't necessarily deny myself $8/pound for cherries, but I would skip snack foods or expensive cheese to make up the difference. I think you gotta do what works for you since you're the one who actually has to do the shopping! :)
I may have to check out our local farmers markets this year. I've never been to them because they're all far enough away that I'd have to drive - plus they're all SOOOOO early in the morning! I want a farmer's market for lazy night owls! :-)
DeleteI'm much like you as far as that sort of organization goes; usually when I make it to the grocery store, hardware store and such, I'm just going by memory. And it doesn't work all that well. I can testify to that.
ReplyDeleteAn old friend had a good system. He'd keep scratch paper and ink pen on hand at all times. When he thought of an item or a task needed, he'd write it down. He'd stuff the scrap of paper into his shirt pocket and then lay these out on the end of the kitchen counter. At night he'd organize them into the right categories, i.e., items needed, tasks needed, tomorrow, later, etc. Then he'd go about his day following the lists he'd made. He got a lot done and I admired it. Following in his footsteps was less easy, though.
I'm beginning to have some success using a modification of his system. I have a medium sized duffel bag that stays somewhat close to me at all times. It carries items I might need in an ordinary day; deodorant, hats & gloves, raincoat. Stuff like that. One pocket also contains 3 X 5 index cards and ink pens. I try (remembering is the hard part) to clip a pen to the collar of my shirt and slip an index card into a hip pocket at all times. Then I write down things as they occur to me and try to organize them a bit later.
If one can just manage to make sure that he/she has something to write with and on at all times, then progress can be made.
Gosh, that's quite a system! I'm chuckling at the kitchen counter part... this sort of assumes that one has a kitchen counter which isn't covered with dirty dishes, or cat food or what have you... which, I hate to admit, I seldom do. Actually, I'd settle for ANY horizontal surface that was consistently clear. Alas, it would seem the "neat" gene is closely related to the "organized" gene, and I fear I did not inherit either!
DeleteBest of luck with your system. You could try getting one of those pens that hangs from a cord around your neck... like the kind nurses use, or something like that.
My problem (well, one of my many problems!) is that most of my clothes don't have pockets. When I was in college I had to get a key chain that I could wear like a bracelet. The campus security fellow suggested it after I had to call him 6 times in one day (not kidding) because I'd locked myself out AGAIN! Oy!