Life Talk

Germany's Sunday shop closures made me a better meal planner

In Germany most supermarkets are closed on Sunday. When I moved here from abroad, this annoyed me a lot. Forgot milk on Saturday at 20:05? Bad luck until Monday, unless you find a train station shop.

Six years later I see it differently. I plan meals for 7 days on Friday, shop once on Saturday, and throw away much less food. I checked my bins and receipts for two months: about 1 shopping trip per week instead of 4-5 short ones. Fewer impulse purchases, less wasted veg.

I'm not saying every country should close shops on Sunday. But forced constraints change habits more than good intentions do. Does anyone else have a local rule that accidentally improved their routine?