Grocery shopping, meal planning, cooking – they are all hard just by themselves! Add in the “mom” factor, that you usually have one or two kids with you on your grocery shopping trip, and it can make this task just a bit harder. But it doesn’t have to be! Here are some of our top hacks for surviving the grocery store experience.
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Get your kids involved in the shopping trip with their own shopping list.
Another fun game to play is Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt. Kids will need to find the items, write down the price and check if it is on sale.
Check with your bakery section for a little treat for your little shoppers. Almost all of the stores in my area offer a cookie (one store offers a free piece of fruit at the produce section), which is a nice incentive for good behavior or a fun way to kick off the trip. (Sometimes stores give out balloons too, so just ask!)
Even the littlest ones get a treat – just their size! – with a homemade Cheerios necklace.
Use a pool noodle as a handle guard on the shopping cart for little ones.
Let the kids bring their own wallet. A Busy Wallet that is! Pulling out cards (and putting them back again) keeps little hands occupied.
Use mobile apps on your phone to save money on items you already purchase, like milk and produce.
Take your own Frozen Bag with you, so you you’ll have all of your frozen foods in one place – and can easily put it away first when you get home.
Store plastic bags in a empty Lysol wipes container in your car, so you’ve got some bags on hand when shopping at grocery stores like Aldi (where you have to bring your own bags).
Trying to be a bit more environmentally conscious? Make (and use) your own reuseable grocery store bags from t-shirts.
Bring a caribiner clip to attach to the handle of your shopping cart to hold your reuseable bags
No more squished bread at the bottom of a pile of grocery bags! Use hooks on your car headrest to easily transport them home.
For easier transport into the house, keep a laundry basket in the trunk of your car hold your grocery bags.
Another way to keep bags organized it to string a bungee cord along the back of the trunk and thread the handles through.
Worried about leaving your purse in the cart? Use the safety strap in the front seat to buckle your purse into the cart, making impossible for anyone to just reach in and grab it.
Leave your car seat in the car. The Shopping Cart Hammock is safe and saves tons of space in your cart.
Trying to figure out how to fit all of the kids in the cart and still have room for groceries? Try the Buggy Bench to fit toddlers (or multiples) in the cart.