Grocery shopping can feel like a major time drain—between navigating packed aisles, waiting in long checkout lines, and figuring out what you need, it’s easy to lose hours each week. If you find yourself dreading grocery trips or making multiple runs throughout the week, it might be time to switch up your approach.
Here are seven simple ways to save time on grocery shopping, so you can get in and out faster and spend more time doing what you love.
Bonus: A little planning can also help you save money and make healthier meals at home more consistently!
1. Shop During Off-Peak Hours
One of the easiest ways to cut your grocery shopping time in half is to go when the store is quiet. Peak times usually mean longer lines, crowded aisles, and a lot more frustration.
Try shopping early in the morning, later in the evening, or midweek when stores tend to be less busy. My personal favorite time? Right at 7 AM when my store opens—no crowds, no lines, and plenty of employees available if I need help. When my kids were younger, I sometimes went at night after they were in bed. While I was often tired, the time saved was completely worth it!
2. Always Shop With a List
Going into the store without a list is a guaranteed way to waste time wandering up and down aisles and forgetting key ingredients. Whether you create your own or use a service like The Dinner Daily, having a shopping list based on your weekly meal plan makes all the difference.
📌 Another Tip: Organize your list by department (produce, dairy, meat, etc.) so you can move through the store efficiently without backtracking. If you’re a Dinner Daily member, your list is already sorted for you!
3. Stick to a Familiar Store
Shopping at the same store each week means you know exactly where everything is—saving you tons of time. Trying out a new store might seem fun, but if you’re short on time, it can add extra minutes (or even hours!) of searching and backtracking.
4. Take Advantage of Pre-Packaged Items
If you regularly find yourself waiting at the meat or seafood counter, check if your store offers pre-packaged options nearby. Many stores pre-portion and package the same cuts you’d get at the counter, so you can grab what you need without the wait.
5. Keep a Running List Throughout the Week
Instead of trying to remember everything before your grocery trip, keep a running list of essentials as you run out of them.
Make it easy:
✅ Use a whiteboard on the fridge so the whole family can add items
✅ Keep a shared digital note (like in your phone)
✅ Dinner Daily members can add items directly to their meal plan shopping list
This way, when it’s time to shop, your list is ready to go—no last-minute scrambling!
6. Order Bulky Essentials Online
This is one of my favorite time-saving hacks! Instead of lugging around bulky non-perishable items like paper towels, cleaning supplies, or pet food, consider:
🚚 Ordering online for delivery
📦 Making a once-a-month stock-up trip for these items
This frees up space in your cart, speeds up checkout, saves you time bringing items from your car to your kitchen, and just makes grocery shopping so much easier!
7. Shop Once Per Week
This tip has huge impact. If you’re making multiple grocery trips each week, you’re most likely wasting more time than you realize. Besides the actual shopping, every trip means more:
🔄 Driving back and forth
📋 Thinking about what you need
🚶♀️ Walking through the store again
And of course each trip means loading and unloading your car each and every trip- more time! No one needs to be wasting this much time grocery shopping!
Instead, challenge yourself to go just once per week. With a little planning, it’s totally doable—and once you experience the extra free time, you won’t want to go back!
Final Thoughts: Grocery Shopping Doesn’t Have to Be a Time Sink
By making a few simple changes—like shopping with a plan, choosing the right time, and streamlining your trips—you can save hours each week and make grocery shopping feel less like a chore.
And if you want to skip the stress of meal planning altogether, check out The Dinner Daily! We create done-for-you weekly dinner plans based on your store’s sales, complete with an organized shopping list to make your grocery trips even faster.
📌 Try it FREE for 14 days! Click here to get started.
