When it comes to grocery stores that urge almost overzealous devotion among shopper , two chains come in to heed — Whole FoodsandTrader Joe ’s . And while you may argue the virtue for both , it ’s clear thatemployeesat Trader Joe ’s have more or less mastered the art of bag groceries . No rip , toppling , or snap off wine-coloured bottles here .
While you might think it ’s part of their employee orientation after get a job there , it ’s not . According to Trader Joe ’s , the science is something their Crew Members pick up along the way . “ Our Crew member do receive some basic guidance in their training ( keep cold items with moth-eaten point , balance the weight of the products in each bag , etc . ) , ” a spokesperson for the company order Mental Floss . “ [ So ] most of what you see is the result of anecdotal ( and efficacious ! ) tips and tricks that our Crew Members pass along to each other — as well as lot and lots of practice . ”
If you do n’t have a Trader Joe ’s nearby or if you do and prefer to do your own bagging , we have good news program : It ’s possible to learn the secret of this grocery interlingual rendition of Tetris . We went flat to the source : a former Trader Joe ’s employee . The principal takeaway ? Embrace geometry .
“ The honorable strategy I found was to require what preferences the customer had and pocket their things that way , ” Christine , who worked at a Trader Joe ’s in Florida , tell Mental Floss . “ However , the majority of customers had no predilection , so my goal was always to make the bag as ‘ square ’ as possible , intend no lumps or bulge , and therefore no items in awkward positions . This facilitate preclude breakage and spillage with frail or heavy items . ”
A “ lumpy ” bag may have green goods shunted off to one side , or other items that protrude . This is where most baggers fail . “ Sometimes it ’s ineluctable count on the items , [ like ] a bag full of garden truck like white potato [ or ] avocados … but ‘ satisfying ’ bags are easier to sway and light to lay in in the car , ” Christine say . “ in the main they are also safe for the items inwardly because when the travelling bag ferment out solid ordinarily nothing is in an awkward place where it could get damaged . ”
To achieve this , it ’s safe to hold back until all items have been scan and then assess the inventorying . Put the heaviest items at the bottom of the suitcase — things like terminate good — and then keep building , achieving uniformness and even exercising weight distribution . You would n’t , for example , want to result a gal of milk on one side of the grip and put marshmallows on the other .
Once you ’ve make up your base , you could put lighter token like tater chips or bread on top .
When it arrive to glass , the position are n’t where you desire to go . “ For vino especially this make it more likely that the glass will break because there is a larger amount of surface area that will make shock when the bag is arrange down , ” Christine says . “ Equally dangerous is the possibility that the bottle will leak . If the bag gets wet , it will pull and everything will come tumbling out . ” All liquids should be kept upright for this intellect .
Almost as authoritative as weight distribution is twofold - bagging . Too often , people rely on one bag to have the strength needed when two is required : “ We in general always doubly - bagged unless the client just had a couple of light item , or the client call for single dish only . ”
Whether to package meat individually is another customer druthers . Some like grip give to raw food for thought , while others do n’t care . Accordingto the Institute of Food Technologists , you ’re best off using a separate bag , as raw foods pack bacteria that may not be contained by credit card wrapper or promotional material .
If you ’re using reusable fabric shopping bags , verify yousendthem through your washing machine ( with spicy piddle ) on a regular basis to kill any germs that might be left over from your shopping jaunt .
According to Trader Joe ’s , client are welcome to bag their own groceries . When it ’s meddlesome , employees may even appreciate it . So long as you achieve a double - bag square , everything you bought is potential to make it home intact .
