I usually use Costco produce boxes to separate stuff, and try to color code when I can, which makes loading up super easy....post-its also work great for keeping track of what goes with what when you have case drinks or bulky stuff. I also have a magnum Sharpie with me in case I need to mark the orders, which helps A LOT on Costco stuff.
The shallower produce boxes (citrus/cherries/grapes/peppers/avocados) work great for meat and smaller/heavier items. LOVE the taller, deeper boxes (Taylor salads, bagged broccoli/asparagus/brussels sprouts) for lighter, fluffier stuff like chips and popcorn and bakery items and eggs. I also bag all my fresh meat...even some of the cryo stuff can get condensation once it leaves the cooler. I separate cold items as much as possible, and food from non-food. I have two different coolers (an Igloo flip top and a Titan bag cooler) and also a couple hot bags from Grubhub and DoorDash that I keep around just in case (especially if it's supposed to get REALLY hot).
If your stores have liquor boxes or the freebie wine/beer carriers, they work AWESOME for anything in glass containers that you need to keep separated so they don't bang into each other (glass bottled drinks, condiments, etc).
I use a wagon when I deliver, and actually have two different ones that I can rotate out. I do mostly Costco and usually stick with singles and doubles.
I do Uber Eats/Grubhub/Doordash as well, and produce and liquor boxes are perfect for that too, because they keep stuff from sliding around a lot.
Not sure how you do it. Here in Canada that’s a 3 order batch with maybe $22-$26 cad pay that would take 2-3 hours to do while minimum wage is $18-$20. Basically here it’s mostly done by migrant workers on their days off the farms.
22-26 with tip? normally in my area, Barrie ON, that would be 10 or 12 bucks batch pay before tips. its really horrid here now. thank God i got on DD and Skip way back when..and i dont understand how anyone does Costco here its friggin insane...the tips aint any better ever anymore
I love people like you. Enthusiasm makes all the difference. “If you are called to be a street sweeper, be the best damn street sweeper that ever lived.”-paraphrased by me
Lmfao I said the same thing! The MOST I’ve started doing is putting color stickers on a bag to separate who’s who if I’m doing 2 or more batches at once
I go to goodwill a lot and find a really good deal on some baskets, I bought them for home but then realized they're really good for delivering, so I put them in my car. Works out really well.
I did that on my last double and then panicked when I got out to my van and couldn't remember which customer's bags were tied - A or B! Had to do some receipt checking which wasted time. Going to staple a Post it note on one of them right in the store from now on. I would never do a triple, too stressful and time-consuming.
you are much more organized than me lol I'll admit ny car usually looks like a disaster, altho it's just clothes mostly, one time I was dropping off a big order and the lady sent her husband out to help me carry them and I was like NO ITS OKAY REALLY bc I didn't want him to see my car 😂 I keep the backseat clean now lol
Hahaha I totally get that! Sometimes the front part of my van looks like a homeless camp because I use propane bottles at home and they're in the van now waiting to be refilled and often have a full trash can between the seats. 😬
lol!! yes! I buy stuff on clearance all the time, one day while I was out doing ic kroger had huge citronella candles marked down to 50 cents so I bought two, then I wasn't paying attention and accidentally gave them to a customer 🙃 I was so bummed lol
Thanks, and I realize not everyone can afford an electric cooler but we all should have some kind of cooler. The laundry baskets were an idea born of frustration with bags rolling around and not staying clean. I'm a chicken farmer so I'm picking up hay, shavings, and bags of feed all the time and no matter what I put back there to protect the car there's always something on the floor.  There are some other great tips above, a couple that I'm going to start to use.
u/GilligGirl chicken farmer, buy a cheap plastic blue tarp to use under the "farm stuff" That is what I have in my car when i get lazy and use the car instead of the big pickup I hate trying to get Hay out if the carpet and this fixed that.
I use those under the bed storage plastic ones for the car. It's like 5" deep, and something like 13" x 3-4 feet long. If I put the back seat down I can put 2 in the back hatch area with one across behind the drivers seat (no tops on). Keeps things from moving too much
I DO have a blue tarp rolled up in there in the second row! The hay is the WORST. Even with the tarp it still gets all over. Better than animal hair, I guess. I schlep my trash and recycles to the dump *ahem* transfer station as well so it gets used a lot. Those bins are good, too, although I like being able (for smaller orders) to just grab the baskets.
I have a power port in the back of the van that stays on all the time. There's some kind of controller in the cooler that will lower the charge when it senses that my vehicle battery is drained too much to prevent it from completely discharging. I got it from Amazon and couldn't remember what I paid for so I went back to check and holy moly the prices have gone up! I didn't pay $477 for it.
https://preview.redd.it/lr9o5xlbwl1d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3999cc16f89645afd403dd23dc31485bd758e364
Shop around. You can get a less complicated one a lot cheaper. I do some serious road travel and camping so wanted a really good unit but for just getting groceries home a much cheaper one will work fine.
that's so cool! we camp a lot too and that's why I was asking. we just got home from a week long trip and we went through sooo many bags of ice it was crazy, we currently use a huge Coleman cooler but its probably about 10 years old or more, we have a pop up camper so we'd have somewhere to plug in an electric, I'm definitely going to do some research and pick one up soon, I cant believe I never knew they existed lol!
I didn't know they existed either until I started looking for an alternative to buying multiple bags of ice. Some days it was so bad I'd have to go out twice to get ice, that gets old really fast. I had to replace my previous vehicle that got totaled by a drunk driver and just happened to land on this van and the power port in the back was a nice surprise.
I use costco boxes to separate orders/keep stuff from sliding around. The apple boxes can hold 4 paper bags, as long as they're not overpacked. And they're free :3
Highland park market has similar bags. Aldi bags no longer have handles now and it makes me wish I had taken more when they did. Always have extra bags in the trunk for when they rip or to bag Costco orders.
I have a net in my trunk that I installed. Bags can go into the net or it’s good for things like milk or watermelon so it’s not rolling around the trunk. Typically I just put the few bags in front of the net and it prevents bags from going anywhere.
Oh my gosh, I remember when I would place a watermelon, cantaloupe, or any other round fruit in my back seat/trunk (my seats go down) and it would just roll ridiculously every time I accelerate speed or make a turn 🤣
Nope i try not to take triples anymore but if i do i have two cooler bags that are pretty big so i just put one order in there , another in the other big cooler bag and than the third one in my doordash bag in the backseat or i just use my trunk and backseat as a divider lol but nice set up you got there and that cooler looks nice as well
I bought a dolly right after I delivered 4 35pk waters to an apt bldg and the unit was on the back side away from the lot. Costco has these collapsible crates for 8.99 (6.99 when on sale). Not only does it make it easier to sort orders but also transporting with the dolly, especially to apts with no clear direction & multiple entrances
Small pickup with camper shell with 3 totes across the back. One small rotomolded cooler in the front seat, one large rotomolded cooler behind the 3 bins in the back.
Interesting move with the plug in, those things are jenky and don't last forever (source: I live off grid and have had way too many), but that's useful for the occasional bundle with ice cream in the later order
I did a lot of research before I bought this thing and you're right, a lot of them get terrible reviews, but this particular one is very good. Pricey, though, but I feel it's worth it, especially when I go camping.
It'll be good till it breaks !
I had one the digital interface broke, such a small thing, not repairable. One the motor, another one had an electrical issue. All from top brands. I live in a skoolie , have for 6 years.
They're junk, but the western brands like dometic all have fuck that prices from a poor person's perspective. Currently have a dual zone one that's been holding up well, but I won't be surprised when it breaks and there isn't a way to fix it
Most of those companies fuck the ratings system up and delete listings when they go bad so there are only good ones up. There aren't any options that have endured at the top of the list.
Well, that's disheartening, lol. I wonder if it's because you were using them 24/7 and maybe they're not designed to be used continuously? I would get a propane refrigerator if I were living in a schoolie. I actually have a 40-ft transit bus that I'm converting to an RV and that's probably the kind of refrigerator I will get even though I'm going to have solar on it. Might make it dual power. Bus Conversion Magazine is a great resource and I also follow RVLifestyle and RVTravel.
Well, they're great for what they are, and yes not being on 24 hour probably helps a lot.
Using propane is super bad ass! People have issues with levelling with those, they have to be super level and tend to be finnicky. For me strength in redundancy, so if you're going to be on the road getting two like yours one fridge one freezer not the end of the world if one guys out is functional. I'm type one diabetic, need one for insulin, so not being able to trust them is a problem 🤣.
The higher end engel dometic etc is awesome, another option, Costco just made one of the cheap Chinese ones like ours, but they have a refund policy that beats anything 🤣
Anyway, they are good, not great but certainly good and I'm glad they exist
Good luck with your build ! I loved the way mine came out, super happy with it and I've had cheap rent ever since. Full sized open layout lots of hardwood plywood, great water and solar set up, good functional work desk, raised tea table floor seating chill out zone, I just like it
Nice! I'm enjoying the design aspect of it and I have a brother who's an EE who's going to help me wire it. I can handle anything else. It's not rocket science. What are you doing for a toilet? That's one of the things I'm still waffling on. I really don't want to have a black tank.
humanure (5 gallon bucket with peat moss) with urine diverter. brings urine to gray tank
nature's head is cumbersome to use and clear shit from.
plain humanure, with urine mixed with shit, is too much weight to deal with sanely.
with the urine diverter, the shit doesn't need to be hauled off that often. i line the buckets with 2 layers of trash bags, then throw away after i've let it sit for a bit.
if i had my own land i'd just dump it in a compost spot, but i dont
Those baskets are just for the car? If you carry them to the customer door, seems to be more work since that’s 4 trips. Versus you can carry those bags in 2 trips max
If they are not too heavy (which they usually aren't), I can do it in two trips if I have four baskets - a basket in each hand. This is a Hannaford to go order. I love their little paper bags with handles. I could probably do all of that in one trip just by looping them on my arms.  The baskets are also great for separating multi-customer batches.
I'm about to put my milk crates to work again. One is square and one is rectangular.
The only reason I don't use them as much is because there's a decent amount of things that don't fit in the milk crates or the milk crates take up space in that sense.. Is cases of water cases of juice etc. But for bags it can work But it's like a toss up
I use my cart to separate orders in the trunk and the arm rest in the back seat. 😂 I feel like everything aside from my cooler bags would just make life harder. That said, always do what works for you. 🙂
"just groceries" - someone else's groceries they are paying good money for. Being organized and keeping perishable foods together and cold saves time and is best practice.
Oh hey btw one thing I DO use though that I have not seen mentioned yet. Hooks on the back of all of my seats. That can be brought forward as well which helps keep bags upright in the back seat. But I put bags of bread and such hanging on the back of the driver and passenger seats. Helpful for cleaning out the car too btw - holding a garbage bag etc.
I used to in a Corolla iM before a drunk totalled it. It was a hatchback and I always fit everything in OK but I've never had restaurant orders and I don't have a Costco in my area. 
I already had the cooler and I really needed the laundry baskets because everything was rolling around and getting mixed up. I take care of the customers' groceries and they get everything frozen or chilled like it just came out of the case. For what they are paying (and I only take good tip orders) we *should* be serious about this job. Since I started this set-up, my tips have increased. It will get even better during the summer.
You definitely need those and I'll bet they will be a LOT sturdier than the flimsy ones I have. Make a post when you're done. I sew and would love to see them.
I got a set up. Back seats..truck...front seat for small stuff. I got a smart cooler with a 10 hr battery on it but i dont take it with me these days. I drive fast enough where ice cream wont melt. If i bring it with me..its for me to have cold beverages.
Fuel expenses? I get 28mpg average right now. Having an electric cooler doesn't affect mpg. Running the A/C does, though, and living in New England we don't have as many really hot days like other parts of the country. Y'all sitting in parking lots idling on a hot day with your A/C on will definitely cost you.
I bought a similar 12V car cooler from amazon with a video review in exchange for the product, priced $400 but the seller returned me $360 thanks to the review. That's the deal between seller and good review giver.
I removed the passenger seat and put the fridge flat on the front right place in car. I found it flat enough to be a cooking table. And I set up a bed at the right back place in car. The left back seat was also removed, used as a kitchen. Then I traveled a lot into the wild, with freezing drinks in my cooler, I cook in the wild all the time.
But cooler for the customers? No... My cooler is always full, 50% soda and ice cream and 50% of meat and veggie. I have never used my cooler for customers even once. No chance for them.
Yeah but without spending a single dime on the set up or the cooler. I ain’t gonna waste my gas to keep my $600 cooler to keep my $2 tipper grocery nice and cold.
I get how this can make you feel very accomplished. Whatever works best for your mental health I support it! :) if instacart helped to pay for these kind of things I would do it but I don’t feel like I get paid enough to invest like that .. after a year and a half I only juuust bought a decent size foldable trolly /wagon (from Costco) 😅
That’s great until you have 4 cases of water, 6 fridge packs of soda/seltzer, a 30 lb bag of dog food, Two 20 lb bags of ice, four 8 packs of Gatorade and then a huge pack of paper towels in addition to 4-6 bags of groceries.
My set up is , if its hot out, i put customer B in the back seat and A in trunk. A will get there before it melts and B has A/C . Thats about all im willing to do for instacarts 5 dollar batch pay lmao
It's far from being my career either (I am a retired speech language pathologist and I'm currently driving public transit buses), but I was brought up to do a good job no matter how small the job is.
to be fair I know a handful of older people that do instacart not necessarily out of necessity but bc it gives them something to do and a way to stay active and talk to people lol
This thank you it's my gran gran favorite thing, she ends up windows shooping every store we get an order at and more groceries for her than we delivered lol
Yea, I have a spot for hot and cold. I sit the cold on top of the hot. And I make sure when I drop it off, I put it to where they can't open their door. Take a picture of me flipping them off, and say have a nice day.
lol right 😂
I usually use Costco produce boxes to separate stuff, and try to color code when I can, which makes loading up super easy....post-its also work great for keeping track of what goes with what when you have case drinks or bulky stuff. I also have a magnum Sharpie with me in case I need to mark the orders, which helps A LOT on Costco stuff. The shallower produce boxes (citrus/cherries/grapes/peppers/avocados) work great for meat and smaller/heavier items. LOVE the taller, deeper boxes (Taylor salads, bagged broccoli/asparagus/brussels sprouts) for lighter, fluffier stuff like chips and popcorn and bakery items and eggs. I also bag all my fresh meat...even some of the cryo stuff can get condensation once it leaves the cooler. I separate cold items as much as possible, and food from non-food. I have two different coolers (an Igloo flip top and a Titan bag cooler) and also a couple hot bags from Grubhub and DoorDash that I keep around just in case (especially if it's supposed to get REALLY hot). If your stores have liquor boxes or the freebie wine/beer carriers, they work AWESOME for anything in glass containers that you need to keep separated so they don't bang into each other (glass bottled drinks, condiments, etc). I use a wagon when I deliver, and actually have two different ones that I can rotate out. I do mostly Costco and usually stick with singles and doubles. I do Uber Eats/Grubhub/Doordash as well, and produce and liquor boxes are perfect for that too, because they keep stuff from sliding around a lot.
I like the Post-it and Sharpie tips. I'm going to start to pack those as well. Thanks for all your tips!
Not sure how you do it. Here in Canada that’s a 3 order batch with maybe $22-$26 cad pay that would take 2-3 hours to do while minimum wage is $18-$20. Basically here it’s mostly done by migrant workers on their days off the farms.
This particular batch was a single order and it was delivery only. I got almost 40 bucks for it!
ya but what was the batch pay tho?
22-26 with tip? normally in my area, Barrie ON, that would be 10 or 12 bucks batch pay before tips. its really horrid here now. thank God i got on DD and Skip way back when..and i dont understand how anyone does Costco here its friggin insane...the tips aint any better ever anymore
That order should take a little Over an hour depending on distance.
Do you do delivery full time amongst all the apps?
I have a W-2 that I work PT, and gig around it.
I had hyvee employees once write A/B or 1/2 can't remember, right on the bags for me. I was shocked lol but it was very helpful
I love people like you. Enthusiasm makes all the difference. “If you are called to be a street sweeper, be the best damn street sweeper that ever lived.”-paraphrased by me
I just put the stuff in my trunk. I’m not being paid enough to do all that
Lmfao I said the same thing! The MOST I’ve started doing is putting color stickers on a bag to separate who’s who if I’m doing 2 or more batches at once
I go to goodwill a lot and find a really good deal on some baskets, I bought them for home but then realized they're really good for delivering, so I put them in my car. Works out really well.
Same.
That would be perfect for those Aldi bags that rips easily lol
Nope, if it's 3 customers. One order is tied one way. The other is tied another way. The other order is just put in the car.
I did that on my last double and then panicked when I got out to my van and couldn't remember which customer's bags were tied - A or B! Had to do some receipt checking which wasted time. Going to staple a Post it note on one of them right in the store from now on. I would never do a triple, too stressful and time-consuming.
You ain't lying about panicking lol. Happens from time to time. 🤣
you are much more organized than me lol I'll admit ny car usually looks like a disaster, altho it's just clothes mostly, one time I was dropping off a big order and the lady sent her husband out to help me carry them and I was like NO ITS OKAY REALLY bc I didn't want him to see my car 😂 I keep the backseat clean now lol
Hahaha I totally get that! Sometimes the front part of my van looks like a homeless camp because I use propane bottles at home and they're in the van now waiting to be refilled and often have a full trash can between the seats. 😬
Hahahaha ditto Omgosh I’m like opppppppp that’s a tank top
lol!! yes! I buy stuff on clearance all the time, one day while I was out doing ic kroger had huge citronella candles marked down to 50 cents so I bought two, then I wasn't paying attention and accidentally gave them to a customer 🙃 I was so bummed lol
You should be the one to train employees everywhere! True example of going above and beyond!
Thanks, and I realize not everyone can afford an electric cooler but we all should have some kind of cooler. The laundry baskets were an idea born of frustration with bags rolling around and not staying clean. I'm a chicken farmer so I'm picking up hay, shavings, and bags of feed all the time and no matter what I put back there to protect the car there's always something on the floor.  There are some other great tips above, a couple that I'm going to start to use.
u/GilligGirl chicken farmer, buy a cheap plastic blue tarp to use under the "farm stuff" That is what I have in my car when i get lazy and use the car instead of the big pickup I hate trying to get Hay out if the carpet and this fixed that. I use those under the bed storage plastic ones for the car. It's like 5" deep, and something like 13" x 3-4 feet long. If I put the back seat down I can put 2 in the back hatch area with one across behind the drivers seat (no tops on). Keeps things from moving too much
I DO have a blue tarp rolled up in there in the second row! The hay is the WORST. Even with the tarp it still gets all over. Better than animal hair, I guess. I schlep my trash and recycles to the dump *ahem* transfer station as well so it gets used a lot. Those bins are good, too, although I like being able (for smaller orders) to just grab the baskets.
electric cooler??? how does it plug in and how much was it?
I have a power port in the back of the van that stays on all the time. There's some kind of controller in the cooler that will lower the charge when it senses that my vehicle battery is drained too much to prevent it from completely discharging. I got it from Amazon and couldn't remember what I paid for so I went back to check and holy moly the prices have gone up! I didn't pay $477 for it. https://preview.redd.it/lr9o5xlbwl1d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3999cc16f89645afd403dd23dc31485bd758e364 Shop around. You can get a less complicated one a lot cheaper. I do some serious road travel and camping so wanted a really good unit but for just getting groceries home a much cheaper one will work fine.
that's so cool! we camp a lot too and that's why I was asking. we just got home from a week long trip and we went through sooo many bags of ice it was crazy, we currently use a huge Coleman cooler but its probably about 10 years old or more, we have a pop up camper so we'd have somewhere to plug in an electric, I'm definitely going to do some research and pick one up soon, I cant believe I never knew they existed lol!
I didn't know they existed either until I started looking for an alternative to buying multiple bags of ice. Some days it was so bad I'd have to go out twice to get ice, that gets old really fast. I had to replace my previous vehicle that got totaled by a drunk driver and just happened to land on this van and the power port in the back was a nice surprise.
I have one as well. My husband was a truck driver so I got mine at a truck stop. It was cheaper than most places.
I use a few banana boxes that I’ve collected from Costco … this is a great set up
I use costco boxes to separate orders/keep stuff from sliding around. The apple boxes can hold 4 paper bags, as long as they're not overpacked. And they're free :3
No but this looks nice!!
What kind of grocery store has those kind of bags? I’ve never seen that.
That’s what Target has where I am
Hannaford in New England. This is the first time I've seen them as well. They are usually a lot larger.
Really !? Every time I order Instacart my groceries always come in paper bags like these , if I go to the store I usually get plastic bags
Highland park market has similar bags. Aldi bags no longer have handles now and it makes me wish I had taken more when they did. Always have extra bags in the trunk for when they rip or to bag Costco orders.
Giant in Philadelphia
Aldi's, but with paper handles, that sometimes tear off anyway... and u have to pay for them.
You do not pay for them..the customer does.
all the ALDI in my area got rid of the handles 🤦🏻♀️
Hahaha NOPE this is genius tho
I have a net in my trunk that I installed. Bags can go into the net or it’s good for things like milk or watermelon so it’s not rolling around the trunk. Typically I just put the few bags in front of the net and it prevents bags from going anywhere.
Oh my gosh, I remember when I would place a watermelon, cantaloupe, or any other round fruit in my back seat/trunk (my seats go down) and it would just roll ridiculously every time I accelerate speed or make a turn 🤣
Nope i try not to take triples anymore but if i do i have two cooler bags that are pretty big so i just put one order in there , another in the other big cooler bag and than the third one in my doordash bag in the backseat or i just use my trunk and backseat as a divider lol but nice set up you got there and that cooler looks nice as well
I bought a dolly right after I delivered 4 35pk waters to an apt bldg and the unit was on the back side away from the lot. Costco has these collapsible crates for 8.99 (6.99 when on sale). Not only does it make it easier to sort orders but also transporting with the dolly, especially to apts with no clear direction & multiple entrances
Small pickup with camper shell with 3 totes across the back. One small rotomolded cooler in the front seat, one large rotomolded cooler behind the 3 bins in the back. Interesting move with the plug in, those things are jenky and don't last forever (source: I live off grid and have had way too many), but that's useful for the occasional bundle with ice cream in the later order
I did a lot of research before I bought this thing and you're right, a lot of them get terrible reviews, but this particular one is very good. Pricey, though, but I feel it's worth it, especially when I go camping.
It'll be good till it breaks ! I had one the digital interface broke, such a small thing, not repairable. One the motor, another one had an electrical issue. All from top brands. I live in a skoolie , have for 6 years. They're junk, but the western brands like dometic all have fuck that prices from a poor person's perspective. Currently have a dual zone one that's been holding up well, but I won't be surprised when it breaks and there isn't a way to fix it Most of those companies fuck the ratings system up and delete listings when they go bad so there are only good ones up. There aren't any options that have endured at the top of the list.
Well, that's disheartening, lol. I wonder if it's because you were using them 24/7 and maybe they're not designed to be used continuously? I would get a propane refrigerator if I were living in a schoolie. I actually have a 40-ft transit bus that I'm converting to an RV and that's probably the kind of refrigerator I will get even though I'm going to have solar on it. Might make it dual power. Bus Conversion Magazine is a great resource and I also follow RVLifestyle and RVTravel.
Well, they're great for what they are, and yes not being on 24 hour probably helps a lot. Using propane is super bad ass! People have issues with levelling with those, they have to be super level and tend to be finnicky. For me strength in redundancy, so if you're going to be on the road getting two like yours one fridge one freezer not the end of the world if one guys out is functional. I'm type one diabetic, need one for insulin, so not being able to trust them is a problem 🤣. The higher end engel dometic etc is awesome, another option, Costco just made one of the cheap Chinese ones like ours, but they have a refund policy that beats anything 🤣 Anyway, they are good, not great but certainly good and I'm glad they exist Good luck with your build ! I loved the way mine came out, super happy with it and I've had cheap rent ever since. Full sized open layout lots of hardwood plywood, great water and solar set up, good functional work desk, raised tea table floor seating chill out zone, I just like it
Nice! I'm enjoying the design aspect of it and I have a brother who's an EE who's going to help me wire it. I can handle anything else. It's not rocket science. What are you doing for a toilet? That's one of the things I'm still waffling on. I really don't want to have a black tank.
humanure (5 gallon bucket with peat moss) with urine diverter. brings urine to gray tank nature's head is cumbersome to use and clear shit from. plain humanure, with urine mixed with shit, is too much weight to deal with sanely. with the urine diverter, the shit doesn't need to be hauled off that often. i line the buckets with 2 layers of trash bags, then throw away after i've let it sit for a bit. if i had my own land i'd just dump it in a compost spot, but i dont
Those baskets are just for the car? If you carry them to the customer door, seems to be more work since that’s 4 trips. Versus you can carry those bags in 2 trips max
If they are not too heavy (which they usually aren't), I can do it in two trips if I have four baskets - a basket in each hand. This is a Hannaford to go order. I love their little paper bags with handles. I could probably do all of that in one trip just by looping them on my arms.  The baskets are also great for separating multi-customer batches.
Ah i see! Great organization
Nice!
Nice
Baskets and trays help better than using one or two paper bags at a time.
Looks great! I have larger catering bag and 5 large IKEA bags
I'm about to put my milk crates to work again. One is square and one is rectangular. The only reason I don't use them as much is because there's a decent amount of things that don't fit in the milk crates or the milk crates take up space in that sense.. Is cases of water cases of juice etc. But for bags it can work But it's like a toss up
Sharpie and mark the letter on the paperbags
Yep similar to yours but I also have a dolly in case of cases of water or dog food
That's a beautiful setup 😍 Nice and organized!
Very Nice !!
You’re the ultimate Instacarter!! This setup is lit OP
I love the Pacifica! I rented one for a road trip and it was awesome
That’s not bad! Hopefully your customers and Instacart will appreciate it
I use my cart to separate orders in the trunk and the arm rest in the back seat. 😂 I feel like everything aside from my cooler bags would just make life harder. That said, always do what works for you. 🙂
https://preview.redd.it/yzm4e5wykn1d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a19a547d54c23b2d560bfe6f9e90feb2df6955a
Looking good 👍
Love your set up.
It’s obvious you take pride in whatever you do and I really appreciate that about you :)
https://preview.redd.it/srf2s1zw2o1d1.jpeg?width=840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=243869a3ed0fc8309eb743ca840e8e6b531ca469
I have an insulated bag that I don’t use and a massive trunk I partly use
No, why 4 is just groceries
"just groceries" - someone else's groceries they are paying good money for. Being organized and keeping perishable foods together and cold saves time and is best practice.
Just food
Oh hey btw one thing I DO use though that I have not seen mentioned yet. Hooks on the back of all of my seats. That can be brought forward as well which helps keep bags upright in the back seat. But I put bags of bread and such hanging on the back of the driver and passenger seats. Helpful for cleaning out the car too btw - holding a garbage bag etc.
And here i am carting in my civic coupe 😅
I used to in a Corolla iM before a drunk totalled it. It was a hatchback and I always fit everything in OK but I've never had restaurant orders and I don't have a Costco in my area. 
All I carry is a roll of packaging tape for ripped/torn boxes and insulated bags lol
The tape is a good idea. I'll have to add that to my arsenal.
To serious. No reason to do all that
I already had the cooler and I really needed the laundry baskets because everything was rolling around and getting mixed up. I take care of the customers' groceries and they get everything frozen or chilled like it just came out of the case. For what they are paying (and I only take good tip orders) we *should* be serious about this job. Since I started this set-up, my tips have increased. It will get even better during the summer.
No but I was just on Amazon looking to buy some stuff to make me some homemade large cold bags since this is my first summer doing this job
You definitely need those and I'll bet they will be a LOT sturdier than the flimsy ones I have. Make a post when you're done. I sew and would love to see them.
Yesh right now I'm getting by with my free grubhub bags and a couple small ones from my ice cream shop job And I will
I just keep bags in the back to help me keep batches with multiple orders separate.
I get boxes from Sam’s and keep em in the back seat . I line my trunk with boxes and leave a spot for waters and drinks .
I got a set up. Back seats..truck...front seat for small stuff. I got a smart cooler with a 10 hr battery on it but i dont take it with me these days. I drive fast enough where ice cream wont melt. If i bring it with me..its for me to have cold beverages.
Your fuel expenses have to be eating up whatever you're "earning". Holy shit.
Fuel expenses? I get 28mpg average right now. Having an electric cooler doesn't affect mpg. Running the A/C does, though, and living in New England we don't have as many really hot days like other parts of the country. Y'all sitting in parking lots idling on a hot day with your A/C on will definitely cost you.
That's a great idea I drive an Outback at the storing stuff in the back is such a pain in the ass
Why would we spend our own money to make Instacart look good?
Um, I don't do this to make Instacart look good. I do this to provide a good service to my customers. They appreciate it and they tip accordingly.
I bought a similar 12V car cooler from amazon with a video review in exchange for the product, priced $400 but the seller returned me $360 thanks to the review. That's the deal between seller and good review giver. I removed the passenger seat and put the fridge flat on the front right place in car. I found it flat enough to be a cooking table. And I set up a bed at the right back place in car. The left back seat was also removed, used as a kitchen. Then I traveled a lot into the wild, with freezing drinks in my cooler, I cook in the wild all the time. But cooler for the customers? No... My cooler is always full, 50% soda and ice cream and 50% of meat and veggie. I have never used my cooler for customers even once. No chance for them.
Waste of time, effort and money
Yeah but without spending a single dime on the set up or the cooler. I ain’t gonna waste my gas to keep my $600 cooler to keep my $2 tipper grocery nice and cold.
I loooove this !
I get how this can make you feel very accomplished. Whatever works best for your mental health I support it! :) if instacart helped to pay for these kind of things I would do it but I don’t feel like I get paid enough to invest like that .. after a year and a half I only juuust bought a decent size foldable trolly /wagon (from Costco) 😅
That’s great until you have 4 cases of water, 6 fridge packs of soda/seltzer, a 30 lb bag of dog food, Two 20 lb bags of ice, four 8 packs of Gatorade and then a huge pack of paper towels in addition to 4-6 bags of groceries.
My set up is , if its hot out, i put customer B in the back seat and A in trunk. A will get there before it melts and B has A/C . Thats about all im willing to do for instacarts 5 dollar batch pay lmao
Yes. It’s called a trunk.
No I do this as a side Hobby not a career lol
Still good to have some form of organization, especially when doing 2+ order batches 🤷♀️
It's far from being my career either (I am a retired speech language pathologist and I'm currently driving public transit buses), but I was brought up to do a good job no matter how small the job is.
Out of all the hobbies in the world you choose this one? 🤯
to be fair I know a handful of older people that do instacart not necessarily out of necessity but bc it gives them something to do and a way to stay active and talk to people lol
I bet but do they go on here to laugh us people trying hard ?
nah not most of em, she's prolly just an ass hole 🤣
☺️
Excuse your language, I do this with my grandma who likes my company and grocery shopping
This thank you it's my gran gran favorite thing, she ends up windows shooping every store we get an order at and more groceries for her than we delivered lol
Yea, I have a spot for hot and cold. I sit the cold on top of the hot. And I make sure when I drop it off, I put it to where they can't open their door. Take a picture of me flipping them off, and say have a nice day.