How do you make an effective grocery list?

I make my list in order of where the food is in the store. I buy mainly staples but that can lead to ‘nothing to eat syndrome’ so I toss in two microwave dinners and popcorn kernels for snacks.

I figure out what I want to cook before I go to the store too. Look online at the ads, figure out what I already have and how I can combine them. Then I shop.

Mentally visualize the aisles in your head, and list it from items closest to the door to closest to the checkout.

That is all. Don’t buy any more than what you’ve come for.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go see if there’s anything to eat and whine that there isn’t, despite the fact I just went shopping.

I always know what I’m there for because I only eat a few different things.

i know how-never do it, always buy way too much and often forget the one important thing!

Whenever I run out of something in the kitchen, I place it on the grocery list that is on the refridgerator door. This is usually helpful in that I won’t go to the grocery store and be left guessing what I might be forgetting or making impulse purchases for something that I might not eat later.

When the boy and I first moved in about 6 weeks ago, I went to the store and stocked up on a ton of food. As something gets used up, we add it to the list. That way I’m not left going “baaabe. .. do you still have cheese/bananas/tuna/etc?” as I’m heading out to the store or buying too much once I’m there. I also plan what I’m going to cook for the week ahead of time, and write all the ingredients on the list. If one of us wants something new, it goes on the list.

When I’m at the store I buy only what’s on the list, so I almost never buy unneeded stuff. I also only grocery shop once a week, on Sundays, so if he or I forget to write something down, we’re SOL for a week.

I keep a list on my kitchen counter for things I need to buy as I run low on something. I also add to this list by looking at the store’s ad for sale items.
I try to stock up on things I normally use when they are on sale.

I imagine that this is the only up-side to food restrictions/allergies :p

I think of what I need for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and toiletries. We write things we’re out of on a dry erase board on the fridge. I write the list out according to where things are in the store. Also, we cut coupons and are sure to add those items to the list.

I never write it down.

Things that are effective for me:

1. I make a menu first. Once I know what we’re having for dinner that week, the list gets easier to make. I know what fruits and vegetables we usually have, so those get written down too.

2. I use the store flyers for sale items. Also if I’m struggling to figure out what to make, I get ideas from there.

3. As we run out of things, I put them on a notepad. When I sit down to make the list, I bring the notepad along.

They say one of the most economically efficient ways to shop is to plan your menus for the week and then shop specifically for it – throwing a few snacks in along the way. Like the person mentioned above, I also write things down in order of how I visualize the aisles.

This works but then I find that there are times when I just want to shop with no restrictions. On those weeks when I have extra money in the budget, it’s nice to be able to stroll around and throw whatever I feel like it in the cart.

I make my list according to the way I walk thru the store. I’ve shopped at the same store so many years that I know what is in each aisle pretty much. Also I really try to stick to only buying what’s on the list.

When I was first married we went grocery shopping after we moved in to our new apartment. We bought condiments, a whole load of canned veggies, fruits etc, a few other random things and nothing to actually cook. I was so flabbergasted that night when I was going to be a big grown up and cook my husband dinner. I hadn’t had the good sense to buy any meat or even a jar of spaghetti sauce, though I had bought two pounds of spaghetti. It’s funny now, but I was really pissed off that I’d spent all my grocery money for the week mostly on canned corn and peaches!

I plan the menus for the week, and then make up a list. Hubby does the shopping on his way home from work, and frequently calls from the store about bargains he finds or to ask if we need something that is not on the list.

Whenever I run out of one of the bulk items, I add it to the list. This would be pasta, various nuts, flour, salad dressings.

If I make a list I follow the path I generally take through the store: vegetables, fruits, bread, cheese, meat, pasta, rice, juice, milk, yogurt, frozen crap for the kids to microwave. However, often I don’t make a list, preferring to see what produce looks best that day. Then I buy whatever I need of the rest in order to make some tasty meals.

If I have some extra cash I may wander down the “international” aisle and check out some interesting condiments. I broke down and got some fermented black bean sauce yesterday because the broccoli and bell peppers looked so good and I have plenty of chicken breasts in the freezer.

If the kids come to the store with me all hell breaks loose, and I spend about an hour saying “No” and “Absolutely not!” over and over again.

I am semi organized but I go whenever I run out of fresh veg. That is usually 2 or 3 times a week. How can you know on Monday what you will feel like eating on Friday or what will look fresh and good?

The freezer is always stocked with frozen chicken, turkey, beef, fish. All I have to do is remember to take something out in the morning so it is thawed by supper.

@Darwin – I love black bean sauce, makes most anything taste good. And I just ran out of soy sauce so I bought Kikkoman as per your suggestion. We had fish with lime, chili, ginger, garlic and soy, it was very good!

@rooeytoo – Glad you liked the Kikoman. I like it very much. And yes, black bean sauce is one of the classics that no kitchen should be without.

Is there any other soy sauce besides Kikoman? Blasphemy!

@augustlan – hehehehe, I was using Pearl River until @Darwin set me straight!

I have (somewhat) adopted my mom’s schematic, wherein she makes boxes in the lower left corners of a piece of paper; one box for fruits + veg, the other for meats (or dairy).

Then the list is split into “edible” (right side) and “non-edible” (left side).

I also try to organize things by their location in the store.

I’m such a nerd (in a good way!) that I downloaded a template. It fulfills my needs for organization and helps me remember what exactly I need from where.

We keep a pad on the counter in the kitchen and write down what we need as we run out of it. When we are planning a meal, whoever is going to cook it will go through the recipe and add the ingredients needed to the list. It still doesn’t totally prevent ‘aisle amnesia” but we usually come home with what we need.

@IBERnineD – Nice template. I am going to print a few copies and see if it helps my kids make grocery lists. My son is severely ADHD and needs strict guidelines, and my daughter is typically teenaged forgetful.

@Darwin Oh I’m so happy you like it!!!

The list my husband created for us has the foods printed right on it, so we just check the items we want. There is room for write-ins at the bottom of each category. When he goes shopping, he takes a clipboard with the multi-page list.

There are multiple squares for checks, so the same list can last for weeks. He simply x’s the items already purchased.

@YARNLADY You are very well organized.

I shop online and the first thing I do is enter the weekly essentials and everything I am low on. I can check for brands and products on sale. I pick the meat/fish/veg/fruits for the next two weeks. About an hour and $70 later my shopping is done for the next 2 weeks,

@janbb Being organized goes a long way toward saving money. My husband and I are very frugal, and we live very well.

I know my store. So I list , during the week, what I need from produce, then the bread aisle, canned goods aisle, all across the store. I write things down all week using the individual sections of the store in my list. Before I leave the store I memorize the few things I’ve forgotten and buy those then leave.

My husband NEEDS to do the grocery shopping
as I do not think he has any idea how much
groceries really cost!