An Organized Shopping List
by Monica Resinger
Making and using a grocery list will help you buy only necessities and/or sale items so it will help you save money. It will also get you out of the store quicker as long as the list is organized.
An unorganized grocery list can actually keep you in the store longer. I used to make my grocery list by writing the first item at the top of the list and working my way down in no particular order. At the store, I'd be in a particular area, read my list over in a hurry and miss one or two items in that section. I would then have to run back to that section later when I noticed I missed items. Every time I went shopping, I'd spend a good part of the time running back to a particular section to pick up something I missed. I decided there had to be a better way.
What I came up with is a pre-printed, sectioned list that I made on my computer. The list has headings for each section of the grocery store such as "Produce," "Meats," "Breakfast Foods," etc. Now, as I'm making my list, I just go to the section on the pre-printed list and write in the item. Then, when I'm grocery shopping and in a certain area, I can see at a glance all the items needed in that section. Another benefit is that it's very easy to search for coupons since the list headings match the coupon headings.
I made this list by opening up a new document in my Wordpad program; any word processing program will work. Then all I did was type in the following headings three across in a row, then four or five returns down to make the next row of three across. The returns provide space to write in items later. These are the headings I used:
Produce
 |
Condiments
Baking Supplies
Packaged Meals/Soups
Snacks/Pop
Frozen Vegetables/Juice
Frozen Meals
Frozen Treats
Meat
Breakfast Items
Cleaners
Processed Meat
Pet Food
Toilet Paper/Toiletries
Milk/Dairy
After the list was finished, I printed out a few to keep with my grocery ads in a binder. When I need more, I'll print more. I took my list shopping and found out, an organized shopping list does make all the difference.
Monica is the editor/publisher of The Homemaker's Journal E-zine. For more organization tips, check out The Homemaker's Journal Storage Solutions, Kitchen Organization Tips, Guidebook for Getting and Staying Organized and many other fun and informative e-books at http://homemakersjournal.com/allebooks.htm
Subscribe to the free e-zine The Homemaker's Journal! Each issue includes a home & garden article, delicious recipes and more! To subscribe, just send a blank e-mail by mailto:HomemakersJournal-subscribe@yahoogroups.comTo see how others have responded to this article. Just Click Here.
If you enjoyed this article you might also want to check out:
Do you need more information on this topic? Click here to ask a Dollar Stretcher Stretchpert!
Do you have a time or money saving idea that wasn't included in this article? Please send it to tips@stretcher.com. We get the best ideas from our readers!
If you liked this article, sign up for our free eNewsletter Surviving Tough Times. Just enter your email address in the box below and click Subscribe.
Follow The Dollar Stretcher on Twitter.
Dollar Stretcher Community
Forums
Blogs
Also In This Week's Issue
Money games for kids
10 hot toys for under $20
How repossession affects credit score
Marriage doesn't wipe out credit history
