Before having kids, I did most of my shopping in person at stores. I was never a good judge of items when buying online. I shopped locally when I could, but I certainly wasn’t a stranger to the aisles of my local Target. I remember my sister-in-law telling me how she ordered her groceries to be delivered and had items on a monthly subscription from Amazon. She had 2 small kids, and this was how she said she survived.
I couldn’t relate.
At the time, I would routinely walk one block from my apartment to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients to make a single meal, so the idea of putting together a grocery list for a week’s worth (or more) of groceries felt like more work to me.
The idea of setting up automatic purchases felt like an opportunity to accidentally order things I didn’t need. Why not just order more when you notice you are running low? I also couldn’t imagine needing more of a particular item every month.
Enter the children.
Two kids later, I finally get it. I am an add-to-cart mom who relies almost exclusively on online ordering and delivery. I just don’t have the mental bandwidth to get by without it. My three-year-old loves going to the grocery store, so we go for the handful of items that I can’t get delivered, but if I can order it, that’s how it’s coming to us.
I have multiple items set up on automatic order that we reliably use up in a month. It feels crazy to think about it, but when I notice something is running low, finding 30 seconds during the day to add-to-cart is harder than I ever would have expected.
Is it always the most cost-effective option? Definitely not. The grocery delivery options near me all have a delivery fee, and then a suggested tip for the driver.
But does it save me the hassle of having to get one (more than likely, two) children in and out of car seats and risk a mid-store meltdown (or three)? It absolutely does. Most weeks, I place my grocery order after the kids went to bed and after the store has closed, even if I wanted to go post-bedtime.
I hope someday to have the mental bandwidth to do more of my shopping in person, but right now, the name of the game is survival, and this is how I’m playing.
