Harris Teeter ExpressLane and Gatheredtable saves our family’s sanity: teachmama fab find

Friends.

If you are like me and were spending an hour–or more!–each week roaming the aisles of the grocery store, then this is for you.

If you always seem to end up with too much or not enough or not the right ingredients for recipes, then this is for you.

If you would like to save hundreds of dollars on food each month, then this is for you.

If your family despises weekly grocery shopping, then this is for you.

If your family loves food–and cooking!–then this is for you.

I feel like I hit the lottery, and I’m not even kidding.

Thanks to Harris Teeter ExpressLane, our family is spending less time in the grocery store and more time doing the things we love to do.

And add in the awesome of Gatheredtable, and it’s a perfect combination.

It’s so amazing, it makes me want to dance.

Here’s the skinny:

Harris Teeter ExpressLane and Gatheredtable saves our family’s sanity: teachmama fab find

So I owe this life change to my sister, Jenny, who early this summer told me about how her Giant has a grocery pick-up service. She uses Giant’s Peapod, which either delivers or has a pick-up option. The Giant near me does not offer the pick-up service.

I gave Harris Teeter’s ExpressLane a go this summer under a ‘freebie’ promotion. It costs $4.95 for this service, but they often run promotions: buy this item and you get your fee waived. That kind of thing.

Or you can subscribe for a month at $16.95 or subscribe for a year ($99.95).

Here’s how I use Harris Teeter ExpressLane along with Gatheredtable:

1. I look at the ExpressLane sale circular for big items that are on sale, simply by clicking on the Weekly Sales Flyer tab.

2. I open Gatheredtable and search for meals that include the sale items. . . 

. . . then I add those recipes to my weekly menu. 

3. I add whichever other ingredients I need for the week’s meals to my ExpressLane list, along with any other items we need.

The lists can be saved, which we have done.

And I created a list for each child:

• lunch list: maddy
• lunch list: owen
• lunch list: cora.

Each list is filled with the kids’ favorite lunch foods. Since the kids are each making their own lunches this year, adding foods to the list is easy, and they know that each week if they have special requests, we simply add it to the Harris Teeter Expresslane list.

4. Then I reserve a time slot when I can pick up the groceries and leave a note for your shopper, requesting any specifics. 

If I want them to make sure my fruit is not too ripe or my lunchmeat sliced a certain way, I can tell them in the notes.

You can pay at pick-up, which I love, and you can adjust or edit your list up to four hours before your pickup time.

And? A friend of mine just reminded me–and I’m so curious as to how I forgot this–there’s an app for your mobile device. So you can make your list while you’re on the sidelines of your kids’ soccer games, ballet practice, band rehearsal, you name it.

Harris Teeter iOS app || Harris Teeter Google Play app

5. You’ll be notified via phone call and/or email when your order is ready for pick-up. 

Often the food is gathered earlier than you’d expect, so this is kind of nice.

But there’s no pressure to pick up immediately; if you are running later than your time slot, that’s no big deal.

6. Then you simply drive through the ExpressLane, call via the callbox, and someone will bring out your groceries.

No tipping, friends. At all.

Because the person who brings you your bags most likely was not the person who did your shopping.

And really?

That’s it. It takes me less than 30 minutes to plan a menu for the week on Gatheredtable and add the groceries to my Harris Teeter Expresslane cart.

It takes me 10 minutes max to drive to Harris Teeter to pick up the groceries.

Even on weeks when they’re not running a special–buy this item and waive the pick-up fee– the $4.95 fee is well worth my time.

And it’s worth yours, too, friend.

No matter where you are or what kind of grocery pick-up or delivery options your local store has, try it. Try it. Give yourself a few weeks to get the hang of it, and then decide whether it’s worth it or not to your family.

In my experience, here are a few things I’ve learned when online shopping: 

• Look at sizes of packages. Sometimes I end up with smaller sizes than I’d hoped because I looked at price and not size.
• Make a note for your shopper. Tell him or her how you want deli meat sliced and what kinds of fruit you want. Really–they listen!
• Be clear about the cuts of meat you want from the meat counter.
• Accept substitutions! If you want an item and the store doesn’t have it, they’ll substitute and still give you the sale price.
• Make lists! The multi lists we have make shopping super quick.
• Have one list for every week staples–things that you pick up every, single week: milk, bread, juice, etc.
• Look for coupons! Whether you use Harris Teeter ExpressLane or Giant PeaPod or whatever, most stores offer big discounts for new customers–search and you will find one!
• Use Gatheredtable. Really and truly, I love it. And if you use this referral link, you’ll get a whole month of this service free! Teachmama referral link.
• Check out Groupon for savings on Peapod or other local delivery services.

What do you think? Have you tried this service–or something like it? I’d love to hear it!

Want more on Gatheredtable?

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