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Maintain a reliable shopping list.

Our theme this month is balance—and a healthy, balanced diet really starts with the choices you make at the grocery store. Here are some tips to take the stress out of your grocery shopping.

Let’s face it, grocery shopping is one of those inescapable tasks we have to face on a routine basis. And it can be a real chore. Most of us want to get into the grocery store and get out as quickly as possible. But shopping quickly and efficiently can be a challenge when you’re trying to keep up with the latest foods or ingredients, and taking the time to read labels. On top of all that, you might be shopping for others in your household who have wildly different tastes or ideas of what they want to eat. No wonder grocery shopping can feel like a burden, not just on your budget but on your time and energy, too.

While grocery shopping may be inescapable, there are ways to make it a little more stress-free. Here are some tips for taking the hassle out of your grocery shopping routine.

10 Tips on Stress-Free Grocery Shopping

Stress-Free Grocery Shopping Starts at Home

• Organize your cupboards, refrigerator and freezer. When your cupboards, refrigerator and freezer are well-organized, it makes it easy to see at a glance what staples you already have on hand, and which ones might be lacking. Take some time to make a place for your staples, and do your best to keep these storage areas well-organized. That way you won’t have to rummage around in order to figure out what you need every time you’re headed to the store.
• Keep a running grocery list. Rather than having to take stock of what you need before your shopping trips, it’s a lot easier to keep a running list at all times. Post it where everyone in the family can see it, and encourage them to write items down as soon they run out (or are close to running out). Some people take pictures of the contents of their cupboards or refrigerators to refer to. That might work, but you’re likely to miss items like cleaning supplies or paper goods.
• Plan meals in advance and make your list. Before you plan your meals, check your refrigerator for foods that you might need to use up. You might search for recipes online to find ways to use up some of these perishables. Try to plan meals that build on each other, where you can prep ingredients for two meals at a time. With fewer ingredients to buy, this will save you time at the store. Once you’ve got your menus planned, check your now well-organized pantry, refrigerator and freezer to see what ingredients you need to buy.
• Organize your list according to the store layout. This isn’t as hard as it sounds, as long as you shop at the same grocery store most of the time. Once you’re familiar with the store layout, you can organize the items on your list according to the route you take as you travel up and down the aisles at your store. If that sounds like too much for you, at least group similar items together on your list (like fresh produce, frozen foods, canned goods, baking items and refrigerated foods). That should help you avoid a lot of backtracking for items once you’re in the store.

Stress-Free Shopping at the Grocery Store

• Make it a regular habit. The whole process of grocery shopping might go faster if you establish a regular time to go, and mark it on your calendar. When you set aside the time you need, you’re less likely to feel rushed. When you grocery shop on the fly, you might not be prepared, you may not have your list or your menus with you, and you’re more likely to forget something you need. And that means you’ll just have to make a return trip to the store.
• Choose the best time for you to go. You might not have the luxury of choosing when to do your shopping, but try to avoid the busiest times. Those are usually evenings and weekend afternoons. Depending on what works with your schedule, midweek is often quieter than weekends and the mornings are usually the least crowded time of all. If at all possible, avoid going grocery shopping when you’re hungry or tired, or during the dinner hour.
• Get to know your grocery store. If you shop at the same store most of the time, you probably know the store layout pretty well. Even stores that are part of the same chain can be laid out differently. So, knowing where items are located in ‘your’ store makes it easier to get in and get out.
• Shop alone or with help? If you have a partner and you’re both on the same page grocery-wise, then it can speed things up if you shop together. You can divide the list and conquer the task much more quickly. On the other hand, if having a partner or kids along who slow you down, or lead you to buy items you don’t want or need, you may be better off shopping by yourself so you can get in and get out.
• Choose the shortest line. This sounds obvious, but lots of people try to second-guess which line will move most quickly. Will it be faster to line up behind the person with more “scannable” packaged items? Will it be slower if the person ahead of you has a lot of items that need to be weighed? Should you always line up behind those with the fewest items in their cart? According to a former high school math teacher who used some sophisticated formulas to answer this very question, the best line—at least 70% of the time—is the shortest one. Even if the shopping carts ahead of you are relatively full. That means that the express line isn’t always faster.
• After you unpack at home, put your clean reusable bags in the car. When the grocery stores in Los Angeles banned single-use plastic bags recently, it took me months to get in the habit of always having my reusable bags handy, and I was constantly having to pay for bags. Now, as soon as I unpack my groceries, I toss any dirty bags into the laundry basket and toss the clean ones in the trunk of my car right away.