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Curious - how long do you spend in the grocery store?


SKL
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33 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

It would be SO hard to push myself outside the door if I had shopping AND that much driving in one day.  I don't care for either.  Mustering that much will power is a LOT.

DS famously accused me of not buying food because I just buy ingredients. 🤣

It can take me 6-8 months or longer to spend that much at Costco.  I've actually gone in and purchased JUST a rotisserie chicken.  I don't think I've ever used a second cart in my life.  That's some serious next-level shopping.  A friend of mine does this EVERY week.  She hits Costco and BJs weekly.  

I have a shopping center with an Aldi, Trader Joe, and Costco in the same place, so sometimes I drive the entire 3 miles to get there.  It seems so far when my nearest grocery store is a block away, but it's an ethnic market so we can't get everything we want there.  We have changed our cooking somewhat because it's just SO convenient.  DH thinks he can cook everything in a wok anyway. 

A Lidl opened less than a mile from me and the prices are comparable to Aldi, so I've been going there more.  It's also less crowded, but there are just a lot of people here.  It's never as simple of just walking quickly through the store.  You can't really go faster than the person in front of you.  I do really like bagging my own groceries, but that's mostly so I can be lazy when I get home and just not put away the pantry goods until I feel like it.  I swear I need to own a shopping cart.  I could wheel it around the store, into my wheelchair van, then into the house to unload.  I could skip a lot of steps this way.  Hmmmmm . . . is there a private version of the double decker small carts? I love those things.

https://www.amazon.com/Scout-Cart-SCV1-Purpose-Folding/dp/B01H2BLUNA/ref=asc_df_B01H2BLUNA/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198070151435&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5964529267911153421&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032904&hvtargid=pla-351473689635&psc=1

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For awhile, we lived in a town with just one grocery store, and with five kids at home, I went about once/week.  I'd say it took about 45 minutes.  I usually had a good list so was pretty organized ahead of time.  (With several days' of meals planned, etc.)

Now it's just two of us (although we have company often), so I only do a "major" shopping once every 2 or 3 weeks.  It probably takes 30-45 minutes or so, but it's usually not to make a specific meal ~ it's to get day-to-day food that we eat regularly.

That's supplemented with quick trips to our nearby neighborhood grocery store when I realize I need a few ingredients for a specific meal that I don't have -- maybe once/week, sometimes twice/week.  And now that we have a farmers' market a few blocks away, I usually walk there every other Saturday to get fresh produce.

ETA:  Just remembering that when all five kids were home, I used to budget $50/week for groceries.  That didn't include any  household products (like cleaners, shampoos, laundry detergent, etc), or milk and cheese and eggs (which we got from the milkman :)).  In hind site, I have no idea how we got by on so little!  But I did make everything from scratch and we had a lot of beans, homemade bread, and random soups/stews with anything we happened to have on hand, and not much meat.  Now I feel like I spend that much on my quick grocery store runs for very minimal items!

 

 

Edited by J-rap
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In my familiar, smaller grocery store, 20 min. In Wal-Mart, yeah, it could be an hour, between Not knowing where things are and having to go back SO FAR when I forget something,  but I haven’t been in there since the pandemic started. 

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How do you 15 minutes a week people do it? It takes me 20 just to get through produce….bananas, apples, clementines, strawberries, blueberries, lemons, limes, cilantro, onions, garlic, peppers, avocados, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, salad greens, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers…those are just the basics plus whatever I might need for certain recipes.

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2 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

.  DH thinks he can cook everything in a wok anyway. 

 Hmmmmm . . . is there a private version of the double decker small carts? I love those things.

Lots of asians would probably be able to agree with your spouse. 
 

I was eyeing this cart 

https://www.amazon.com/Scout-Cart-SCV1-Purpose-Folding/dp/B01H2BLUNA/

but this is the traditional double basket shopping cart

https://carts4u.com/double-basket-metal-express-shopping-cart-5341

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1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

How do you 15 minutes a week people do it? It takes me 20 just to get through produce….bananas, apples, clementines, strawberries, blueberries, lemons, limes, cilantro, onions, garlic, peppers, avocados, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, salad greens, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers…those are just the basics plus whatever I might need for certain recipes.

We grow almost all of our produce. So I go veggie picking in the veggie patch every day just before cooking

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I did a lot of research at home in between shopping trips.  I was a "strategic" buyer, as one of my kids wouldn't eat much, so I needed to find those few things that were both palatable to her and super healthy.  (Thankfully we didn't have known allergies/intolerances though.)

I really dislike shopping, and I'm a "less is more" consumer, so in and out it was/is.  Early potty training was also helpful in keeping trips short, LOL.

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It could take ten minutes just to get through the checkout queue here on busy days. Typically an hour all up, but I do fruit and veg elsewhere.  If the budget is tight it takes longer because I spend a lot more time comparing prices etc.  I think it probably depends on the size of your store, size of your shop (if I do it all on one place I will fill two trolleys sometimes!) and how busy and navigable your store is. Online shopping takes a while to with internet speeds here but at least I can do it in bits of waiting time.

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5 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

How do you 15 minutes a week people do it? It takes me 20 just to get through produce….bananas, apples, clementines, strawberries, blueberries, lemons, limes, cilantro, onions, garlic, peppers, avocados, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, salad greens, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers…those are just the basics plus whatever I might need for certain recipes.

I live in the very humid South-usually very near rain totals to qualify for temperate rain forest and my house is very hard to dehumidify adequately.  I may need all these things in a week- except peppers, avocados, cilantro, and limes (allergic to limes, cilantro-I never ever use since it taste like soap to me, neither dh nor I like avocados and I don't use any pepper product except paprika- all others are either too bitter and nasty((bell)), or way too spicy for me- I hardly make any saliva and heat is very painful to me).  But I cannot by any berry, except dried or frozen and expect it to last more than maybe if I am super lucky-4 days.  Same with mushrooms. 

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6 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

How do you 15 minutes a week people do it? It takes me 20 just to get through produce….bananas, apples, clementines, strawberries, blueberries, lemons, limes, cilantro, onions, garlic, peppers, avocados, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, salad greens, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers…those are just the basics plus whatever I might need for certain recipes.

Aldi.
1. There is only one kind for each item, so no price comparison, and no decisions between twenty kinds of cornflakes. 2. Store is small with short distances; all produce is in one big display with adjacent boxes, one side is veggies, the other side is fruit. 3. Vegetables are packaged. It takes 5 seconds to put a bag of Fuji apples into my cart or to grab a sack of potatoes.

During the growth season, I get my vegetables (which is the bulk of what we eat) from a farm stand. It takes me between 5 and 10 minutes to select my veggies and pay - everything is out in the open on a big table, and there is no line when I go. 

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8 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

How do you 15 minutes a week people do it? It takes me 20 just to get through produce….bananas, apples, clementines, strawberries, blueberries, lemons, limes, cilantro, onions, garlic, peppers, avocados, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, salad greens, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers…those are just the basics plus whatever I might need for certain recipes.

 

1 hour ago, regentrude said:

Aldi.
1. There is only one kind for each item, so no price comparison, and no decisions between twenty kinds of cornflakes. 2. Store is small with short distances; all produce is in one big display with adjacent boxes, one side is veggies, the other side is fruit. 3. Vegetables are packaged. It takes 5 seconds to put a bag of Fuji apples into my cart or to grab a sack of potatoes.

During the growth season, I get my vegetables (which is the bulk of what we eat) from a farm stand. It takes me between 5 and 10 minutes to select my veggies and pay - everything is out in the open on a big table, and there is no line when I go. 

Yes, it does not take long to buy produce from Aldi's it is already packaged. The store is small, that is one reason I love it.

re: to label reading- 2 of us in my house eat GF- most of the food I buy is naturally gf - produce, meat, dairy, eggs. Then I buy a few gf specific items that are marked (like bread and baking mix) there are very few things to read the label on and I buy the same things quite often

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Pre-Covid, yes, 45 minutes to an hour. At least 10 of those minutes at check out IF I went at a good time.

My regular supermarket is pretty awesome and quite big. Even if I just needed produce, meat, and dairy, it’d take a while to cover that layout, plus check out. They have WAY mor options than, say, Walmart, so you’re walking down a giant aisle to find one out of a billion pastas and another whole aisle to find your preferred garlic bread.  Or spend 10 minutes deciding which of a hundred barbecue sauces looks yummiest or is the cheapest. Very few opportunities to just park a cart and “reach in real quick”. They had excellent design experts in grocery spending, I’m sure!

Before the store expanded, the “traffic” was insane and took me just as long, if not longer, at any time of day.

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2 hours, every other week, shopping for 5 people. I spend 45 minutes at Meijer because invariably i need at least one thing in each corner of the store. Then I go to Aldi and make two trips through the store which takes me about 1¼ hours. I start with produce and dry goods, pay, bag and load into the car. Then I return and do dairy, meat, and frozen. My lists are organized by store and my two week menu is attached in case I need to make changes on the fly. 

 

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So long. We did Walmart curbside for years and I have just given that up and started trying to shop in store. Walmart in store is a no go. The shelves are empty and if you have more items than you can easily do in self checkout you will stand in line so long all your frozen food will melt. 
 

So I am trying two smaller stores (a Pubkix and another local chain). Seems like it should be a quick in and out but it isn’t. So hard to find everything in unfamiliar stores. I end up missing things I need on the first pass and have to backtrack. Then I usually have to go to the other store for what we was missing at the first. 
 

I’m sure this will get better but for the moment it is taking me way too long. Maybe almost an hour in a store for a family of three. I used to get in and out for my family of six faster when I had a familiar store and a good system. 

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I can do a quick shop at Aldi, because there's only one option for a given type of item, it's in the same place, and it's either in stock or it isn't. It's much harder anywhere there are multiple options and sizes because I compare prices. And some things take forever due to needing to check labels. 

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9 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

I want that so bad my teeth hurt, but I want it at 1/3 the price.  😆

I giggled...I'd need five of those little things!

4 hours ago, TravelingChris said:

I live in the very humid South-usually very near rain totals to qualify for temperate rain forest and my house is very hard to dehumidify adequately.  I may need all these things in a week- except peppers, avocados, cilantro, and limes (allergic to limes, cilantro-I never ever use since it taste like soap to me, neither dh nor I like avocados and I don't use any pepper product except paprika- all others are either too bitter and nasty((bell)), or way too spicy for me- I hardly make any saliva and heat is very painful to me).  But I cannot by any berry, except dried or frozen and expect it to last more than maybe if I am super lucky-4 days.  Same with mushrooms. 

Do you live with me, lol? Yes to humidity, yes to produce going bad, and same about bell peppers EXCEPT I now love them roasted/airfried! They have to be cooked to death (most veggies do for me to like them, actually) and then they are sweet instead of bitter and weird! Same with onions - red onion air fried or roasted gets sweet like candy. Raw? NOPE. 

Mushrooms go in the fridge and still go fast - I have to shop twice a week partly due to how quickly things go bad. Berries if not at the peak of the season go bad literally in 24 hours. 

4 hours ago, TravelingChris said:

The only time I ever spend an hour is at Publix if I am also waiting on a prescription or shot.

You know, publix is definitely faster for me than Walmart. But costs more...sigh. Although, I really ought to compare it to delivery, which is what I'm doing now. I found out Kroger will deliver in my area, even though we don't have any Kroger stores (no idea how that works!) and they are my new favorite. And no tips!

2 hours ago, Soror said:

 

Yes, it does not take long to buy produce from Aldi's it is already packaged. The store is small, that is one reason I love it.

 

I'm still picking through to find the best looking grapes/berries/bananas, etc, lol. 

14 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

So long. We did Walmart curbside for years and I have just given that up and started trying to shop in store. Walmart in store is a no go. The shelves are empty and if you have more items than you can easily do in self checkout you will stand in line so long all your frozen food will melt. 
 

So I am trying two smaller stores (a Pubkix and another local chain). Seems like it should be a quick in and out but it isn’t. So hard to find everything in unfamiliar stores. I end up missing things I need on the first pass and have to backtrack. Then I usually have to go to the other store for what we was missing at the first. 

Yup.....same here with frozen stuff melting as I stand in line for forever! I do like the load it yourself bigger self check outs - we have ones with the moving conveyer belt that are just like regular check out, but even then it takes about 10 minutes - I have one overloaded cart or two normally full carts of stuff!

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11 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

 because I just buy ingredients. It can take me 6-8 months or longer to spend that much at Costco.  

I have a shopping center with an Aldi, Trader Joe, and Costco in the same place, so sometimes I drive the entire 3 miles to get there.  

 

  DH thinks he can cook everything in a wok anyway. 

I’ma fan of your DH. Have you ever been to HuHot where they cook everything on that giant circular heated... thing? In my ideal world, that thing lives in my kitchen and I have an endless supply of cut veggies and sliced meat!

 That’s our budget run to Costco - don’t get random things, stay away from clothes, etc. Costco saves us a fortune (and sends me a check for doing so) but is also usually fights for first place with our mortgage payment for biggest expenditure. And, yep, we are a largely ingredients only family... with the exception of Kevin’s!

i like to do Costco. It makes me feel competent. I can’t do it without big kids but I love that I can still contribute in a couple ways. I am incredibly jealous of your location though... here is almost an hour from Costco/TJ. They are close to each other though - win, I guess? But I’d give my right arm if they wold finally build here!

Edited by BlsdMama
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It all depends on if I'm there by myself or with DH, and if I'm shopping for the whole week, or just grabbing something. 

With DH, shopping for the whole week, easily hits an hour. (heck, with DH and shopping for 2 items ends up with a full cart and an hour in the store, so....)

When I'm by myself, even shopping for the week, I'm closer to half an hour in the store (about an hour total door to door, with the drive, etc.). DH always is amazed when I can shop "so fast." 

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3 minutes ago, BlsdMama said:

 

 That’s our budget run to Costco - don’t get random things, stay away from clothes, etc. Costco saves us a fortune (and sends me a check for doing so) but is also usually fights for first place with our mortgage payment for biggest expenditure.

Ugh, our food budget is well over our mortgage now. When DS was diagnosed with celiac we tipped over and then ran past the mortgage amount. Now add delivery fees/tips and it's outrageous. 

With levels dropping again here (Covid) I am going to try to get to the actual store more often, and I paid for a year of free delivery from Kroger, where there are no tips, so hoping that helps. 

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PS, I know you aren't really supposed to do this, but we put all fruits other than bananas in the fridge.  They last so much longer that way.  When we didn't have a curious and naughty puppy, we kept a small assortment out on the counter so we could eat them room temperature.  Eat an orange, replace it with another orange from the fridge.  This allows a lot more flexibility in buying produce.

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I was about a 20 minute shopper back in the day.  I did half have stuff in mind and half have a list.

I have only been in a grocery store a couple times since covid started.  We use mostly a local chain for curbside and it is delightful.  They do a great job with produce or we would have given it up by now.  It is $90 for a year of unlimited curbside and except at the peaks of covid, they text you while they are shopping for subs or even just to say "hey the gala apples are looking a little rough today, how about honeycrisp?".  

We are also having delivery done for college kid since covid started too.  Honestly, it seems like a no brainer for college kids.  so handy.  Kid would need to take an urban bus to get to a grocery store.  

Edited by FuzzyCatz
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It really depends on the week and how well my brain is functioning that day. The more backtracking I do, the longer it takes (obviously).  😃

Some weeks I have a lot to buy and other times not.  

This week we had maybe 20 items on the list between Meijer and Aldi and that would take me maybe an hour including the drive time between stores. Other times I am in Meijer alone almost 60 minutes.  ETA: I only grocery shop once per week.

I always try to make a list that is somewhat according to store layout to make it go faster for me, but there are times when despite the best laid plans, things just take awhile.

Any time I have to use the deli I need to add another 15 minutes to my time in the store.  There are not always lines, but even when there aren't, it takes awhile. If there is a bad line, I have waited over 20 minutes to get one item.  

I used to shop on Saturdays but now I usually go Friday nights. Time of day does make a difference with lines sometimes too.  Friday might be less busy but there might be less lanes open and I might wait 5-10 minutes to check out.  The same could easily happen on a Saturday morning though when it is more busy but there are more lanes.

ETA: when I have to do Costco, Meijer and Aldi all in one trip and long lists, I might be out 2 hours.  And that's booking it. No leisurely browsing in Costco.

Our Costco tends to be busy all the time, and since our area has a heavy South Asian population, there are lots of people out after dinner on Friday with me shopping.  😃 It's interesting how the time of day for shopping can be somewhat cultural too.  

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I haven't been to a grocery store in months (other than a quick stop to pick up one or two things or an occasional Trader Joe's run). Me and instacart- we are pals. Because grocery shopping took me FOREVER. And I hated it. 

Though for a while I was getting it done at Walmart in under 30 minutes because I was trying to do it while DS was in karate. 

Edited by theelfqueen
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On average, I’d guess 30 minutes, sometimes more, sometimes less.

The time spent depends on which store I’m at and what I need to buy. Costco is much larger and takes longer to walk through. Weekends are ridiculously busy. Trader Joe’s is smaller but often busy and can have long lines even shortly after it opens. I try to avoid weekend busy times altogether. The local farmers market is also insane unless it’s raining and even then it’s busy. At least it’s outside. Masks have always been required there.

Stores are also having problems finding cashiers which contributes to long lines. Nowadays our Aldi’s often has only one cashier so check out can take as long as 15 minutes.

Luckily, I live only a few blocks from a number of stores so it’s easy for me to shop. I often pop in at the end of a run as I pass by.

Additionally, in cities there is just no easy way to avoid exposure to Covid if you live in a mid- to high-rise building with common areas shared by hundreds of other people. One son of mine lives on the top floor of a high rise and has to share spaces and elevator rides multiple times per day. Then to commute, he takes a bus or train where he works with others in a huge building with shared spaces. Avoiding exposure is practically impossible.

We were all exposed in spring of 2020 at the complex where I live. Our building engineer probably passed it along as he emptied trash cans and cleaned common areas. Everyone in my family living here tested positive for antibodies that summer and were completely asymptomatic (we were part of a study).

I have not heard of any cases in my complex this year; however in my city, about 86% of residents ages 12 and up have received one dose of the vaccine and about 80% are fully vaxxed. We also have a mask mandate in effect again even though positivity is below 2%. Fine by me.

Edited by BeachGal
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SO and I go to Aldi every 2 weeks. We spent about 20-25 minutes in the store, we have our own carts. We each buy our own groceries - he buys a lot of the dinner prep items. He also buys for his mom so he takes a bit longer than me. We go right when they open ang get out and the car loaded in under 30 minutes. 

When I did grocery shopping with my mom, we went to Walmart. She would spend 1 hr to 1.5 hrs in the store just for groceries and pet food. I started taking a book and would sit in the car after I was done. 

 

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4 hours ago, SKL said:

PS, I know you aren't really supposed to do this, but we put all fruits other than bananas in the fridge.  They last so much longer that way.  When we didn't have a curious and naughty puppy, we kept a small assortment out on the counter so we could eat them room temperature.  Eat an orange, replace it with another orange from the fridge.  This allows a lot more flexibility in buying produce.

I would, but we don't have the space in the fridge for all of it. I do keep berries in there. 

3 hours ago, Kassia said:

How does this work?  I'd love to get this for my daughter in college.

Just google Kroger Delivery and see if they are in her area. 

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Just got back from publix, i was in there at least an hour I think. Perhaps for eternity, lol. 

Got a full cart, but not a whole week's worth of stuff - still need to get some meat from Sam's and a few other things. I got 95 items, spent $460. 

I did stock up on a few extra frozen gluten free pizzas as they had the kind my son likes, and I think 6 boxes of pasta, and some different kinds of coffee, and an expensive bottle of shampoo I've been coveting. 

Edited by ktgrok
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Just now, ktgrok said:

https://www.kroger.com/hc/help/faqs/ways-to-shop/delivery

With Kroger Delivery, your smile is our reward. No tipping please

I forgot to say, there is a $10 delivery charge, per delivery, OR you can pay for a year of unlimited delivery for $79. For us, it made sense to pay the $79 as they have a lot of gluten free products we like - their thin crust supreme pizza for instance, is half the price of brand name gluten free pizza. Their generics are really good - similar to Publix, vs the walmart or target generic. 

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So I had to test this today, because I simply don’t believe that you can buy a weeks’ worth of food in 15 minutes from the moment you get into the store to the moment you get out.

I went to Aldi. I had a piled high cart (as usual.) I spent $200. And I was booking it. I was trying to get it all done in 20 minutes. I was not poking around to prove a point. I was on task and focused.

I buy the same stuff every time I go, because we eat the same 7 breakfasts/lunches/dinners every week. The same. Every week. There is no looking for something interesting to get on a whim. There is no comparison shopping. There is no looking for sales. There is no reading labels. I have my list laid out to perfectly match the stores. Not only do I have it listed in order by aisle, but it’s also in order in the aisle. So, if the garlic comes before the lettuce, then garlic is first on the list and lettuce is second. I’m crazy-organized. As I walk down the aisle, I’m checking off the list in order and popping everything into the cart with no effort. I never, ever go down that aisle with the home goods. I skip right by it because I don’t want to take the time. Oh, and my Aldi is usually very empty when I go. There are almost no other people to navigate around.

There was one person ahead of me in line, so it took 3 minutes to wait for them to be done. I had that huge cart to unload, and unloading it and having it checked out took 5 minutes. (I timed every step of this trip, so I *know* it was a 3 minute wait and a 5 minute checkout for me.)

Bagging took me 5 minutes, but it’s usually longer. But this time ds16 was with me and helped me bag, so I was done faster than usual.  I didn’t do my normal, time-consuming, special bagging of the cold stuff. I didn’t bag the cold stuff at all. I left it in the cart, and then tossed it all into the cooler at the car.  

I’m sorry, but it’s 8 minutes just to checkout and 5 minutes of bagging is 13 minutes right there. There’s no way people are buying a week’s worth of groceries at Aldi in 15 or 20 minutes.  It’s not physically possible. And remember, I had only 1 person ahead of me. Not 5 or 6.

I was there for a total of 32 minutes from the moment I set foot in the door until we stepped back outside. The thread was about your exposure indoors to covid, so the question was how long you’re in the store—not how long it takes to gather the items. You have to include the checkout time as well.

I simply don’t believe anyone can do a weeks’ worth of shopping at Aldi in 15 or 20 minutes. I don’t think anyone is lying, but I do think their assessment of time is way off, unless you only buy 10 chuck roasts and 10 heads of lettuce and eat roast and lettuce all week long. If you get any assortment of goods, it takes time to physically walk up and down the aisles and pick it all up. Even if you don’t bag in the store, but do it at your car, there’s still 8 minutes or so for checkout.  That leaves only 7-12 minutes to gather.  

I buy for 4 people, two adults and two teenagers. 

 

Edited by Garga
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@Garga I  don't bag in the store. I bag at my car. Or use a cardboard box in the cart and the checker throws everything in ,no bagging needed.

I just got back from Aldi. Because of our discussion,  I timed. Wasn't particularly fast since dh was with me. I like to go just before they close at 8 so there aren't people.  Got in the door at 7:43. Was driving back, with stuff packed and cart returned, at 7:56. Aside from my vegetable purchase at the farm stand, this is my only shopping trip for the week. Spent 92 bucks, so got quite a bit of stuff. But there's only 2 of us now to shop for.

Eta: of course I have staples in the pantry, so the weekly shopping trip does not include everything I actually eat that week. But it always includes some pantry items that need to be replenished. 

Edited by regentrude
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@Garga I have been to Aldi twice in Southern California because they don’t have stores in Northern California. Both times all of us were in the store so everyone picked what they wanted and we met at the cashier area to pay up. 
 

As for routine grocery shopping, I am only going for perishables. I have all the staples (different types of rice, noodles and flour), much more spices than I actually use, and lots of dried rations in case of earthquake (rare) or power outages (once in a while). So two kinds of meat, whatever vegetables catch my fancy, eggs and milk would be about half a cart. My husband drives me to the grocers so he would help push the cart while I grab the stuff. My fridge is also small capacity so we won’t have space for a full cart unless majority are dried goods. 

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An hour minimum.  The grocery stores where I live are HUGE compared to other places.  I went into a store in Seattle and was aghast.  My grocery store was easily 20X and big.  My local convenience store is bigger that the grocery stores in Seattle.  My grocery store has 38 brands of olive oil.  Seattle had 2.  It just takes longer when the place is big I guess.

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10 hours ago, Shelydon said:

An hour minimum.  The grocery stores where I live are HUGE compared to other places.  I went into a store in Seattle and was aghast.  My grocery store was easily 20X and big.  My local convenience store is bigger that the grocery stores in Seattle.  My grocery store has 38 brands of olive oil.  Seattle had 2.  It just takes longer when the place is big I guess.

I used to live in the Greater Seattle area. I'm back in Texas now. The grocery stores here are larger. In that area, land is precious and I think grocery stores are smaller because of it.   (well the Fred Meyer and Uwajimaya were always huge)

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12 hours ago, Garga said:

 

I simply don’t believe anyone can do a weeks’ worth of shopping at Aldi in 15 or 20 minutes. I don’t think anyone is lying, but I do think their assessment of time is way off, unless you only buy 10 chuck roasts and 10 heads of lettuce and eat roast and lettuce all week long. If you get any assortment of goods, it takes time to physically walk up and down the aisles and pick it all up. Even if you don’t bag in the store, but do it at your car, there’s still 8 minutes or so for checkout.  That leaves only 7-12 minutes to gather.  

I buy for 4 people, two adults and two teenagers. 

 

I know my assessment of time is not off because I have timed myself before. I usually go shopping when the kids do TKD and have to be back to pick the up at 6:30. Multiple times I have started shopping after 6 and was there to pick them up by (including 5 minute drive time) 6:30. One day I was running especially late and only had 15 minutes and still got it done. 15 minutes from time I left the car to got back in. I'm obviously moving very very quickly. I don't like to shop that quickly but 20 min isn't bad.

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1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I feel like all you 15 minute shopper must eat way less than us or be crazy fast walkers/good steerers!  Even at maximum efficiency there’s just no way possible for that to happen for a week’s shop.

I wouldn't read too much into any of it. There are just too many nuances involved. Some people are shopping for only two adults and they (perhaps) eat out or get takeout multiple times a week. Others are shopping for two adults, four teens, two tweens, three dogs and a cat, and they all eat all their meals at home. Some people say they're doing their weekly shopping but maybe don't think to mention that they dash into a store every day or two to pick up an odd item or three, etc. It all makes a difference.

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