Grocery Shopping = Giant Expedition

So many people ask about our lives in London. I've heard that things that seem so commonplace to us, are really interesting to those not living here. So fine, I'll give you the most commonplace thing that a person can do, and that's grocery shopping.

See in the states, you can get away with going to the store and doing some major shopping only twice a month, or once a month if you happen to have a big enough car or Costco card. In the UK, things are a wee bit different. First of all, there usually isn't the space to hold a month's worth of food. Especially if you live somewhere like London, where space is a luxury. Our kitchen for example, is literally the size of a phone booth. It's so small that we have to put our toaster on top of the microwave, because there isn't enough counter space. It's so small that our refrigerator is in our living room. Oh yeah. You didn't know it was possible to be white trash and live in the west end of London eh? Well, you can. Although, as Matt points out, he can't be white trash, because he isn't white. I told him that one of the unfortunate things about marrying a white girl from Utah is the fact that he can indeed become white trash by marriage.

Now when I say refrigerator, you're probably thinking of one of those nice big ones that are taller than you are, with huge freezer space and lots of lots of fridge space. Ours isn't quite like that. It's considered full size, for the UK and one of the things we had to negotiate when signing on for this flat. It originally came with what we in the US would refer to as a 'mini-fridge'.

Believe it or not, this tangent brings me back to my original point. Grocery shopping in London. See? You thought I was just rambling, you didn't realize that I could weave the written word so skillfully, shame on you. I keep trying to tell you, you're dealing with a master.

We're lucky in the fact that we actually have a big Sainsbury's fairly close by. It's only about a 1/2 hour walk (which we do on occasion when it's nice out) or a short bus ride. Since we don't have a car, these are basically our only options. And since we don't have a car, we can't load it up with groceries, so we have to carry everything we buy. Getting ready to go shopping requires great preparation on our part. And like getting ready to scale Everest, we have to go through a very detailed check list.

Backpack (one each)? Check.

Eco-friendly Sainsburys bags (three total)? Check

Good walking shoes? Check

Oyster card (for the bus)? Uh...hang on I have to run back to the flat (Matt actually has said this twice), but usually it's: Check.

Comfortable shopping clothes? Check

Flat keys? Check

Wallet? Check

Pound coin? Check

Take no prisoners attitude? Check

Finally we get to the store. Now usually the only day we can do our major shopping on, is Saturday. And shopping at Sainsburys on Saturday is akin to going to Disneyland on 'everyone gets in for free day' it is a zoo. And there isn't much rhyme or reason on how people walk. There's no sticking to a certain side. There's no checking around the corner before you come zooming out. Nope, it's every shopper for themselves. And if you get there too late in the day (or even do it at night, like we did last Saturday), you will find that all the good stuff has been picked over.

Now Matt and I tend to purchase the same kinds of things. We're always on the lookout for the 'buy one get one free' stuff. In fact, if you ever want Matt to buy anything, just make it a 'buy one get one free' and he'll buy it. There are a few times when I've had to convince him that we don't need diapers or wine (okay to be fair, I am exaggerating slightly, but he sure does love a good bargain). Anyway, we have a few set things that we always have on our menu. Like this ravioli type pasta that we always keep on hand for quicker, lighter dinners. Usually we have some chicken, both boneless/skinless and boneful/skinful. Lately, we've been experimenting with our new (to us) slow cooker, so we've been buying some roasts for Sunday dinner. The thing to keep in mind when you're shopping with no car, is how much you can carry. We've been pretty good about keeping an eye on the amount in our cart and make sure we only add the things we definitely need.

Once we've waited in the long queue and finally reach checkout, it's very important on how the items are loaded into the bags and backpack. See, in the UK, you bag your own groceries, which is good, because you really need a system. Usually by the time we actually reach the cashier, the food has already been laid out on the conveyor belt, Matt has a very systematic way as to how each item gets placed on the belt. Cold things with cold things, fragile things away from heavy things etc. That way, when you're bagging, it's already semi-sorted. So out comes the eco-friendly Sainsburys bags and off come the backpacks. Heavier things go in the backpacks, such as potatoes or bags of frozen veg. Or, alternatively, the fragile things can go into the backpack, because it's a little more stable.

Once the bags are packed and properly arranged, its time to return the cart and get your pound coin back. Yup, you have to use a pound to get a cart, you get it back when you're done shopping. We even have a special designated pound that we use each time. Pretty clever, eh?

Anyway, after you're done shopping, it's time to head home. Since we have three eco-friendly Sainsburys bags, my extremely nice husband always takes two of them, while I only have to carry one. Depending on how much we bought, they can be nice and easy to carry, or really heavy.

Upon getting home, we quickly unpack all the items (especially the ice cream like items, due to the melty nature they have when being exposed to less than cold temperatures). Then we fold up our eco-friendly bags, place them in the back room and collapse onto the couch until we have to do it all over again the next week.

So there you have it. Something that is very mundane for us, but oh so exciting for you to read about. Aren't you glad you came to visit this blog today?

Of course you are!