The Checkout Habit That Grocery Workers Secretly Love

Anyone who’s ever worked in a grocery store will tell you that old habits do not die easy.

In other words: once a bagger, always a bagger.

Back in the early 2000s, I proudly wore the badge (okay, name tag) of a bagger at Lees Market in Westport. Let me tell you, I was good. Like, plastic-in-paper-perfectly-folded-corners good.

Nearly 20 years later, that inner bagger still lives on.

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Which is why, no matter where I’m shopping (Market Basket, Stop & Shop, Shaws, Trucchi’s), you’ll catch me doing something a little... unorthodox.

If there’s no bagger at the register, I can’t help myself. I jump into action like I’m still clocked in. Even when someone is bagging, I follow a checkout ritual that drives my wife absolutely bonkers.

I organize my groceries on the belt. Religiously.

I’m talking full-blown, neurotic-level categorization. While it may seem like I’m overthinking the checkout process, there’s actually a method to my madness. Any seasoned bagger will tell you, this kind of organization is a dream come true.

My Grocery Belt Blueprint

Here’s how I break it down, in this exact order:

• Reusable bags – right at the front, so the bagger knows what they’re working with
• Dairy and refrigerated items – grouped together to keep things cool
• Produce – all fresh fruits and veggies, all in one place
• Frozen foods – they stick with their chilly friends
• Chemicals/cleaners – far away from anything edible, because duh
• Chips and bread – the fragile crew, loaded third to last
• Eggs – fragile but sacred, second to last
• Heavy items – think gallons of milk and watermelon, loaded last from under the cart

Why I Do It

Sure, it takes a few extra seconds to organize everything, but from the P.O.V. of a bagger (or a cashier trying to keep the line moving), it’s actually a huge help.

It makes bagging faster, smarter and far less chaotic. If you’re using your own totes, it can help maximize space and prevent crushed bananas or exploded yogurt cups.

It may seem obsessive, but if you’ve ever bagged groceries for a living, you get it.

So yes, my wife may roll her eyes every time I start my conveyor belt choreography, but deep down, I know some unseen bagger is silently nodding in appreciation.

Old habits die hard, but good habits? They bag themselves into your DNA.