Online Grocery Shopping: A Review

I feel kind of lame writing a post about grocery shopping, but that's just where my life is at right now so I am going to embrace it.

BACKGROUND
Before I review the process of ordering groceries online, let me start by explaining my current process. For as random and unorganized as I am in general, I actually have this area of my life down to a predictable routine. I typically plan meals for one week at a time. I'll sit down on Sunday morning or afternoon and make a list of what we're going to have each night and what I need to buy. Then I'll circle everything I need to get at Walmart (basically whatever Aldi doesn't carry), head there, then finish out the trip by going to Aldi, then home. I go on Sundays so I can go without children.

A $1 steno pad, cut in half. The groceries go on the left, the meal plan goes on the right. Yes, that says "Tim yogurt".  

I like meal planning and getting it all over with in one day. I forget things sometimes but for the most part I feel pretty prepared. Some weeks I struggle to figure out what we should eat, and sometimes nothing sounds good so it takes longer.

For the past several weeks, I've been receiving emails from Walmart saying that they have a new online grocery shopping deal and that I should try it out. The emails have included a coupon for $10 off, and the service is free. I just have to pick up the food. I have been exhausted this week with all the house stuff, going out of town, and a poorly-timed cold, so I decided to finally give it a try.


THE "SHOPPING"
I sat down last night around 10pm and started adding things to my cart. I'd started a partial paper list so I added those items first. I've used Walmart's Savings Catcher program for a while now and because of that, they already had a small list of items I typically buy started for me, which I thought was very cool. I found the shopping experience to be very easy. I was able to create a list of favorite items, which was useful. I had the option of shopping by department or searching specific items. I mostly searched and it didn't take too long.

I liked how it kept a running total of how much I had spent. I try to do this as I am shopping, but I am not very good at mental math and it's hard to juggle a calculator and a grocery list while pushing a cart. I have a ballpark of how much I want to spend each week and I liked being able to tell how close I was while I was shopping. I was also happy to learn that I could add items like cat litter and vitamins to the list too.

When I finished, it was time to pay and schedule a time for pick up. Before I paid, it asked if there was anything else I wanted and showed a few items that I've bought in the past. I decided that yes, it would be good to have a couple of these things, so I added them as well. Then I paid with my debit card and scheduled a pick up time. I was a little confused about this initially because it was a one hour slot, but further reading showed me that my food would be ready by the start of the pick up time (in my case, 10am) and would be ready until the end of the window (11am) after which it would be put away. I was told I'd receive a call when it was ready. I went to bed kind of excited that I had finished my shopping from, well, my bed.


THE PICK UP
So this morning around 9:25, I received a call that my groceries were ready. I was surprised because it was 35 minutes before my pick up window. Luckily that wasn't a problem. I told them I would be there in about 15 minutes. Unfortunately for me, I went to the wrong Walmart (I'm special like that) and then I had to call them and let them know I'd be late. The lady laughed and told me it had happened before and that she would wheel my food back into the refrigerator. The correct location was quite a ways from my house, but it is very close to our church so if I want to try this again, I could schedule a pick up time for right after church so we could pick our food up on the way home.

When we finally got there, I parked in a reserved spot and called to let her know I was there. She came right out with my food and I helped her load it into the trunk. She told me that two items were not available so I had not been charged for them. It wasn't a big deal, but it would have been cool to have been able to substitute. One of the items was a package of blueberry yogurt and I would have been happy to sub in a different flavor, if that were an option. She presented me with a goody bag full of random sample items that we probably won't ever use, and I was on my way. I wasn't given a printed out receipt, which would have been handy for checking things over, but I do have a receipt in my email and could have done that.

The Freebies were pretty lame, but this little bag is cute. 

Lexi and I unloaded everything and it seems that everything was there. We noticed that they used a TON of bags, but I can see that some people would be picky about loading things separately. We Franzens are pretty simple creatures who like to make the fewest possible trips from the car to the kitchen so we tend to cram as much as possible into each bag. It's not a big deal because I will use the bags for cleaning out the litter box.

Holy bags, Batman!

PROS
+ Shopping from my bed! When I felt like it!
+ No herding children through the stores
+ Easy!
+ Free pick up
+ Can potentially free up 1-2 hours of my Sunday afternoons
+ Favorites list makes shopping quick
+ It was easy to compare prices between generics and name brands
+ Got $10 off my first order


CONS
- It's kind of a trek from my house unless I plan strategically
- Website was a little slow
- Substitutions? The FAQ says there is a way to substitute but I can't figure it out.  Before checking out, you can select whether or not you want to allow substitutions for each item, HOWEVER, it seems these substitutions are more about size/quantity of a specific item rather than flavors.
- Have to buy everything at Walmart
- Doesn't work with Savings Catcher  It DOES work with Savings Catcher! They provide a code to enter into the app.
- Timing. Picking up early wasn't a problem today but could be in the future.


THE VERDICT
Overall, I was very pleased with this process! I was really not looking forward to shopping this week and this certainly made it easier on me and the kids. I could see myself working on the list throughout the week which would streamline things even more. I'm not sure if I can give up shopping at Aldi altogether, but for busy weeks like the ones we've been having, this could be a real time saver, especially if I strategically schedule the pick up for a time when I'm near the store. I think I'll try it again.

This post was brought to you by a helpful cat. 

Jamberry Nail Wraps - My Honest Review

I'm going to share a review with you. I don't often take the time to review stuff, mostly because I don't feel that things are awesome/horrible enough to warrant me taking the time to share my opinion. But I stumbled across Jamberry Nail Wraps a few months ago and when I looked for reviews, I didn't find many. So I decided to write one. What the heck is a Jamberry Nail, you ask? Well, in my own straight-forward terms, they are basically coolly decorated, heavy-duty sticker wraps that you heat up and apply to your nails to give you a funky, long-lasting manicure or pedicure. I'm sure there are fancier ways to say it, but that's not my style. 

The truth?

I love them. They have helped me to stop biting my nails multiple times and they are an easy way for a fashion unconscious (yep that's a phrase) person like myself to wear a little flair. They are an inexpensive way to pamper yourself a little. 

5 things I love about Jamberry Nail Wraps.

1. They are well-priced. When you order, you pay $15 for a sheet of wraps. I've been able to get two full manicures and two full pedicures from one sheet before, which means that each mani or pedi costs about $3.75. I'm not a person who gets my nails professionally done unless I am getting married, but I still feel this is quite reasonable.

Here I am showing them off whilst in the parking lot at Walmart. This was my first time doing my toes and I made the mistake of cutting them short beforehand. Would've been easier to file them down after. 

2. They are easy. Every time I paint my nails, I forget that I have just done so and do something stupid like cook dinner or scratch my tush and get them all smudged up. Once you've put on a Jamberry wrap, you are good to go. You don't have to wipe excess polish from the skin around your fingers (seriously, I told you I was uncoordinated) or wait forever for them to dry. To apply the wraps, you cut the wrap to the right length for your nail, heat it with your hair dryer, stick it on, file the excess off, then seal the adhesive one last time with your hair dyer. That's it. Then you've got nails for days, which brings me to my next point...

3. They last. The best part is that the wraps have stayed nice on my fingers for two weeks and on my toes for over a month. This is great because when I decided to start polishing my nails in an attempt to stop biting them, I got irritated every time they would chip, even a little. One little chip would lead me to start picking and eventually, I'd have to take all the polish off.  I have had a couple of wraps start peeling up a little after a week or so and I've been able to essentially glue them down with clear topcoat and continue wearing them.

These are my toes after over a month! I stubbed one of them running around barefoot but they sure hung in there. 

4. They look cool. Another thing I like is that I get to choose designs that there is no way I could ever replicate with polish. Most of the ones I've ordered have been sparkly, because I am a little girl inside. There are a lot of holiday themed wraps that look fun.

I picked a few wraps off and decided to polish the rest of my nails to coordinate. Fun times!

5. They are fun. Jamberry parties are all done online, which works for my schedule since Facebook is my second home anyway. The consultant creates fun games for everyone to play throughout the week, and you can earn points for playing. I've been a part of two online parties and at the last party, I won a drawing for free Jamberries. Yay me!

I'll be hosting an online party the week of Thanksgiving, so if you would like to learn more, just let me know and I would be happy to invite you. It's super low-key with no pressure to buy.

If you have any questions you can contact the lovely Tiffany Bailey, the consultant I have worked with, by visiting her website. 

Giraffe or tortoiseshell? Either way, they're sparkly and I love it. 

This post is part of the 30 Day Challenge.