The Grocery List

[snowangel]

I have the luxury, as a stay-at-home, to plan meals fairly spur of the moment. I can get to the farmer's market almost every day of the week (save Wednesday for yoga lessons ). But, I try to be somewhat time economical. I do like the fact that I can decide fairly spur of the moment what we we (meaning me) will feel like eating).

But, how many of you find yourselves making the next list (primarily of staples) as you are putting the newly-purchased groceries in the appropriate places? How many of you with kids, spouse, SO or roomie find yourself realizing that that container that has been so respectfully placed in the proper spot is EMPTY?

Or those early morning, not quite awake yet "honey, would you remember to get _____ at the market?" (Never mind that the list, as it has been for the last umpteenth years, firmly affixed to the fridge with a magnet and pen?)

At my local markets, they must think I am unbelievably disorganized. I'm there often enough that they know me. In my next life, I'll be a mind reader.

[Gifted Gourmet]

But, how many of you find yourselves making the next list (primarily of staples) as you are putting the newly-purchased groceries in the appropriate places? 

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I feel your pain and can identify, snowangel ...

[RSincere]

I'm with you. I do my major shopping every other week at a store about an hour away. If I forget to get something in Madison, I might not be able to find it here. Also, I have to plan meals so that we eat the most perishable vegetables first. By week two, we're eating a lot of onions, potatoes, carrots, and leftovers.

[bloviatrix]

But, how many of you find yourselves making the next list (primarily of staples) as you are putting the newly-purchased groceries in the appropriate places?  How many of you with kids, spouse, SO or roomie find yourself realizing that that container that has been so respectfully placed in the proper spot is EMPTY?

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This is a constant. No matter how good I am at keeping a list I inevitably realize that there were things I forgot.

The best part about cell phones is that on those occasions where Blovie does the shopping I can pepper him with calls as I remember additional things I need him to pick up.

[irodguy]

Yep I have gotten very hi tech with my home grocery list. I load them in on my computer and then link them to my cell phone which is also a pda.

I then go to the grocery store on the way home.... and pretty much forget to look at it and purchase whatever suits my fancy at the time

The only time I really do pay attention to list is when I have a catering list. Then I go armed with purchase orders and use them as a check list even if I have no account at the store in question.

[irodguy]

sometimes i make a list and sometimes i dont..funny thing is that when i dont make a list...i generally remember to get everything i needed anyway...and when i dont make one...well im sure u can figure it out......

[irodguy]

oops...i think i hit the wrong button and wound up getting my reply under irodguys name...sorry about that dear....lol

now let me paste it under my own name which is where it shoudl have been to begin with.....

sometimes i make a list and sometimes i dont..funny thing is that when i dont make a list...i generally remember to get everything i needed anyway...and when i dont make one...well im sure u can figure it out......

[irodguy]

ok maybe i didnt get it wrong cuz i know i hit the right button the second time... but just so ya'll do know..it should be under ladyyoung98

i think somethin g might be wrong with the board

[FL Heat]

I have a "staple list" that doesn't change. Things I *always* need. Then I go through the coupon file and mark which staples I have coupons for, and add anything to the list that I know we need that I have a coupon for. Then I plan out a menu and write down what I need for each meal. Then put the list in blocks, one block per store and in order of how things are in each store. Because yes, I am that obsessive.

There are only 2 of us in the house, though, and if something's gone, I know who did it. And wrath is swift and sudden.

Diana

[munchymom]

How many of you with kids, spouse, SO or roomie find yourself realizing that that container that has been so respectfully placed in the proper spot is EMPTY?

Based on observation in my family, I've always thought the gene for this particular behavior must be carried on the Y chromosome. Why, oh why, would someone leave three crackers in a box? What's with the one ounce of soda left in a bottle? Just finish the stupid things and throw the container away! I think it's related to the gene for cramming more and more into the full garbage can, rather than just taking out the bag when it's full.

[lovebenton0]

I am also a stay-at-home, but with the additional difficulty of not being able to drive. Frequently it is my mr who ends up doing the shopping (sometimes by necessity for me, but often to my disappointment -- as I would just love to get out!). Yes, most of my pleasure trips are to the grocery. TG I'm such a foodie! This has also cut my ability to get to specialty markets that are many miles out of the way, and nowhere near regular routes for the mr.

So I have a running list of basics -- produce, dairy, bread/tortillas, cooking/baking aisle ingredients, extras like crackers and condiments (that empty box up in the pantry will get me nearly every time, as well as that -- why did you keep the mayo/mustard jar when it was empty?!!!), meats (what's good or what's on sale), juices.

Then I try to make a specific short list off of that for mr to shop. I only need a few notes on specific ingredients for meals if I'm able to prompt a ride to the store for myself.

I used to stop at the store (directly on my path home from work) whenever, and shop for produce, and special items, etc., on an as need/want basis. Now I have to think of what I want to do over the coming week or two -- with quickie stops by mr for milk etc., -- usually some kind of coffee creamer for me -- about once a week. Not driving has cramped my style.

[TheFoodTutor]

Based on observation in my family, I've always thought the gene for this particular behavior must be carried on the Y chromosome.  Why, oh why, would someone leave three crackers in a box?  What's with the one ounce of soda left in a bottle?  Just finish the stupid things and throw the container away!  I think it's related to the gene for cramming more and more into the full garbage can, rather than just taking out the bag when it's full.

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These genes are definitely related, and there's another one that's close to it: The gene that allows someone to decide that the eggs in the fridge are too old to use, go to the store and buy a new carton of eggs and place it on top of the old container, without throwing the old eggs away, of course.

Man, I hate that.

[jgarner53]

The gene that allows someone to decide that the eggs in the fridge are too old to use, go to the store and buy a new carton of eggs and place it on top of the old container, without throwing the old eggs away, of course.

That's probably the same gene that makes a friend's husband pitch the milk on the day it expires. Even if it isn't bad, and half the gallon container's still full.

My grocery lists start on the white board on our fridge, then get added to as I figure out what we're eating for the next week. What really irks me is when I forget something that was on the list. Like yesterday, when I had to run to the store for two stinkin' carrots!

[tejon]

We also have a whiteboard on the refrigerator. As things get used up they go on the list for the next grocery run. Then each week I carefully transfer the list of needed items to the one I carry to the store, along with whatever is needed for the next weeks (I menu plan). All sounds very organized and in control....but I always end up going back to the store at least once for something I forgot, or because the boys suddenly decided to eat cold cereal again.

[RSincere]

That's probably the same gene that makes a friend's husband pitch the milk on the day it expires. Even if it isn't bad, and half the gallon container's still full.

Jason tries to do that too. "You can't use that milk! It expired a week ago!"

Me: "Smell it. Does it smell sour?"

Him: "No."

Me: "Is it chunky?"

Him: "No."

Me: "Hand it over, I'm using it."

Edited October 18, 2004 by RSincere (log)

[jetsie]

I keep multiple lists going, since I shop for different things at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, farmers' markets, and various other grocery and specialty stores. We have five people in the family, three of whom are technically adults, but I'm the only one who keeps up the lists. I love lists. They keep me sane.

The only thing that ever trips me up is Teenboy, who tends to put empty containers back. He also haunts the kitchen late at night, randomly devouring key ingredients to planned meals.

[Lexica]

These genes are definitely related, and there's another one that's close to it: The gene that allows someone to decide that the eggs in the fridge are too old to use, go to the store and buy a new carton of eggs and place it on top of the old container, without throwing the old eggs away, of course.

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There's another variation - the one where bringing a new package of whatever into the household suddenly renders the existing, half-used package invisible.

Me: "The old bottle of dish detergent is still a quarter full! Why did you open the new one?"

Him: "I didn't see the old one." [Which, needless to say, is in the same spot next to the sink that it has been since we moved into this apartment.]

Arrrgh.

Anyway, back to the list. For things we purchase repeatedly, I have a printed list that gets put into a sheet protector and posted on the fridge. A dry-erase marker works nicely to highlight things as we run low or out. Once an item gets replaced, the highlighting gets erased, at least in theory. The list is sorted into general categories, based on what kind of item it is (produce, dairy, cleaning products, etc.). There's a white board next to the list, where non-list things can be added.

Unfortunately, we haven't figured out the automagic feature where simply saying "we're almost out of [x]" results in [x] being highlighted on the list without manual intervention - despite what a certain other member of the household seems to think.

Edited October 19, 2004 by Lexica (log)

[JPW]

I always knew that I could be obsessive about things, but groceries have become my top thing to be super-organized with.

Step 1) Plan out weekly menu for dinner

Step 2) Write out all necessary ingredients on separate page

Step 3) Cross out all things that are already in the house

Step 4) Re-write items remaining on list on another piece of paper

Step 5) Repeat for all lunch items

Step 6) Repeat for all breakfast items

Step 7) Scour cabinets for staples and paper goods running low

Heaven help Mrs JPW if she starts talking about TP while I'm working on step 1 or wants to revise dinner menu while I'm already on the breakfast stuff.

In review, I am a complete neurotic.

[Tess]

I've resisted getting a PDA-- last thing I need is yet another gadget-- but if I had one, I would use it to keep grocery lists, along with lists of what's in the cupboard. My biggest problem is that there are a lot of variables based on what is available or looks good in the store, especially when it comes to produce and fish. Even if I have a plan, I'll often change my mind, and then I can't remember if I have at home the things I want to cook it with.

As it it, I have a small notebook with not one but three lists in it, for the nearby supermarket, Whole Foods, and Mitsuwa. And, yes, the new list usually starts the same day I go shopping at whatever place.

[marie-louise]

I shop every day or two on the way home from work. I can never decide what I want for dinner in advance, plus how else could I serve fresh Acme bread with dinner? I have to take a list to the store-even if I only need 2 or 3 things. By the end of a long day at work, the state of my toilet paper supply has left my short-term memory. I also have to have a plan for dinner before I go into the store, otherwise I find myself loitering in front of the counter as they repeatedly ask if I need help.

I goto one of the weekend Farmer's Markets every week or two. Sometimes I take a list there to remember the amounts or items for a particular dish I want to make, but in general, we just buy everything in sight!

We keep a seperate staples list. We buy our staples from so many different places that things stay on the list for a long time. (I'm referring to things from upscale delis and various ethnic grocery stores.) The trick is to buy two jars of things & put it on the list when you open the last one, so you always have a backup. Easier said than done. I try and keep about 5 kinds of rice in my pantry, but just last week I went to make pilaf and used the very last cup of any type of rice in the house. (I wonder what the checkout guy thought when I bought 1 package of chicken & 5 packages of rice the next day at the store?) Since it's just the two of us, we use Safeway instead of Costco for the basics-there's a huge one near us that is open 24/7.

There is always SOMETHING on the list!

I use hand-written lists.

Edited October 19, 2004 by marie-louise (log)

[eunny jang]

I decide what to make for dinner while at work, scribble a list, doodle all over it (a trussed chicken plaintively saying "cluck cluck??"), and stop at the store on my way home. I can never remember what I have in the house and what I don't (except if I have a particularly appealing set of leftovers), which is why I end up with five tubes of toothpaste and three bags of carrots.

[phaelon56]

What's a grocery list?

I live alone and routinely cook just for myself. An increasingly busy schedule has cut into cooking time even further in recent months. I think the only time I ever make a list is when I'm cooking a specific recipe for a dinner guest or guests. On those occasions I even use a regular shopping cart at the store instead of the little plastic handbasket. I should be ashamed but I'm not

[Squeat Mungry]

I almost never, ever make a list, preferring to see what looks good at the market and go from there. Occasionally though, I'll see a recipe I want to try, like I did on Saturday, and I'll make a list of things I don't have and trot off to the grocery store. When I got there on Saturday, I found I had left the list at home, so I decided to see if I could remember everything. I wound up buying about fifteen things. When I got home and checked, exactly two of them were on the list, and I had completely spaced on about ten!

I made something else.

Cheers,

Squeat

[marie-louise]

... I found I had left the list at home, so I decided to see if I could remember everything. I wound up buying about fifteen things. When I got home and checked, exactly two of them were on the list, and I had completely spaced on about ten! 

I made something else.

Cheers,

Squeat

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Been there done that!

Edited October 20, 2004 by marie-louise (log)

[marie-louise]

oops, duplicate

Edited October 20, 2004 by marie-louise (log)