You’ve Got To Have A System

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I wouldn’t say I was anal, but my husband and daughter would. It’s not that things have to be done my way, they just have to be done the right way or at least the most logical way; and I have given an awful lot of reasoned thought to what that way should be.

Let’s take the dishwasher. I think it’s safe to say that there is a sensible way to fill it and a less than sensible way. For instance, you don’t put plastics in the bottom as they get turned over by the force of the water jets; knives go blade down in case you fall into the washer whilst the door is open and the shelf is out; and if I insist on filling the top left with cups and mugs before the right, it’s only because that way I can put the plastic plates I use for biscuits etc in the most sensible place for them. I’ve thought it all out, you see. A lot.

But the thing that gets me most stressed out is the stilly, slap-dash and totally illogical way people deal with their shopping in the supermarket. I always go up and down the aisles, starting at the magazines and books and keeping on until I reach the booze at the end. It’s sensible, reasonable and because I go along every aisle I often see things that I’ve forgotten to put on my list – come on, you knew I had a list.

When it comes time to put the shopping on the conveyor belt, I have a system. First up go the heavies:bottles of pop, juice, canned goods, etc. Then it’s the frozen goods, followed by chilled foods, veg and fruit. I’d then load up pasta, biscuits, rice and bread. Last but not least come the toiletries and toilet rolls. And Polo mints.

This order is not one I’ve come upon on a whim. Oh no! This system is tried and tested and works brilliantly because when it comes time to pack the bags once you’ve paid for your groceries, everything is in the right order. The heavies are all together to go into the sturdiest bags, the frozen and chilled goods all go into the cool-bags, fruit and veg are packed into a cotton tote kept specifically for the purpose, and everything else gets packed into the remaining bags. The Polo mints are always kept to the end so they don’t taint the fresh food with their mintiness.

See? All total logical sense.

But all too often I watch other shoppers put their food onto the conveyor belt willy-nilly, tinned foods beside toothpaste, apples beside soap. It just does not make sense to me.

But like I said before, I’m not anal. I just like things done logically. And whatever you do, don’t get me started on squint road markings.
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19 responses to “You’ve Got To Have A System”

  1. Emma Pass Avatar

    Hahahahaha! You rock, Nettie. (And I do that with the shopping too. But don’t tell anyone.) xx

  2. Jane Travers Avatar

    Oh, thank Jeebus I’m not alone! I love you Nettie 🙂

  3. Elpi Avatar

    Nettie,
    Your system is fabulous! Just as I was nodding in agreement on your flawless dishwasher method (I do exactly the same), I was thinking about my shopping routine with regards to packing. Heavys first, then drinks, cupboards, fridge, and veg / fruit. I leave the mints last because they normally go in my bag!
    So how delighted am I? Great minds, and all that. We are not anal, Nettie. We are just aware of how things should be done right.
    x
    Elpi

  4. nettiewriter Avatar

    Ladies,

    You have made this uptight old woman very happy ~:0)

    Nxxx

  5. Abi Burlingham Avatar

    Oh Nettie, a woman after my own heart!! I have a similar system, work from left to right, put things on the conveyor belt in a certain order so that heavy things don’t squash little wee things…etc – it makes sense doesn’t it? Why make life hard for yourself when you can make it easy? I also have all books and cds in alphabetical order so I can find them easily… oh, the list goes on and on. Maybe we should start a campaign for orderliness and common sense? We could have badges 😀

    1. nettiewriter Avatar

      Oh – and the badges would all look the same with all the lines straight and nothing unsymmetrical!

  6. Jackie Aitchison Avatar
    Jackie Aitchison

    I don’t have a dishwasher so cannot comment on that, but I am so with you re the supermarket and the organising of your purchases. I write my list (yes, me too!) based on the order I will come upon the items as I walk up and down every aisle (as you say just in case you have missed something off the list). Hopefully then when I have reached the end I will have gathered everything. They are placed in the trolley in an organised way so that when I reach the check out, can easily place everything, in more or less the same order as you do. If I have a lot/have my trolley/very busy check out, then I often just put the goods in the supermarket trolley and go to a quiet corner to get organised and pack properly. But that’s just sensible, isn’t it?

    1. nettiewriter Avatar
  7. Becca Avatar

    Of COURSE there’s a system to packing the shopping. Mine’s slightly different but not much. And not grouping products together plays with my head.

    As does jigsaws going away with pieces missing, or toys that come in sets, or CDs or DVDs going back in the wrong boxes.

    It just makes life better.

    1. nettiewriter Avatar

      I am SO with you with the CDs. I’m near apoplectic when I pick up an empty box!

  8. Lisa Shambrook (@LastKrystallos) Avatar

    You’ve definitely got the correct packing system, anyone not doing it that way…is doing it wrong! My daughter’s part time at Morrisons and she, like me, is pretty OCD…we love order in our lives! She struggles with some of the ways customers put their goods on the conveyor belt, and says she desperately wants to repack some of it herself! She recently had to stop herself from grabbing a customer’s bag from them when they put their soft fruit on one bag and placed a jar of jam in on top!

  9. maryjoburke Avatar

    pure logic, totally agree, love this post Nettie, I’m all for making life easier, if only others would agree with us 🙂

  10. Anne Mackle Avatar

    We women must be all very similar, dishwasher, yes I load it the same, shopping yes I go down one aisle at a time and my list is written that way too. Packing shopping, of course, big heavy things first, fruit and veg in one bag. If hubby helps it’s a nightmare all shopping in any bag at all and as for the dishwasher, well you wouldn’t sleep if I should you how he loads it or how he puts it on and it’s not full. Is it us who are mad?

    1. nettiewriter Avatar

      My Hubby is great now. He’s come with me often enough and sees how upset doing it differently makes me so he now packs like a ninja!

  11. cameronlawton Avatar

    Totally agree – and go nearly mental when the cashier carelessly picks up the soft fruit I’ve put at the end of the conveyor belt, so it doesn’t get squashed, then passes it through as quickly as possible and bashes it down on the other side.

    Dishwasher – he wouldn’t dare touch it. He has lots of other toys to play with and wishdosh only gets used about once a week, so it’s mine.

  12. Elaine (@Elaine44X) Avatar
    Elaine (@Elaine44X)

    Nettie,
    I completely agree!! I load the dishwasher the same way (hubby is not allowed to load…only empty!), my shopping list is the same as the aisles (but oh the angst when they move things around!) and I do pack onto the conveyer belt in order. However, on a recent visit to M&S the cashier lifted the first item (potatoes) to the side, put the other things through, then the potatoes. WHY?? I didn’t start packing until the potatoes were through…I could feel the tension from the queue behind me!

    1. nettiewriter Avatar

      Oh, I hate it when the cashier decides she knows better than me how I want my bags. I do hope you gave her the death stare too!

  13. Ange Barton Avatar

    I think you must be my long lost sister. I was nodding like a toy dog on the back shelf of a car throughout your post. I stack the dishwasher like you and also place heavier items on the conveyor belt first. The only difference is that I prefer tic-tacs to polos!!

    Hope you’re well Nettie.

    Ange xx

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