Optimise your household supply operations (the most boring way to put it). Most things now use it.
This approach is all about putting non-perishables on autopilot—things like canned goods, coffee, rice, toothpaste, laundry detergent, and cleaning supplies. I use Amazon's Subscribe & Save or similar services for that. For fresh items, I set up a rhythm with a weekly market box for fruits and vegetables, plus a recurring butcher or freezer drop for proteins. It's a one-time setup with low-touch tweaks: I can skip, pause, or push back deliveries when stock starts piling up.
It works well because it reduces context switching by removing a recurring errand and the mental overhead of planning. There are fewer impulse buys since I'm not wandering through store aisles falling for "just in case" temptations. My base pantry is always stocked, making weeknights much calmer without the worry of running out.
My baseline setup includes coffee beans every 4 weeks, rice and pasta every 8–12 weeks, paper towels and toilet paper every 8–12 weeks, dish tabs and laundry every 8 weeks, pantry tins like tomatoes, beans, and coconut milk every 6–8 weeks, a veg box weekly, and a meat box every 6 weeks.
If something stacks up, I pause the next delivery or push it back a cycle—it took about 60 seconds last month when tins piled up.
The time and money saved are significant: I save 60–90 minutes a week by not doing a shop or making lists, monthly reviews take less than 5 minutes to skip or adjust, and there's lower variance in my grocery bill from avoiding random add-ons.
For quick operations, I skip the next delivery when stock exceeds a month, bring it forward by a week if I'm hosting, and keep an "overflow" shelf or tub for surplus—if it fills, I pause that item.
Optional automations include a calendar nudge on the first Sunday of the month for a "Pantry review (5 min)," a bank or budget rule to tag subscriptions as “Pantry” for visibility, a robot vacuum to clean while I'm out, and laundry pickup for busy weeks.
The opportunity cost of the time saved is worth considering—those extra hours can be redirected to more fulfilling or productive activities, but it's key to know when optimization makes sense. If grocery shopping is enjoyable or a low-cost way to get out, perhaps it's not worth automating. This mirrors approaches in building software products, where we automate repetitive tasks to focus on high-value features, much like deploying CI/CD pipelines or no-code tools to streamline development. Who knew my pantry could teach me DevOps—next thing you know, it'll be filing its own pull requests!
On the FAQ side, if deliveries pile up, I pause or skip in the app and reduce the cadence next cycle. For apartment secure delivery, I use parcel lockers, concierge, or specify notes—non-perishables can tolerate delays. If prices shift, I swap brands or adjust cadence, and Subscribe & Save often includes discounts. For dietary specifics, I lock in staples and buy specialty fresh items ad-hoc. If not in Australia, any local grocer with subscriptions plus a farm box and freezer pack works.