Do You Prepare a Shopping List?

Two lists. One on the fridge if I run out of something, which is rare, because we stock up on sales. Second list is always written on an envelope, which will also hold my coupons. The front of the envelope is for the grocery store, the back for CVS. The second list/envelope is done on Sunday, after matching coupons to sales circulars. Then that envelope goes into my pocketbook, so it's with me whatever day I get to shop for groceries or CVS. I also put my CVS extra bucks back in the envelope, with any coupons I didn't use, to empty back into my master envelope of coupons at home.

Yes, I do. Then I accidentally leave the list at home but because I wrote it down, it is easier to remember. lol.

I take a list and I also look for bargains. I'll switch from broccali to string beans if the price is better.
I eat organic food exclusively at home and so the price is less important than how healthy it is.
I raised two children who seldom needed any care at the doctors office and who have to this day only three filled teeth between them. I also did not use fluoride on their teeth.
I am healthier than most of my age mates because of eating organic food.

I ALWAYS take my list. I can even function without it, at the grocery store!! I write it, by how the store is laid out. Produce first, then grocery, then frozen, then dairy, and lastly meat. I check it off as I go. My 2 1/2 year old loves the store, so I don't have to hurry. I would forget everything if I didn't have my list! My son holds the list for me, as I check it off, and I have the envelope of coupons. The list is always nasty and sticky by the end of the trip :)

Yeppers!

A list and a menu for the week with coupons!!!

One kid holds the menu/list and the other holds the coupons!

Hi lil piggie toes-

I ALWAYS have a 'running' list...I keep it on the fridge with a pen...and we all 'add' items when the last of something is opened....like last milk...last couple of bananas...last toothpaste etc. It has taken YEARS of persistence with the kids...but everyone is pretty good about it now.

I find, now that I am older...I am truly lost without a list...and what gets me lately is that *I* sometimes forget an item that is ON the list that I have with me!! lol

Old age is gonna suck!
lol
michele/cat

I always sit down with my list and another sheet of paper. I write down what meal we'll eat which day, plus husband's lunch. Then check the fridge and pantry for what I have already and write down the ingredients I need to make such dishes. I make my list into quadrants (I hate double-backing down the same aisle). Produce/Bakery section of store, Grocery, Cold, Non-Food b/c that's how my store's organized. It helps me to avoid forgetting items and having to double-back. It also helps me see which aisles I can skip (therefore saving me that many impulse buys).

So yes, I forget things sometimes. If I don't write it down, I likely won't buy it, b/c I stick to my quadrants and stick to my list. So when my husband says "I need deoderant" I better write it down then or else I won't buy it. I Tell him all the time to write things down. He's slowly learning which quadrant it goes in. Plus he's realizing that if he doesn't write it down then he's probably not going to get it!

OMG - the couple of times I have forgotten my list at home, I freak out, can't remember a thing.

Since I've gotten my Android phone, and the "Out of Milk" app, I have a list with me. I used to forget it at home often. Now, I usually remember to add to my list whenever I notice we are out of something, and when I think about what I want to cook. And I always have my phone with me at the store.

I find it easier when I DO use a list of the dinners I have planned for the week, and the lunches and some stuff for breakfast. That's the smoothest way I have found.

But...sometimes..I leave that organized list on the counter & I have to wing it! Grrrrr......

And I ALWAYS forget something--O. thing. Drives me nuts. Even when I have a list.

My list is on my iPad and on my phone (it syncs!) so I always have it (in fact my husband adds to it rather often as it syncs with his phone too.)

I always add to the list if I find a sale or it happens that something is at it's lowest price in the price cycle that is a staple/used often.

My entire shopping experience revolves around going to the store alone. I have too much stuff to get, and even with the list I will miss one item on it, and that's when the shopping has my undivided attention. I can't imagine towing my kids with me (unless it's the 17 and 20 yo - who can get the high stuff and the heavy stuff).

I make a pretty detailed menu of breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinners. Then I add all the extras like milk, sugar, bread and so forth. Then I add all household and toiletry items. If I left my list at home I would freak, buy just enough stuff to get through the day, and then head home until I could go alone the next day.

I shop two weeks at a time for 7 people, so when I forget it's usually because overlook one thing out of the 100 on my list.

I now go alone, since my daughter started school. I find that I forget less and can pay more attention to what I am purchasing. I usually have a list with me.

If I make a list, which I rarely do, I usually remember everything on it without looking at it for some reason. The written word sticks in you head pretty well... but if you have little ones THAT is pretty much a distraction for sure. When I make a list I usually pull my list out after I think I've already gotten everything, if I havent, well that's when I am glad a I "wrote" a list.

I always have a list going during the week. If I run out of something it goes on the list. I also try to plan in advance what we are going to eat that week and will put all of that on the list too. I sometimes forget the list and try to go off of my memory but I always forget something. I try to stick to the list as much as possible. I also clip coupons and try to use those as well. I always have my kids with me as I would rather go early during the week than on the weekend when the store is insanely busy.

My phone calls people, it does not keep the grocery list. hahaha I bet my hubby's can though, he'd need it.

I make a list according to the floor plan of the grocery store. I will rip it off at certain aisle breaks and send a child to get whatever they can. My kids are 10, 13, and 16. We usuallly go with two carts on big shopping days. They use coupons, shop sales and know the quantity of the items I buy. My hubby cannot shop without a list with brand names and exact quantiies. Then he still calls me.

I have the Grocery IQ app on my IPhone and I love it.

I have a list for my daily Market Street grocery run, list fot Costco and list for Misc.

When I need to put something on the list, Ijsut pick up my phone.. As you buy things, you can scan them, put pricing in and rund your grocery tab as well... but I don't do that.

I usually have a list unless I have to get 2 or 3 things. I try to go when my daughter is at preschool.

Yes I use a list, always.
My kids will remind me of things I need, too.

Do I make one? Yes. Do I remember it? ummm about half the time. The store we shop at is 30 min away so I can't really go back for it. If I forget an item there is a store right across the street from us (I don't do my main shopping there because there prices are high)

I almost NEVER get to go to the store alone. I ALWAYS have a list. The beginning of my shopping routine is to go to all 4 bathrooms and see what the toothpaste, toiletpaper, toothbrushes, deodorants, shave cream, etc are looking like. I peek in the utility closet to see if we have starch. I write down whatever may be needed. I also take a peek at the cat and dog food because my son, only 5yrs and 2 days old (ha), might forget to tell me. I look in the cabinet to make sure we have trashbags. A basic "inventory" of the house. Then I make a weekly menu. The menu is flexible, but it is there to help me out. When I'm in a mood and don't feel like thinking, all I have to do is look on the fridge to see what I'm cooking. I don't have to answer questions 3 times a day as to what's for dinner. And I can remember to defrost the stupid chicken in time if I am looking at the menu to know that I'm cooking it tonight. With the menu: I do a quick once-over to see what we have in the house, what coupons I have, and what is in the sales papers that week. I have the menu put down (breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner) taking into account what is going on that week (a party? a super busy day? a slow day at home?) and plug the meals in. For meals that I use recipes for, I pull those cards out and put them in the front of the box for quick reference, and put them away after cooking that meal). I double check to make sure that I have everything needed for those meals (don't forget breadcrumbs, or a spice, etc). This sounds like a lot, but seriously, it takes me about 1 hour to inventory the house, go through sales papers and coupons, and write out meals for the week. It helps that I have a little magnetic notepad on the fridge and write things down as we get very low on them. My official shopping list is a form I got from Franklin Covey that is divided into sections, but you can do something similar on just normal lined paper: divide the store up into sections (deli, produce, cold stuff, dry stuff, canned stuff, dairy, cleaning, etc) and that way you can shop an area of the store quickly instead of going up and down the list looking all over for stuff you may need on that aisle. I HATED it when I would go to one section and then go all the way to the other end of the store and then realize "Oh yeah---I needed that, way over there". I don't have time for that. With 2 preschool boys with me, it needs to be fast and efficient. I also mark things that I have a coupon for with a little asterisk, so I'll remember to pull it out. After my hour of preparation, I take the boys and we go shopping. I shop an average of about 45-60 minutes, but I keep the boys busy with songs, talking, "I Spy" games, or "help me find the ___" games. Sometimes I'll grab a little thing of popcorn chicken from the deli so they can snack on that while I shop. I cannot go to the store without a list. I have millions of things zooming in and out of my head ALL the time. And with my guys with me to distract, forget about it. I'm a lost cause. I won't get anything I need, and lots of random junk. I love the list and won't go without it.

I do my best to write down the things I know we are out of or very close so I don't forget them and have to go back. I could count on one hand how many times I've gone shopping without my kids. If I didn't write it down I would and always do forget something important. I've gone in without lists thinking I'll remember we're almost out of toilet paper but end of the trip and it doesn't end up in the cart more times than once. I have to write what size diapers my daughter is in because I get distracted and have bought the wrong ones more than once too.

When we run out of something, I tell my husband- so it's like his brain is the list. Before he goes to the store, we talk about anything else we need and if there's a lot I will write him a list. He shops from the "list" but doesn't stick to it, mostly looks for good deals. Last week, I wrote pecans on the list- he bought me pecan pie instead because it was a better deal. If I go to the store, he will take the grocery ad and circle the pictures for me.

I always make a meal plan for the week of what we're going to have for dinner every night. I base it on our schedule for the week and plan evenings out or leftovers as necessary. Then, I make my grocery list from that and add in lunch stuff and snacks, drinks, etc for the kids to take to school. I keep the list posted on the fridge so that I can add to it as things come to mind or we run out of something. Our local grocery store does a lot of "buy one get one" sales every week, so I always go on their website and stock up on things when they are on sale. So, yes, I follow my list to a T if possible so that I can keep my grocery bill down. I find that if I plan ahead, I don't buy quite as much because if it's not on the list, I generally won't buy it! It takes discipline, but I try to build the planning time into my schedule. I find that we don't eat out as much either because I have a plan in place and it's not the last minute "so, what's for dinner?" issue. Hope that helps!

Mostly we do. As we use things or think of things through the week, we all add to the list. If it's not on the list, then it doesn't get bought. We are low-tech - it's a pen with a magnet (from some giveaway) that hangs on the fridge to keep the paper grocery lister stuck there.