It’s sometimes tough to keep a running tally in your head of every item in your pantry. If you do it, you have a better memory than I. While I mostly know what we have on hand, I sometimes forget a small item or two that we needed. If I keep a running grocery list, though, it cuts down on extra trips to the store for those forgotten items.
I know that my mom always did this. She kept a shopping list in a drawer in the kitchen. Every time we used the last of an item (preferably next-to-last), or opened the last box of something, it went on the list. There was rarely a time where she made her shopping list right before we headed to town (we lived out in the country). It was already made for her over the course of the week.
So I’m not sure if other families do this or not (I’m sure plenty do), but it really has worked for us. And recently, instead of just jotting down an item, I tend to put it under the store where I can find it. So bulk items go under Costco or Smart & Final, while diapers and other things under Target, and smaller grocery items under Vons/ Henry’s, or wherever else we’ll go that week.
By dividing my list up this way, I can concentrate on finding the items I need at that store, instead of searching all over the list and maybe forgetting something at one of the stores. The categories really help me.
Now if only I could list my items by aisle at the grocery store, I’d really be ready to shop. But the store most convenient to us is also the most disorganized (you can read about my utter dislike of that store here) and there’s no way I’m going to try and categorize that store by aisle. I’d rather eat dirt. Or black licorice.
I miss the days when stores would publish a blank shopping list by aisle so you could just check things off that you needed. But that’s a post for another day. Right now I’m just working on getting my grocery shopping as organized as possible. And keeping a running list of what we need goes a long way towards getting me there. What about you? What helps you organize your grocery shopping?
image: sxc.hu
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