How Grocery Delivery Changed My Relationship with Shopping

A few weeks ago I caught sight of my overworked, frazzled, absent-minded self in the big mirror in my local grocery store and did a double take; as unbelievable as it was, I had managed to go to the store wearing my pajamas. I honestly thought I’d remembered to change into jeans and a T-shirt.

One embarrassing trip wouldn’t be so bad, but it happens more often than not — mostly when I’ve run out of something, usually coffee or milk, which I need in order to function.

The truth is that I hate grocery shopping, and not just because I have to remember to put on real clothes. I hate all the options and how easy it is to get distracted at the supermarket. You know how it goes: Oooo, look, gummy bears! Why did I come down this aisle again? Wait, they make purple pasta sauce?

Even the real clothes and distractions wouldn’t be so bad if only I remembered to actually cook with everything I bought. My biggest gripe of all is that I forget what I have and so produce rots in my crisper (which, by the way, is a false advertiser; it does not keep things crisp forever).

But my relationship with groceries has changed dramatically — for the better! — since I discovered grocery delivery. I’m not saying I never come across sad little carcasses of things that used to be carrots or grapefruits and sigh to myself with sorrow (that still happens sometimes), but grocery delivery really is a modern miracle. Here are five reasons why.

Too many times, I’ve bought double of something simply because I couldn’t remember whether or not that item was already in my fridge. Have you done this before too? I’m guessing yes.

Now when I’m ordering groceries online and I can’t remember how much milk I have, I can go over to the fridge and look. It’s that easy: I can actually take stock in real time — without holding up the line at the checkout. I don’t waste money on things I don’t actually need and I don’t (often) forget to order a key ingredient that I really need.

When I first started ordering groceries online, I spent a little time setting up lists of the things I buy on the regular (most online stores will let you do this). Now they’re in the computer forever and I can always have the ingredients and supplies I need on hand. I typically buy groceries to last me a fortnight, but you can do this on a weekly basis if you like.

Sure, I know how to feel a tomato to make sure it’s a good one. And I know that you’re supposed to pop off that button on the avocado to see if it’s ripe. I know all those tricks — and frankly, I’d rather let someone else do it.

The fruits and veggies I’ve had delivered in the last few weeks have been just as good, if not better, than the stuff I’ve picked out in the past. Just having a fridge stocked of near-perfect produce makes me excited, which in turn makes me more likely to actually use it all.

This seems like it wouldn’t be the case, but a lot of online grocery stores have one-time deals and weekly offers that help you knock quite a bit off your bill. I also save money on gas and am way less likely to make impulse purchases on the computer than I am when walking aimlessly through a maze of aisles. (Again, looking you at you, gummy bears.)

It’s possible that no one will judge me for shopping in my pajamas — we’ve all been there, right? — but I can be sure no one is judging me while I select produce for my virtual cart.

Do you have your groceries delivered? What do you like about it?