How to Shop for Groceries Using a Food Inventory and Shopping List

Organized shopping saves time and money

When most people go grocery shopping, they simply walk down the aisles and put whatever looks good in the cart. If they plan ahead, they might make a short list of needed items. And then within a day or two they have to do it all again because they have run out of something. There is a better way. If you do the grocery shopping for your household, creating a food inventory and an organized shopping list will save you time and money. It will also cut down on waste and minimize your trips to the store.

Things You'll Need

• Pen and paper or computer

Instructions

Make a Food Inventory

1. 

   Choose food categories.

   Write a list of common food and grocery categories, such as vegetables, snacks, condiments, dairy, meat and bread. Leave 1/4 to 1/3 of a page of space for each category in which to list items in Step 2.

2. 

   Write down everything.

   Go through every place in your house where you store food (refrigerator, freezer, kitchen shelves, counters and pantry) and write down every single item of food that is currently in your house. Do the same for non-food items you also buy at the grocery store. Write down each item in the appropriate category you created in Step One. If you come across items that do not fit into your existing categories, write those items in a "Miscellaneous" category, and when you are finished, create individualized categories to put them in.

3. 

   Tiered shelves make items visible.

   Throw out spoiled or expired food or any items you haven't used in over a year while creating this inventory. This is also an excellent opportunity for cleaning or defrosting the fridge or freezer. Finally, organize items by category and arrange them so everything is visible.

4. 

   Oysters would go in the "Sometimes" column.

   Sit down with your food inventory and divide each category into two columns: "Always" and "Sometimes", that is, food you always want to have on hand and food you will buy when you have a craving for it or when it is in season.

5. 

   Shopping this way saves gas.

   Go through your "Always" column in all categories and write down how much of each item you should have in order to last one week (or however often you go shopping). This will cut out unnecessary trips to the store, saving gas and time.

6. 

7. 

Create an Organized Shopping List

1. 

   Write down every aisle.

   Go to the grocery store and write down all the aisles and sections of the store in the order you usually visit them. Jot down the main things that are sold in each aisle or section. This will become your shopping list. To save time, check to see if you can do this online. Many grocery stores offer maps of their stores on the web.

2. Follow your food inventory the next time you are ready to grocery shop and write down how many of each item you need. Write these items and amounts in the appropriate section of your grocery-store-specific shopping list. When you take this with you to the store, you will know exactly what to buy, how much, and the list will be in the order you come to it as you shop.

3. Revise your list as often as needed. If you find yourself running out of milk, add another carton. If your fresh fruit is rotting before you can eat it all, lower the amount on your food inventory list. After a few weeks, you should have very little wasted food and no extra trips to the store.

Tips & Warnings

• If you can type your lists in a word processing document, making changes and printing out a new shopping list becomes very easy.

• Be careful to write down everything when you make your food inventory. You don't want to forget something.

References

• "My Grocery Checklist": Customizable Grocery Lists

Resources

• "Keep and Share: Group Sharing Made Easy and Secure": Grocery Shopping List