Living Car Free - How often do you go to the market/store?

In the past, we used to go to the store on the weekends and 'stock up' as my wife puts it. We would buy stuff in anticipation of making meals, yet it never failed that something would go unused and end up going bad. Or a high yield dish would be cooked that didn't turn out so well and shoved into the freezer for months.

Now that I'm unemployed, I balk at the notion of 'stocking up'. There is a grocery store 2 blocks from the house and I've gottent into the habit of walking there almost daily. Though I don't think I'm really saving any money by doing so, I also feel that I'm not wasting as much either.

Daily or every other day. I like to cook with fresh ingredients. We were getting items with a longer shelf life from grocery delivery, like cereal and rice. But we found a local farm group that freeze packs fresh range meat with a shelf life of 2.5 years and organic dry grains etc. We bought a years supply to put in our freezer. So now we'll be shopping just for veg, bread, sauces, milk and that sort of thing. So far, so good.

We don't see much go to waste in this house. Three active, hungry kids and two cycling parents. If something doesn't turn out as well as planned, we tend to eat it anyway. lol

We typically shop weekly, some things we buy in bulk as stock up items. For the most part the most efficient way to shop is in one trip a week or two weeks. When you shop daily you have a tendency to make impulse purchases.

We live in the edge of a hurricane zone so we always try to keep extra canned stuff on hand as emergency supply. We cook mostly from scratch so fresh ingredients are preferred. We plan menus for the week and shop accordingly. We also bulk cook and put things in the freezer for future use. We have a garden and eat a lot of fresh veggies when they are in season, extra stuff gets canned or frozen.

Aaron :)

I shop as needed, but always more than once a week. The City Market is less than two miles down the bike trail from my house, so I do most of my food shopping there. This is a collection of micro-retailers. I like the prices and selection, and I especially like that about 80 percent of the products are local or at least Michigan goods. I only buy what I can carry in my backpack on eash trip. I do ride in the car to the supermarket with my son and his family to get dry goods and cleaning products.

We shop several times a week because I am bit of a food snob and the preteens eat a crazy amount of food. The husband and boy do a stock up trip for frozen items and dry goods every two weeks. I hit the farmers' market once or twice a week and the natural food store twice a week. We do plan meals and make a list so there is little impulse shopping.

Now that I'm unemployed, I balk at the notion of 'stocking up'. There is a grocery store 2 blocks from the house and I've gotten into the habit of walking there almost daily. Though I don't think I'm really saving any money by doing so, I also feel that I'm not wasting as much either.

I hate waste and inefficiency too. You are also getting a bit of exercise. Even if it is only 2 blocks, it beats sitting at the computer all day.

I have a full supermarket across the street therefore, I don't need a freezer! ;-) However, when I did live about 2 miles, I'd bike there once or twice a week.

I usually do 2 trips a week to the grocery store and 1 trip to the health food market. Occasional trips to Sam's Club to stock up on wine and cheese. Lately I'm living by myself so, even though I have a trailer, I'm only carrying about 20 pounds... most of it bananas.

Every few days - my work schedule is 6 days on/8 days off, so the only stocking up I do anymore is right before my days on start so I have enough stuff for my lunches and I won't have to go to the store. But my grocery store is right across the street from my apartment.

I used to stock up all the time, because I HATED going to the store. Now, I realize that I didn't really hate the store (I'm neutral about it) I hated driving. So I go more often for smaller trips. I save some money because I have to weigh the benefit of every item vs. the hassle of schlepping it back home.

I hate waste and inefficiency too. You are also getting a bit of exercise. Even if it is only 2 blocks, it beats sitting at the computer all day.

If you ever want to get really REALLY disturbed, look up "Extreme Couponers" on YouTube. Them *****es be crazy. They take SEVERAL HOURS to get through the checkout line.

Whole Foods is located across the road from here so I bike there when needed. I also go to the Market District during the night time since I work 3rd shift and my off days are usually boring cuz no one is open overnight except wal-fart and Market District. So basically we grab what we need for the next few days and when we run out, we bike back and get more. It's fresh veggies or bust. We eat organic so our selection is limited to these specific stores and their hours of operation but we've managed so far. We also hit up the farmers markets as well. Eating organic and locally has saved us lots of $$ and also our health has improved dramatically.

Not one time more than I need to. It used to be once a month before we sold the mountain house but now it is twice a month unless I run out of something. I learned early to stock pantries from my grandmother and it has stuck with me all these years. We no longer have a big freezer so I can't go once a month anymore. My biggest problem is getting lettuce and fresh vegetables to last a week. But I can buy bread in three packs and freeze two so I don't have to buy bread as often. But with the exception of the LBS and the hardware store I don't care for shopping. With a bike trailer I can carry close to 100 pounds of groceries and if I do have to stop for something special all I need is a back pack.

Not one time more than I need to. It used to be once a month before we sold the mountain house but now it is twice a month unless I run out of something. I learned early to stock pantries from my grandmother and it has stuck with me all these years. We no longer have a big freezer so I can't go once a month anymore. My biggest problem is getting lettuce and fresh vegetables to last a week. But I can buy bread in three packs and freeze two so I don't have to buy bread as often. But with the exception of the LBS and the hardware store I don't care for shopping. With a bike trailer I can carry close to 100 pounds of groceries and if I do have to stop for something special all I need is a back pack.

I bake my own bread :D Flour and the other dry ingredients are easy to store and are part of my normal pantry. I agree that it is hard to get some fresh veggies to last, we grow a lot of our own, but with the heat all but the kale is gone early in the season.

Aaron :)

I bake my own bread :D Flour and the other dry ingredients are easy to store and are part of my normal pantry. I agree that it is hard to get some fresh veggies to last, we grow a lot of our own, but with the heat all but the kale is gone early in the season.

Aaron :)

Years ago my neighbor got a bread machine that they would simply put the ingredients in and turn in on when they left for work. I seem to remember is would bake the bread as well. I might look into that.

Years ago my neighbor got a bread machine that they would simply put the ingredients in and turn in on when they left for work. I seem to remember is would bake the bread as well. I might look into that.

Bread machines do work well and quite often can be gotten for $10-$20 at a thrift store. Research and see which are the best ones then shop accordingly. My sister uses one for rising and baking only. I find something therapeutic in the whole process of bread baking so I do it the old fashioned way. I also make dinner rolls, mini loaves and some artisan breads. One of my favorite tricks to blow minds is to cook bread on a stone in my charcoal grill. :D Works great for pizza too, gives you a flavor that can't be duplicated in a gas oven or by anything commercially mass produced.


Aaron :)