Singles, how do you shop?

Fusspot

I can't seem to get organised. I do an online food shop once a month and shop myself in between but I still find I run out of things or over order on the online shop. Would I be as well just shopping daily, I also buy cat food and litter which isn't light to carry.

pm2326

Hi I had the same problem so this year I'm trying a new tactic.

I decided to do a big online order in January and bought 6 months of cat food and a years supply of loo rolls, washing powder, fabric softener etc. As I always cook from scratch and in batches I also added tinned tomatoes, beans, pulses etc to keep in the cupboard.

It cost about £100 in total however its meant some weeks I only need to buy essentials like bread, milk, fruit, veg and some weeks I've avoided shopping altogether as I've got extras in the freezer. I've only just done a 2nd online order for the cat food.

Obviously this only works as I've got the storage space.

If you went shopping daily are you going to meal plan and only buy what you need or will you be waiting to see what takes your fancy when you wander round the shop?

Lizling

I just shop every 3 or 4 days, when I'm low on fresh food and am passing the shops. Generally, it works fairly well because I'm just buying whatever I fancy that evening and the next day, plus whatever I know needs replacing. I do need to be careful to resist the temptation to buy everything I *might* want tomorrow and put it in the fridge, just in case.

I don't meal plan but I do sometimes have my choices dictated my what needs using up next and sometimes that means I get slightly odd combinations. Experimental meals can be good though! And when you're cooking for one, no one's going to grumble if it doesn't work out.

If I had to buy pet food and cat litter, I'd probably do a big online order and get a few heavy storecupboard items just to save me carrying them and get up to the minimum spend, but still shop for fresh things as I need it.

calicocat

Generally I shop once a week. However cat food and litter etc I get monthly, but I have a car.

If you have the room, what pm2326 does sounds like a good idea. Order months of the heavy stuff online, and then you only have to carry less heavy stuff.

It also depends what kind of things you eat, I can buy a chicken, veg, and salad, and that can do me most of the week with various different meals, but I do have big stores of rice, pasta and cupboard basics in all the time.

torbrex

A loaf of bread and a pint of milk generally does me 3 days so that's how often I visit the shops

My meal planning rotates around what I can get on a yellow sticker.

I 'bulk' shop as and when required and always replace anything I've used from my stock cupboard at my next shop.

moneyistooshorttomention

Once a week normally at a supermarket:lipsrseal:silenced: (apologies for use of swearword).

About once a week I pop into a local healthfoodshop. If that was bigger (ie wider range of stock) then I could forget about the supermarket, but unfortunately it's only tiny.

Occasionally at a Farmers' Market or organic farm.

Could do with a fishmonger and greengrocer, but there aren't any.

Am starting to be able to "shop" more frequently in my own garden (ie picking veg. for a meal).

I think a large freezer is more important for singles than for any other household, so we don't get too fed-up with eating the same thing several times in a row (because we can stick some of it in the freezer and have later).

Horace

I tend to shop as I need stuff - today I went to the supermarket for some bits including a 16 roll pack of loo rolls, if they are still on offer next week I will go and get some more.

I have started building my store cupboard for the winter - today I added a carton of long life milk (just in case the snow falls and I cannot get out).

I usually have tins of soup - soup can be eaten as soup or added to stewing beef to make a casserole instead of using stockcubes etc.

I buy yellow stickered items - today it was a pack of cooked ham, I will eat a couple of slices and freeze the rest. I have had some wonderful bargains from the whoopsie shelf - once I picked up some pork fillet it was rather a long piece so I cut it into manageable portions and froze the portions. I tend to buy bags of carrots as this is cheaper than buying one or two - I peel them, chop them up and set a pan of boiling water on the go and leave them in the water for a few mins and then cool them and bag them up for the freezer. Carrots go into casseroles and into fridge forage soup (soup made from old veg from the fridge).

I batch cook and freeze - I usually have a good selection of food. I shop in Aldi too as their veg is often cheap and I can get some decent meat (outdoor reared pork, Aberdeen angus beef) that isn't too expensive. I also use their teabags (gold box).

A chicken is so versatile - I tend to buy one, roast it and have roast chicken for one meal, cold cuts for another, I make up mini dinners that get frozen and the carcass doesn't go to waste either as I sling it in a pot with some water, seasoning, herbs and veggies and cook it for quite a while then I fish the bones out, I add a splash of milk and serve it in a bowl with a crusty roll.

bugslet

I work across the road from a supermarket and found it works cheaper for me to buy stuff as I go along.

Weekend I buy stuff like loo roll and dog food and food for the weekend/Monday and top up as I go along after that. Certainly means I waste less.

allybee101

I probably do a larger shop every two weeks and top up fresh veg once or twice a week (depending on the season).

CupOfChai

I'm not currently single, but when I was I did the same as you, and now I still do it the same way. I did a big online order once a month and then topped up each week with bread, fresh fruit and veg etc as needed. I meal-planned for the month so I had a good idea what I'd need, then it was just practice and getting used to, for instance, how much pasta you'll generally eat in a month so you need to order X number packs.

[Deleted User]

A disadvantage with buying in job lots is that it might make it difficult to cash in vouchers. '£2 off when you spend over £20' is difficult to use if you only need a handful of perishables.