Daily Shopping

[Nada.Leona]

Here's something I have been pondering. In our situation, we buy the majority of our groceries fresh and organic (or we did til I got pregnant) and almost nothing was bought pre-packaged, canned or out of season, with the exception of things like rice, pasta, flour, etc.

Now since we don't buy a lot of stockpile-able items, I am wondering if it might not be more feasible to do daily shopping, just purchasing what you will need for the next few days, using it up and then going again to get more. I suspect the majority of our purchases would be fresh produce and meats. Does anyone do this? Any thoughts?

[dcompton]

I might work for you, but for myself, I loathe shopping so much, I couldn't do it. I keep meats in the freezer, and also rely for the most part on frozen vegetables, so I don't have to shop very often.

Also, for myself, I find it more frugal just to stay out of the grocery. I can shop sternly by a list, but I always see something I want, which usually results in my getting it despite the list, or regretting it, though I wasn't aware that I "wanted" it until I saw it.

[imagine]

I think it could work if impulse buys were kept to a minimum and it wasn't that far a trip to the store.

If I had a stocked pantry ( flour, rice, spices etc) and only had to buy fresh produce and or meat/milk.

You could take advantaged of sales and reduced for quick sale etc.

Also you might build a "relationship" with the produce , butcher, etc.

I had a produce manager that knew we loved peppers ( especially red) he also knew that we wouldn't buy them if they weren't reduced price. Sure enough he started marking down the peppers right before we generally came in so we would have a better chance of being the ones to pick up on the deal.

[frugalfranny]

I might work for you, but for myself, I loathe shopping so much, I couldn't do it.

I am with you DC!! I have been known to be out of milk for three or four days just because I didn't want to go to the store!! (this week it was only two days) The thought that I would have to go to the store every day just about makes me sick to think about it............or makes me think that the 'Golden Arches' are looking pretty darn good!!

[Lady_V]

I don't have a freezer (unless you count that 3" high compartment that is in dorm freezers) so I am careful what I buy that I won't be using right away.

I shop a few times a week, usually have a pattern to it.

Fri - food for the weekend, any staples & Monday-am
Mon- milk, eggs, breakfast things, food for Mon-pm, Tue-am/pm, Wed-am
Wed - food for Wed-pm, Thu-am/pm, Fri-am

Nothing is wasted because anything that is left over becomes lunch the following day.

Shopping daily was actually something my family did... crack of dawn down to the street market to buy the days food. They lived in an area where happens. Around here, the sidewalks don't get rolled back out until 7am

[shoiji]

I do keep a stockpile. Mostly grains, baking ingredients, dried or canned fruits, vegetables, beans, and different types of seasoning. Not to mention all the personal and house products.

That being said I shop weekly. Usually I shop the perimeter of the store. For me that is dairy, produce, fish, or any other item on sale with a coupon. Most people would think I had hardly anything in the fridge. I just use up what I buy so at the end of the week I need to go to the store by Monday.

I make most of the foods I eat since many processed foods have ingredients I am allergic to.

If I had easier access to a store I probably would go twice a week only to buy produce. If you enjoy going to the supermarket and have the time, try it out. You may find it works for you.

[Grainlady]

I don't know what you purchase daily that I don't purchase weekly or bi-weekly that can't be stored for several days or more in a refrigerator or freezer?

There's nothing in any stores I shop that have fresh-picked produce because I live in the middle of nowhere. None of the stores have a magical greenhouse located in the back. Everything available has been shipped in from somewhere (in-country and out of the country) and warehoused before it hits the shelves in stores. There is more nutrition in frozen and freeze-dried veggies/fruit than you'll ever find in the produce found in stores. Time, temperature, light and storage has destroyed most of the nutrients.

"A report published by the UK-based Consumer's Association found that vitamin C levels in common grocery produce are a fraction of their textbook values. In other words: the food isn't as nutritious as it should be. Similar losses in other organic vitamins are also likely."

We depend on root vegetables, which are designed by nature to keep well for winter nourishment, and things we can grow fresh ourselves. Root vegetables (potatoes, garlic, onions, carrots, turnips, beets, parsnips, etc.) store well for long periods of time so they don't have to be purchased daily. We make our tossed salad with shredded cabbage, carrots and celery as a base. We top it with shredded cheese to serve. This same mixture works as a sandwich topping, and a portion can be used to make coleslaw. Add it to a quick homemade soup because shredded veggies cook rapidly.

We supplement our winter diet with homemade sprouts made from a variety of beans/seeds/grains from our little garden-in-a-jar. Add a pot of herbs that are high in nutrition, leaf lettuce and spinach grown in a sunny window, and those are our fresh/organic food source. I make wheat and barley grass, so that's just one of the many nutritious things I can do with whole grains we have in storage. Use sea vegetables like kelp, kombu and nori. There are lots of power-house foods besides produce. It's all about variety.

I also think it's poor planning not to have home food storage and to rely on daily trips to the store for your food. You only need to live through a week without electricity during an ice or snow storm to prove the folly of daily shopping.

[pat in east texas]

I once knew a man who lived by himself and did all his own cooking. He lived within walking distance of a small Italian grocery, where he did all his shopping, and bought his day's supply each morning. When I asked him why he shopped every day instead of keeping at least some supplies at home, he said "|That's what the store is for."

[Libby]

We have canned items in our stockpile and dried items as well however my dad likes to shop daily as this is his 'going out'. We could go once a week but its his thing....I let him do it. Usually I'll pick up the basics on my way home from the pool since I pas 4 discount grocery stores, the asian market and 3 big chain stores as well. But we are usually replenishing produce & milk.