Making a shopping list: never forget anything again

A good shopping list does three jobs at once: it makes sure you forget nothing, it protects you from impulse buys, and it makes shopping faster. A bad list, or none at all, costs you at least one extra trip to the shop per week and a few spontaneous purchases you didn’t need. The difference between the two comes down to three habits: sorting, combining and deriving.

Why the paper list fails so often

The classic note on the fridge is likeable, but it has built-in weaknesses. First, it likes to stay exactly where it is: on the fridge, while you are standing in the shop. Second, it grows chronologically. You write down whatever comes to mind, and in the supermarket you zigzag between the chiller cabinet, the vegetables and the dry goods, and every detour is a new opportunity for things you don’t need. Third, it doesn’t do maths. If two recipes each need an onion, there are either two entries on the note or, more often, just one, and in the shop you no longer know how many it should be.

None of this is a character flaw. These are structural problems of the medium, and they are exactly what can be solved.

Rule 1: Sort by category and think in walking routes

Group your list the way your usual supermarket is laid out. For most shops this order works:

1. Fruit and vegetables
2. Bread and bakery
3. Chiller cabinet (dairy, cold cuts)
4. Meat and fish
5. Dry goods (pasta, rice, flour, muesli)
6. Tins, oils, spices
7. Frozen food, deliberately late so nothing thaws
8. Drinks and toiletries

The effect is bigger than it sounds: you walk through the shop once in a line instead of doubling back three times. That saves time, and every aisle you don’t pass is one less temptation.

Rule 2: Combine quantities

When you shop for several dishes, many ingredients need a single shared entry. Recipe A wants one onion, recipe B two, so the list gets one entry: “3 onions”. That sounds trivial, but it is the point where handwritten lists fail most often: either you buy twice, or you stand in front of the shelf reconstructing three recipes in your head.

This also includes the pantry check: before something goes on the list, take a quick look in the cupboard and fridge. There is still rice, oil too, but the paprika is almost empty, so only the paprika goes on the list. A five-minute check prevents the duplicate packs of pasta that otherwise pile up in the cupboard for months.

Rule 3: Derive the list from your weekly plan

You don’t write the best shopping list yourself at all; it follows from the plan. Once you have planned your week, all the ingredients are already fixed; the list is simply their sum minus what you have in stock. That is why the weekly plan and the shopping list belong together: the plan answers “What are we eating?”, the list answers “What’s missing for it?”. How to set up the plan in a quarter of an hour is explained in Creating a weekly meal plan.

In myfoody you plan with your private recipes and check the ingredients derived from them before adding them to your own shopping list. You can add your own items and tick them off in the shop. Combine identical ingredients from different recipes yourself before you go shopping.

Bonus: the anti-impulse-buy routine

The list reaches its full effect with two simple extra rules. First: never shop hungry. Hunger turns every shelf into an offer. Second: anything that isn’t on the list needs a conscious reason to go into the trolley; “it’s on offer right now” only counts if you will really use it. An unplanned bargain that goes off is no bargain.

Stick with this routine for a few weeks and you will quickly notice the difference on your receipt, and in the bin, where much less ends up. If you want to cook more cheaply and more healthily at the same time, Cheap and healthy cooking for the whole family is the natural next read.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way to sort my shopping list?

By your route through your usual supermarket: fruit and vegetables first, then bread, the chiller cabinet, meat, dry goods, tins, frozen food and finally drinks and toiletries. That way you walk through the shop once instead of zigzagging.

Does a shopping list really help against impulse buys?

Yes, above all because it gives you a clear reference: anything that isn’t on the list needs a conscious reason to go into the trolley. Together with the rule never to shop hungry, it is the most effective everyday tool against spontaneous purchases.

What belongs on a good shopping list?

All the ingredients of your planned dishes (minus what you have in stock), used-up basics like oil or spices, and household consumables. With quantities, “3 onions” instead of just “onions”, you save yourself the guesswork in the shop.

Paper or app: which is better?

Paper works if you are very disciplined. An app has three structural advantages: it is always with you (people forget their phone less often than a note), it can sort automatically and combine quantities, and it can be created directly from the weekly plan instead of being copied out by hand.

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