Creating a grocery shopping list is an absolute necessity when it comes to having a more organised weekly shop. As much fun as it may be to stroll down the aisles and seeing what you fancy, this can be very time-consuming. You also can end up buying things you don’t need and then throwing them away when they aren’t eaten before their expiry date!
Making yourself a list beforehand will keep you on track in the store. You will know exactly where you need to go and what you need to pick up. This will also allow you to leave the store with peace of mind as you know you won’t have forgotten anything!
So how do you go about making a good shopping list? Sometimes a disorganised shopping list can be worse than using no list at all! You need to make sure your list works for you, so I am here to show you how!
Start With the Basics
The first items that should go on your list are your staples. These are the items which you should always have in your kitchen, like bread and milk! If you make a note of all the staple items in your kitchen, you can refer to it whenever you make a shopping list. Simply check through each item to see which you have and which you need, and then add the ones you need more of to your shopping list!
Plan Your Meals
One way to make writing a shopping list much easier is to create a meal plan. Decide what you’re going to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, and then you’ll know exactly what groceries you will need!
I personally only make a plan for dinner, since I pretty much just have some cereal for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch every day, but feel free to plan in as much detail as you’d like! Whatever works for you!
Keep Track
If having to sit down and write a whole shopping list off the top of your head sounds like a drag, try making it easier for yourself by making the list throughout the week. Whenever you use the last of something or notice something is running out, add it to the list! You can make this list accessible to the whole household too so everyone can add to it.
Keeping track of your groceries will prevent you from being in that awful situation where you run out of something you really need. To minimise the possibility of this happening, don’t just add things to the list when they run out, add them when they’re starting to get low. That way you can buy yourself a spare to switch to as soon as the first one empties!
Check for Events
Check your calendar when making your shopping list! That way you can make sure you have any special supplies you might need for any events taking place that week. This will also allow you to take a look at who in the household is there for each meal. You don’t want to prepare a meal for 4 only to find out one of the kids is at a sleepover that night or your partner is out with friends. If you check beforehand, it will save you from over or under-buying!
Organise by Aisle
Finally, to make your shopping list SUPER organised, you can arrange it according to which aisles the groceries are found on. I personally like to just brainstorm the whole list in any old order, and then rewrite it into categories, but you can do this part however you want! This step will allow you to navigate the grocery store much quicker as you’ll know exactly what you need, and you won’t leave anything behind when moving on to the next aisle!
To help you with this list, here are some of the most common categories used in grocery stores:
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Fresh meat
- Chilled foods (Yoghurts & desserts etc.)
- Frozen foods
- Dairy (Milk, butter, cheese etc.)
- Cupboard foods (Pasta & packaged foods)
- Tinned foods
- Baked Goods (Bread & cakes)
- Snacks (Crisps & chocolate)
- Cereals
- Condiments (Sauces, jams, honey etc.)
- Drinks (Teas, coffees & juices)
- Baking
- Stationery
- Cleaning Supplies
- Health & beauty
And that’s it! I hope you found this helpful, and as always, feel free to comment or contact me with any questions or suggestions! Have fun list-making!
-Becky
Organisivity 