master grocery list for speedy shopping

bmchenry02

A little background….I'm a freak about menu planning. I truly enjoy planning our bi-weekly menus and working in new recipes and snacks and dreaming up our next treat meal! One thing that drove me nuts is my grocery list was always a mess and I came home missing items or bought something that I didn't really need but thought I did. With 1 master list now all I have to do is highlight the items I need and it's organized by my flow through the store. Shaves tons of time off my trip!!

It will be a bit time consuming at first but TRUST ME it will save you loads of time both in and out of the store.

1. start by typing a list of everything you buy in the store. YES, EVERYTHING (unless you buy it very rarely like q-tips or something! lol). I visualized my path through the store and just starting typing away. Produce was the easiest!
2. begin to separate your list into sections/aisles of the store. produce for me is at the top followed by two lines to fill in for bakery or deli, then it's the organic food aisle, mexican and salad dressings, pasta aisle, etc. etc….it won't be perfect, but get it close
3. When it's organized the best you can, print out several copies so you always have one on hand. Simply highlight the items you need as you work through your menu plan! No need to keep writing them down in the future as you now have a master list to print out for each trip.
4. as you shop the first couple of times you can make adjustments to your list for things out of place and items you forgot. I'm still tweaking my list.
5. my list spans 1 1/4 sheets so there was plenty of room to write my menu plan in for the week. even though I have a list of highlighted items I need it helps to have a visual of our menu in case I forget to write down the # of items I need (like lbs of turkey etc.) Especially helpful in produce because I tend to buy too many or too few peppers, onions, potatoes forgetting exactly what they are for

Hope this helps someone like it helps me!

DianaLovesCoffee

Nice idea. Good work.

kshama2001

I separate my list into aisles as well.

I have a whiteboard on my frig and as I run low on items, I add it there and make my list based on that.

bmchenry02

kshama2001 wrote: »

I separate my list into aisles as well.

I have a whiteboard on my frig and as I run low on items, I add it there and make my list based on that.

I did something similar too for a while but now I don't have to write it anymore-just highlight!

sixxpoint

Do yourself a favor and download the Out Of Milk app on your phone.

The initial setup takes about 10 minutes, but you can categorize, color code, and add anything you want for speedy shopping. It remembers your foods for you for future shopping.

gainthatmuscle

i do the same thing

GammieJoy

I just started using an app called Our Groceries, it's fabulous!!!

mistikal13

I pretty much already do the same thing

slaite1

I scribble a list on a piece of paper, then either forget it or never look at it anyway. Plus I love food shopping and wander around like a 5-year old, getting distracted by all the shiny cookies and ice cream.

zyxst

I write down the things I need by order of how the grocery is set-up.

Mr_Knight

slaite1 wrote: »

I scribble a list on a piece of paper, then either forget it or never look at it anyway. Plus I love food shopping and wander around like a 5-year old, getting distracted by all the shiny cookies and ice cream.

Pretty much.

:drinker:

vivmom2014

Great idea, and helpful picture too. Thanks! Also appreciate the app suggestions...

Kalikel

That is very organized!

My favorite way to shop is to go in for one thing, say onions. Then buy about 9 things, get home and realize I didn't get the onions. I don't recommend it.

Publix here gives you shopping lists with little boxes next to stuff.

Generally, I know what I need and get it. I like my stuff fresh, so I hit the store a few times a week.