Helpful Organizing Tip - Master Shopping List

Between raising a family and being a business owner, there's a lot going on in my brain. If I need to remember something, I have to write it down or else it's as good as gone. I'm a visual person so I like post-its and pads of paper for quickly jotting down ideas, to-do's and lists.

With four people in our household, we go through a lot of food. When we run out of something, I add it to my shopping list (my main supermarket is ShopRite). But, I shop in four or five different markets depending where I'm driving past that day and what food item I've run out of. I needed a central place to keep track of all our food needs. That's when I came up with the Master Shopping List.

My Master Shopping List

I went to Michaels and purchaed a magnetic pad with lines and stuck it on the side of my fridge. I wrote in the names of stores I shop in often--ShopRite, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Fairway, and Costco and left room underneath to write what I've run out of. When I buy the item, I cross it off my list. Sometimes I'll circle an item if I need to purchase it later or at another store.

Keeping this list close to the fridge or pantry makes jotting down items a quick and easy task. If you don't like to or can't hang items on your fridge, store your Master Shopping List near your refrigerator. Don't like the note pad? Create something similar to this on your computer.

The master list is not just for food. Use it for drugstores, big box stores--wherever you shop often.

This master list has made my life much easier. If I notice we are running low on an item from a particular store, I grab my pen and write it under the appropriate store name. If I know I'll be passing by a certain store after working with a client, I'll jot down from the master list (onto a separate piece of paper) the things  I need and cross items off them off the list when I return home.

I guarantee--creating a Master Shopping List for your family will work as well for you as it has worked for me. Give it a try. It's all about making our lives easier and having what we need when we need it.