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Original poster

Does anybody food shop daily?

51 replies

Ragevibration · 23/01/2019 10:39

Or am I bonkers? We do an online shop on a Ssturday to collect on Sunday for the week. Inevitably still end up going to the shops a couple of times in between for top ups.

Thing is, we seem to be wasting a lot. Things going out of day before we have realised (last week the whole 1kg of mince went out of date by the Tuesday) or us deciding we don't fancy any of the stuff we have bought for tea and either going to the shop for something else or ordering in.

In fed up of it. So I have suggested one of us (whichever one it is easiest for - usually DP to be fair as he finishes earlier than me) going to the shop every day to pick something up for tea and lunch the next day. No waste because we will only buy what we need to eat there and then and it'll always be something we're in the mood for.

OK yes it is a total Pita going to the shop every day but it only takes 10 minutes and lidl is just 5 minutes down the road.

Is this a good idea or completely terrible?

OP posts:
SnowsInWater · 23/01/2019 10:45

It sounds like a plan that would suit your family. I hate food waste so if you think this will eliminate it go for it.

catlovingdoctor · 23/01/2019 10:46

I think it’s a good idea if you can manage to go to the shop every day. The only thing is when you’re busy/stressed/poorly and on top of everything have to go and get food for dinner.
I’m similar; I don’t always fancy what I’ve bought so usually find it’s best to only buy food for a day or two at a time.

GlossyTaco · 23/01/2019 10:46

Do you meal plan? This may sound twee but we meal plan , shop online for the week then write our menu on a note pad on the fridge. We do probably two top up shops per week consisting of bread and fresh milk for our toddler.

Going out to the shop every day is terribly expensive , could you try the above instead?

Oblomov19 · 23/01/2019 10:52

I do an online shop every other week.
I hate also frequently popping to the shops. But I do. I end up going into sainsbury or Aldi, once or twice a week, after work before I get Ds2 from school. I hate it.

But I dont waste food. I would have popped the mince in the freezer. Better still, more likely I'd have made mince: tinned tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce etc, then bagged it into 2 huge portions, in the freezer, so that over the next month, I could pull it out one morning and have an easy spag Bol for dinner that night. And a spare bag to repeat that.

Why didn't you do that? Throwing it is incredibly wasteful.

Fairylea · 23/01/2019 10:55

I shop like this most of the time. I am a sahm and find it gives me something to do and get out of the house for (I walk there and back, it’s quite a long walk to the nearest shops). We do buy some stuff in a larger shop once a week - toilet rolls, cleaning stuff etc. The only thing I’ve found is that if we have a bout of illness or some sort of emergency it’s a struggle to find anything to keep us going for a couple of days!

Fazackerley · 23/01/2019 10:56

Yes I shop most days. I try and miss a day every now and again (eg I shop for the weekend on Fridays), but it works for us and we have very little waste.

Doyoumind · 23/01/2019 10:59

I think it will end up costing you more in the long run and become a chore. It makes more sense to meal plan. The problem with ordering shopping is you don't get the pick up items with the longest best before date.

BarbaraofSevillle · 23/01/2019 11:04

If you have a Lidl close by, it does sound like it could work for you. Or you could aim to do it every other day. That should solve the problem of things going off. Also make sure you look at dates in the shop and when you put them in your fridge. Don't put mince at the back if it goes out of date in a couple of days.

Shopping once a week doesn't work for a lot of people and to me it seems to be quite a weird thing to do. I do it randomly, and it probably averages two or three times a week, but I pass many supermarkets on the way home from work so I just pop into whichever one I fancy, depending on what I like from where, or where there is an offer on/what is cheapest.

BarbaraofSevillle · 23/01/2019 11:06

But meal planning is also a chore, especially if your plans change or you can't think what you might want to eat in a few days time.

Shopping daily or every two or three days won't cost more in the long run as long as you aren't wasting food or buying things that never get used.

KateArronax · 23/01/2019 11:07

I've done this for fresh food when my daily routine involved passing shops. So I didn't have to make a special journey which might put me off your plan.

We still did a big shop once a week or fortnight for all the non fresh stuff and heavier stuff.

Try it and see.

Fazackerley · 23/01/2019 11:08

Why on earth would it cost more Confused. It doesn't.

Fazackerley · 23/01/2019 11:09

I mean, buying 12 tins of tomatoes in one go is not cheaper than buying 4 tins 3x a month?

GlossyTaco · 23/01/2019 11:11

It might cost more because many things are cheaper if you buy in bulk , if you meal plan you'll know that the big pack of chicken breasts (cheaper per kg) will be used by Friday.

GlossyTaco · 23/01/2019 11:12

Toilet roll is less per roll if you buy 12.

KateArronax · 23/01/2019 11:13

Perhaps it costs people more if they go in to buy food for one meal then add on lots of extras they wouldn't normally buy?

I was limited by not having a car so I only bought what I could comfortably carry and I find it easier to spot a bargain than I would doing an online shop.

JustanotherCHRISTMASuser01 · 23/01/2019 11:13

I actually found it did cost me more - when i was just getting one basket of goods I seemed to spend more per meal than shopping on a Monday after work for the week I find it easier to split packs of meat etc
on top of that when i go into a supermarket I must be a marketers dream ohh that's new oh it's only a couple of quid ill get 3 then they go into the black hole that is my cupboard for a while until it's out of date then thrown. I must save £15 on that element alone

on top of that I found we ate takeaway more - what we got in the freezer...dunno. I can't be bothered to go to the supermarket... Chinese? rather than we have x y z

Fazackerley · 23/01/2019 11:14

Yes I tend to buy huge packs of toilet roll every now and again.

If chicken breast are cheaper in bulk I buy them and freeze them. I only buy naice chicken which tends to be either a whole chicken (there are 6 of us so we eat a whole one) or small packs of breasts.

Fazackerley · 23/01/2019 11:15

yeah I love a bargain! Hate online shopping, the dates are too short and I nip into to different shops depending on offers.

BarbaraofSevillle · 23/01/2019 11:16

But you can still buy that big pack of chicken breasts and put some in the freezer.

I never do a 'weekly shop'. I shop for the store cupboard and freezer and what I think we'll use in the next few days. I have access to most supermarkets and lists of what we like or is cheapest from certain supermarkets, so I know that if I go in Tesco for example, what I need to stock up on. if anything in the storecupboard gets low, I look online for an offer in that product and do the next shop at that supermarket.

We always have various types of meat in the freezer, herbs and spices, pasta, rice, pulses, tomatoes etc, so generally shopping involves things like bread and milk and whatever bits and pieces to make the store cupboard ingredients into meals.

Original poster
Ragevibration · 23/01/2019 11:19

We do meal plan - we're trying to do slimming world but I find meal planning SUCH A Chore and it takes hours so I end up just being like oh we will have the same things all the time so I cns reorder last weeks shopping and then I'm like if I have to eat chilli one more time I'm going to die.

Whereas this way I could look up a recipie at work make the list and then go to the shop? Cleaning stuff, toilet paper etc I get from home bargains every few weeks anyway.

OP posts:
nocutsnobuttsnococonuts · 23/01/2019 11:20

I too would have frozen the mince.

It could work shopping every day if you are disciplined enough to only buy the stuff you need rather than random extras e.g. chocolate at the till, a couple if scratch cards or a magazine etc.

Personally I do a meal plan but add in meals that are easy for the cba days or when I don't have time to cook properly e.g. pasta/pesto, beans on toast or chicken nuggets and chips. Always have those bits the cupboards.

SlinkyDinkyDoo · 23/01/2019 11:23

Always popping in and out of the shops - not daily though - maybe 3 times a week but I honestly don't mind and prefer it that way as I never know what I want to eat from one day to the next.

Fazackerley · 23/01/2019 11:23

I don't meal plan because I base what dh or I cook on what's left, what we've got or what we fancy.

But I've been shopping and cooking for 25 years so I don't even have to make lists except for Christmas!

bellinibobble · 23/01/2019 11:39

Are you going to go to a big supermarket everyday though? If I did my food shopping every day at one of the many local convenience stores near me it would cost an absolute fortune in comparison.

KateArronax · 23/01/2019 11:41

It sounds like you are at a stage where you want to widen your repertoire.

I could understand, if you expect your partner to be doing the extra trips to the supermarket, that he might object as it is just more hassle if your not the one enthused by trying new recipes!

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