At the end of a work week, the last thing I want to do is spend a good chunk of of my weekend going to the store to buy the stuff we need at home. I prefer to spend as much time as possible with my family, doing things we enjoy and relaxing, rather than patrolling down aisles of merchandise and waiting in line to pay.
Thankfully, there’s a slew of online subscription and delivery services now available to us today, which helps me limit how much I actually go to brick and mortar stores, saving me time and hassle every week.
In fact, I get a random assortment of household items and groceries my family needs delivered to straight to our home – from diapers to printer ink to organic fruits and vegetables. In doing so:
- I save time by not having to take multiple trips to various stores every week
- I avoid the hassle of physically going into the store to find what I need
- I save money because I’m not tempted to pick up so many other things off the shelf that aren’t actually on my list
- I run out of things we need less frequently
- I get a lot of my shopping conveniently done while I watch Netflix 🙂
These are the four online subscription or delivery services I regularly use for my family, which saves me 4 hours a week:
Amazon Subscribe & Save
I started using this subscription years ago primarily for diapers and baby wipes when my daughter was little.
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can save up to 20% off these items and other family essentials when you order these through Subscribe & Save, thanks to Amazon Family (another free perk for being a Prime member).
Note: If you’re not a Prime member, you can save up to 15% off if you subscribe to and order five or more items per delivery.
In addition to the discount, items are shipped free and I don’t run out of diapers, which is why I still use this program for my little guy today and have added a few more things to our monthly subscription, including some toiletries and other household products.
It’s easy to manage your subscription – you can:
- Select your schedule and the frequency of your deliveries for each item (once a month, every two months, etc. – up to six months). Prior to your delivery, you’ll get an email, so you can verify your order that month.
- Easily skip an item for a later month or cancel it altogether if you don’t need something.
- Add items to your subscription list easily.
I review my list every month to make sure I’m not getting something we don’t need and add anything we do need. And, on months that we don’t need anything, I don’t get anything delivered.
Check out Amazon Prime benefits if you’re curious.
And, if you want to give Subscribe & Save a try, learn more here.
HP Insta Ink
Before I started using this service about a year ago, it seemed like I ran out of ink on the days that I really needed to print something. When this happens, I’m forced to run to the store, which sometimes ends up taking at least an hour of time to do with traffic and having to weave through the store (and finding a few things to add to my basket, which weren’t on my list in the first place). Since I’ve used this service, I haven’t had to deal with that.
It has been so convenient. I received my replacement ink cartridge way before I needed to replace what I had. I didn’t even have to think about it. And better yet, I’ve been saving money on ink! We used to spend about $110-150 a year on ink and it felt like the ink ran out faster than it should have (maybe, I’m being cynical). But with the plan I’ve signed up for, we pay about $60 a year – saving us at least $50 annually.
I recommend you try it out. You can pick whatever plan fits your printing needs and you can cancel it anytime. 🙂 And I love that they make it easy for you to return the used ink cartridge cases for recycling.
One important thing to note … this is a program through HP. So you do need an HP printer. I actually decided to buy an HP printer myself, so I could join this program.
I bought the HP Deskjet 3630 printer. It’s nothing fancy, but does the job and I can scan documents too.
Want to give it a try? Use this link to sign up and get one-free month of ink.
Farm Fresh to You
Added: 1/15/19
I really make an effort to feed my family nutritious foods. And, I love that Farm Fresh to You helps me do that so conveniently. We get a variety organic fruits and vegetables every week without having to go to the farmer’s market. It’s like a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm box, if you’re familiar with those, but customizable and includes home delivery.
Every week (unless I opt out for a particular one), we get a box of produce (fruits and vegetables) delivered to our doorstep from local farms. Aside from the convenience, I like this service because I know where our fruits and vegetables are coming from. And because they’re from local farmers, I know they’re fresher. They don’t sit for long periods of time in trucks or warehouses before they get distributed to retailers, like most produce sold in grocery stores. And I like knowing that our food is coming from farms that use sustainable practices.
I also enjoy the tips they share (included in the box you get) about how to store different types of fruits and vegetables. They’re super helpful.
It’s easy to sign up, get started and customize your box. You get to pick if you want all fruits, all veggies, or a mix of both. And while you get a recommended batch of produce for a given week, you can easily remove items you don’t want and add others you do like. In addition to organic produce, you can also add a variety of farm products to your box. They offer meats, cheeses, jams, baked goods, juicing sets, pre-assembled meal kits, etc.
And if you have any issues, their customer service is super convenient. When my box was missing an item, or when I got something that was too ripe, I just let them know through their website and they credit my account no questions asked.
The two downsides are that I did notice that in the winter season, their fruit and vegetable selection wasn’t that great, but it makes sense, as they grow what’s in season. And unfortunately, they only deliver to northern and southern California.
Want to give it a try? You can get $15 off your first delivery.
Visit their website and use my Refer-A-Friend code at sign up to get $15 off your first delivery.* I’ll also get a little savings added to my account too.
$15 Off Code: PAUL3521
If you don’t live in these areas, do some research to see what’s available where you live.
*This offer is valid for new subscribers or those who have not received a delivery in 3 months.
Target Pick Up and Drive Up
So this one isn’t delivered to your home, but it’s still super convenient.
Unfortunately, I have been somewhat disappointed in Target’s shipping service. I’ve received a few broken items (liquid products have arrived in cracked containers or have leaked) from them and another time several items I purchased were missing. I was reimbursed for the items that were damaged or missing, but it wasn’t the easiest process to report and submit my make claims. Because of this, I now limit items I order for delivery to certain products that aren’t prone to getting damaged during delivery.
What I do instead is I order my stuff online (using their mobile app), then I pick them up at the store. While I do still need to make the trip, it’s still much more convenient than having to go into the store, find the things I need and line up to pay. For the most part, it’s ready for pick-up the same day, sometimes in just a couple of hours. All I do is show up and present my ID. They confirm my order and I’m back out the door in a few minutes.
We actually did this just last weekend. We’ve had a crazy week and I forgot to buy a gift for my daughter’s friend’s birthday. So the morning before his party, I ordered his gift on Target.com and we picked it up a couple hours later before heading to the party. It was so convenient! I was in and out, and we were on time for the party. 🙂
Now, if you enjoy casually perusing through Target’s aisles – then don’t do this. I don’t want to take away your joy 😉 The goal isn’t to eliminate tasks you enjoy doing. For me personally, I can do without spending an hour in Target.
01/15/19 Update: About a couple of months ago, as I was ordering stuff on Target’s mobile app for store pick-up, I noticed they had a DRIVE UP option to retrieve my order. I immediately tried it out and have been using this awesome service when possible. It’s quite easy. I add the items I need to my cart like I did for the Pick Up option, but select the Drive Up option instead. Then, I get a notification on my phone when my order is ready for pick up and from the app itself, you can let Target know when you’re on your way and when you’re at the store’s Drive Up location. It’s AWESOME! This saves me so much time and hassle. I don’t even need to GO INTO the store.
Side note: Not all items are available for these pick-up options. From what I could tell, they don’t include any perishable items – this includes fruits, vegetables, frozen items, anything in their chilled shelves and a few other food items. But there’s still a plethora of other items you can buy and simply pick up.
Lighten the load for yourself and give at least one of these a try! You don’t have to physically do everything yourself. By using some online subscription and delivery services like this, you can save yourself time every week.
Do you have any online subscription or delivery services you recommend? Please share with the group!
I’m not by sponsored by HP or Farm Fresh to You. But, this post may contain affiliate or referral links – this means I may receive a commission or get some credit to my account (at no cost to you) if you purchase something or subscribe through one the links in this post (yay free ink and produce!). Thank you! Know that I only recommend products and services I personally use or believe would add value to our readers. Learn more.