A daunting task?

Loo roll, butter, pasta, tinned tomatoes, washing powder, cat litter, mince, onions, toothpaste, cheese and much more...

It’s Saturday morning and I’m compiling my usual weekly shopping list. But this weekend, rather than pushing my trolly round Tesco, I’m going to have to think of other ways to shop.

Sat at the kitchen table, looking at items ranging from veggie sausages (for me), cured meat (for the carnivorous boyfriend), hay (for the rabbit) and Whiskas (for the cat) I’m suddenly feeling a bit daunted. Just how many shops am I going to have to go into to find all these things? Supermarkets really are handy one-stop-shops.

And I’m in a much better position to do this challenge than most because I have relatively easy access to a large number of independent places.

In Hasland, where I live, there is a little shopping area with a bakery, two greengrocers, a petrol station and a pet shop (MUST avoid the Co-op at all costs though – I can feel its enticing draw even as a type!).

Chesterfield town centre is known for its thrice weekly market in the square and the stable yard where I ride has its own farm shop on site.

I pass through several small towns with independent shops on my daily commute, and work in Derby so can easily walk to an excellent wholefood shop and an artisan bakery on my lunch breaks.

My mum lives by the Chatsworth estate, which has an incredible (although rather pricey) farm shop, and I also travel regularly to Sheffield to visit my grandma, who lives round the corner from independent cheese and chocolate shops.

And these are just the ones I already know about – the whole point of this challenge is to discover all the wonderful places I can buy my groceries.

But getting round them all in the 90 minutes I usually spend in Tesco will clearly be impossible so I need to think of a different way to do this.

I’ve decided to try carrying a rolling shopping list in my diary and popping into different places throughout the week, as and when it’s convenient. I know that it’s bound to be more time consuming but I’m hoping that meeting new people and exploring new places will make it seem worthwhile. After all, many women already see shopping (albeit usually for shoes and handbags!) as a recreational activity, so I’m just taking that ethos one step further.

Today will be a trip to Chesterfield to try out the Saturday market. Verdict to follow....