Grocery Delivery is the Best Thing Ever

Yes, grocery delivery is the best thing ever. Instead of spending an hour or more at the grocery store, I can be watching Netflix while the kids are napping and the grocery store employee stops by to drop off my groceries and carry them into the kitchen (if my husband lets them).

I’m not going to lie, it took me a long time to even give this a try. You know, I had the usual excuses. I like to pick out my produce. I like to see what looks good. Basically, I like to be in control.

First, I tried a service where I could order my groceries online and then go to the store and they would bring them out to my car. It was ok. They did a good job with the meat and the produce. It took me longer than I wanted to actually order all the stuff for the first time, but it was kind of nice.

The problem was I still had to go to the store and pick them up.

If we had activities on the weekend that I knew would bring us to the store, this wouldn’t have been a problem. But we don’t. So I still had to go out of my way to make a trip to the store.

I decided to find out who would actually bring groceries to me and found that our local Safeway (Albertson’s) would deliver. Not only that, they had a code for $25 off and free delivery for your first order. How could I pass that up?

I have been a loyal King Sooper’s (Kroger) shopper for a long time. I didn’t really like Safeway that much, but I had realized that they had some pretty good pre-cut veg, and it was an excuse to try it out.

Again, the first time using their website took me longer than I would have liked to order everything. But I did it from the comfort of my home, at a time that was convenient for me. I wasn’t even there when my first grocery delivery arrived. It was Christmas Eve and the older girls and I were at church.

I just came home from church and all my groceries were there and put away.

I used to get up and get moving as early as possible on Saturday so that I could get to the grocery store by 8am. It was the only way to get it done and still have time for an activity in the morning. If I didn’t make it then, I would usually go when the girls were taking a nap, but it was the last thing I wanted to do. I knew it would take forever and be crowded and I just wanted to relax.

Which is what I get to do now!

I sometimes miss taking the girls to the store with me, because when they come along they are a lot of fun. But I don’t miss having to be in a big hurry in the morning or going to the grocery store when it’s the last thing I want to do. I feel a little bit guilty that I’m sitting on the couch when someone comes to delivery my groceries, but I’m getting over that.

I’ve also learned how to make it work even better for me. I downloaded the app, and when I see we’re running low on something I scan it (seriously, the scanner on the app is amazing) and then add it to my cart. If I think of something we need, I just search for it and add it to my cart.

I don’t keep a paper shopping list anymore, I just put things directly in my cart.

Then, whenever I want, I go in and put staples, meat and vegetables and the shopping is done. Plus, my order history is saved, so I can easily re-order things I’ve ordered in the past. Add to all this the fact that I am getting pre-cut vegetables and fruit and have never even had to pay for delivery, and I think it’s the best thing ever.

I thought I was a little bored with the Safeway selection, so I tried the King Sooper’s Click List (where you have to go pick it up) again. Of course that time I forgot a couple things so I had to run into the store on a Saturday afternoon. It took at least 20 minutes to get 4 items. Then I went out to my car and waited for them to get my groceries. I got home and pulled in the garage and I was like “Now I have to bring all this crap inside?!”

What a pain! (OK, maybe it’s because I have a detached garage…)

Anyway, I decided that for now grocery delivery is the best thing ever. I cannot be bothered to go into the store and then lug all those groceries into my house. I only wish I would have realized this way earlier. Like say, when I was pregnant. Pushing a heavy grocery cart around always hurt my back…

Bonus tip that I didn’t come up with on my own – if you’re travelling, you can plan ahead and have groceries delivered at your destination. Yeah, chew on that. (Thanks to Sarah Hart-Unger from the Best of Both Worlds podcast for that one.)

Of course, options in your area may vary, but seriously, it’s worth the 5 minutes to at least check out what they are.