Mar 15 2009
Save time by automating your grocery list
One everyday chore I detest is making my grocery list, cutting coupons, slogging through the store playing Chicken with oncoming carts, bagging up my load, lugging it home, and putting all the food away. However, since having my first child in December 2008 I have figured out a few ways to save me time on this onerous chore.
The first thing I discovered is a wonderful service named Schwan’s. I believe that Schwan’s is a nation-wide chain, and hopefully you have one of these wonderful little services in your neighborhood. Now, before I go on to extol the virtues of Schwan’s let me be clear: using Schwan’s can be more expensive for certain items than going to the store and buying the item yourself. That being said, here’s why I use Schwan’s: convenience.
There are grocery items that all of us buy over and over. For my family, in addition to the usual things like toilet paper, milk, etc I find I am constantly buying meat and vegetables. Because it’s just my husband and I, and I freely admit to being a vegetable snob (I buy broccoli florets rather than the pieces and stems), I usually buy the small boxes of frozen veggies. However, that means that I’m buying 4-5 boxes of veggies a week, over and over and over. That’s where Schwan’s comes in, and why I like the service so much!
I can buy a 1.5 pound resealable package of broccoli florets for $5.49. A package of that size will last my husband and I for at least a month (since we don’t eat broccoli every night). Since I buy 3-4 different 1.5 pound packages of veggies from Schwan’s, I simply rotate what we eat each night, adding in rice, pasta, and other side dishes. I haven’t purchased a little box of veggies from my local store in weeks! Because I buy not only veggies from Schwan’s, but also already cut-up chicken breasts, hash brown shreds, and other convenience foods, I am able to drastically cut my time in the grocery store each week.
As I said, Schwan’s, or another service like it, is not for everyone. However, if you’re like me and you value convenience when it saves you time, I would urge you to give Schwan’s a try. After all, your time is valuable!
Disclaimer: I do not work for Schwan’s, and am in no way affiliated with the company. I just think the service is well worth the money, provided you choose your products carefully. If you’d like more tips about how to maximize your food dollars using Schwan’s, let me know in the comments section below.
