One thing is for sure many women with ADHD find grocery shopping to be our worst nightmare. Grocery shopping can be the most time consuming and aggravating of all chores whether you have ADHD or not. Another reason why grocery shopping can be difficult for a woman with ADHD is there are to many choices and sometimes just choosing what kind of apples to buy can be overwhelming. In addition, crowds can be difficult, which can make a woman with ADHD can make you anxious and more likely to throw junk food into our carts. But it doesn’t have to be that way so here are some tips to help grocery shopping less overwhelming for women with ADHD.
Plan Out Your Meals– One of the key to successful grocery shopping is knowing what you want and need before you go. Trying to figure out what you eat as you are going down the isles can be overwhelming. The night before you go grocery shopping plan out your meals for the week and keep the list somewhere you will be able to find it the next day.
Have A Grocery Shopping List– Never go food shopping without some sort of list, even if you are only picking up a few items write them down. This will help you with buying things that you don’t need, and it helps you to not forget what you went for.
Products You Like– If and when you find a product that you like, keep on using it. For instance, I like to use Tide laundry detergent, every time I run out of it, I always buy that brand because I like it how clean it gets my clothes and has a nice smell. The reason why I do this is I don’t have to continuously go through the task on what laundry detergent is the best by comparing the prices or reading the labels. If you are happy with the product there is no reason to search for the best again.
Shopping Once a Week– Try to get into the habit of going food shopping once a week, and if you can try to go on the same day every week. This means that going food shopping will never become a huge task if it stays manageable
Favorite Supermarket– If you have a favorite supermarket, try to get into the habit of always shopping there. The reason being it helps you to know where the items that you need are located and it saves lots of time.
Keep An On-Going List– If you happen to run out of an item during the week, write it down right away. It might be easy to say “oh I will remember that item, but as I know life can be busy and stressful without having to remember that you ran out of coffee. Keep a notebook or white board to write down the items that you run out of so it will be easy for you to remember.
Estimate How Long It Takes You– Some people worry about how long it takes them to go food shopping and they feel like it takes them longer than anyone else. For a woman with ADHD comparing yourself to someone else isn’t helpful because it makes you feel bad about yourself. So, take the time estimate how long it takes you do your weekly grocery shopping. It probably takes you less time than you think.