Our Suburban Archeologist lets us in on an amazing secret.

We are all desperate housewives, especially at 2:59 when it's time to pick up the kids. Just when we're a third of the way down our to-do list -- ding! -- mother's little hindrances arrive home. Who can blame us if we're always looking for the next labor-saving device -- whether it's a cleaning squadron or a Blackberry?

For most people, the Internet's a help. From banking to ordering pet meds. Even paying those endless Montclair conveyor belt parking tickets (I’m in the acceptance phase and I refer to them as my way of giving to the “Montclair community fund”) on njcourtsonline.com. And, as someone who does not “do” math, nothing compares to PayCycle.com for our company’s accounting needs. But as resident Suburban Archaeologist, I’m always digging for new time saving-treasures. Have I got a gem for you.

The most sublime time saver of all? Online grocery shopping at Nutley Shoprite. I practically skipped with joy down Lorraine Street when I realized my days of lumbering through the grocery store were O-V-E-R. I’d rather chew glass than crisscross through the supermarket ever again, pushing a 500 hundred pound cart, escorting two kids to the bathroom (at different times, no less), buying snacks to the tune of "Mommy, Mommy you forgot my balloon!" and getting half-way through check-out before realizing I'd forgotten my deli order.

So I’m feeling rather smug about my discovery. Ok, it’s not available at Brookdale Shoprite (my supermarket with a heart), but who cares? And even if the service is $10 extra, you save money. In fact, my first grocery bill was half as much as the usual one because I didn’t impulse buy.

Click on shoprite.com  to create a master list (which takes little time). Don’t worry, it’s got the all pictures, specials, brand names and aisles to guide you. Plus, you can modify that list anytime to make it smaller or larger. Choose the pick-up time in the drop-down box. (You need to plan pick-up about four hours ahead). Go to the Nutley Shoprite on Franklin Street, pull into the far end of the store parking lot, back in, and a sensor alerts an employee you are in the pick-up  area. So far, I’ve never seen a waiting line. An employee greets you at your car window (the first time with flowers for using their service) and poof! insta-shopping in less than five, count ‘em guys, five minutes. They take my debit card to pay and load up my trunk with my order. Yes, full serve. As if I were buying gas.

Drawbacks? Sure, there's the occasional snafu. Once, for instance, I got a single apple instead of a whole bag. I learned my lesson and ordered more carefully the next time. A small price, I think, for squeezing an extra 90 minutes into a 24-hour-day. Isaac Newton would be proud.

Lisa Finan

January 13, 2005 in Suburban Archeologist | Permalink