by Monica Resinger
Making and using a grocery list will help you buy only
necessities and/or sale items so 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; here's an example: 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 made on my
computer. The list has headings for each section of the grocery store such as
'produce', 'meats', 'breakfast foods', etc., just like you'd see in a coupon
organizer. 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 for to write in items
later. These are the headings I used:
PRODUCE
BREAD/BAKERY
CONDIMENTS
BAKING SUPPLIES
PACKAGED
MEALS/SOUPS
SNACKS/POP
FROZEN VEG./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 Resinger is the creator of 'Homemaker's Journal E-Publications' where
you will find many fun and informative home and garden related e-books, tip
sheets and how to sign up for her FREE home and garden newsletter!
Click here to visit:
http://homemakersjournal.com/