Grocery shopping has now become more complex thanks to COVID19. Gone (for now) are the days of driving to the store, going in, getting groceries, coming home, unpacking and going about your day. Thanks to the virus, it’s got a little more tricky, but not impossible. Especially if you follow our simple directions below to help you manage your shopping trips.
So check out these COVID19 shopping tips to help you get your supplies as safely as possible. This is part one of a two part post.
Plan Your Trips
The less often you go the better, so if you can try and get as much as you need for a week or even two weeks. The more often you go out, the more possibility there is of you coming into contact with someone who may be carrying the virus. So check through your pantry, your fridge and any other place you keep your supplies and work out what you need and how much you need to cover you for the period you wish to shop for.
Buying supplies online may also be an option depending on where you live. This will nullify you even venturing out, or from being out for long. See what you can get online.
When to Go
So think about when you can visit the store. If you’re home furlonged, out of work or working from home, you already have an advantage in that you can be more flexible in timing your trips. Big times not to go will be around lunchtime or the evening peak from 5 to 7. Those times will see most people going. A good tip is to use Google and search for the name of the store. In the business listing of that store, there’s normally a graph that shows the busiest times of day that the business experiences.
See if you can try and flatten that curve by going to it at times where there are fewer people. Social distancing is key here, not to mention that if you are around people for longer, then you have greater risk of infection.
Keep Your Hands Clean
Before you go out, wash your hands. If you’re driving, clean all handles of your car and the steering wheel and other things you may touch inside it. Effectively you want to be going to the store as clean as possible, as much for everyone else as you. Many stores do have hand sanitizer available for you to clean your hands with. Use a bit of it as well. Many supermarkets are also cleaning and sanitizing their carts and baskets which is also good, but you can never be too clean.
If you can, bring your own shopping bags too, and of course, ensure they are clean and sanitized.
Social Distancing is Key
Many stores are allowing a certain number of people in. This is to help keep up with social distancing guidelines. Try and avoid people as much as possible. If where you want to go to has people, come back to it later. Try and be as quick and efficient as possible and if you know the layout of the store, this will give you an advantage to really plan your route as best as possible. It also goes without saying to follow store guides and markings to ensure you’re standing at the right position to avoid contact with people.
This concludes part one of this helpful guideline. Part two of this post can be seen here.
Remember, if you’re in pain, please make an appointment to come in and see us.
