Time management tips

How to manage your shopping list

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A shopping list is an important item for your weekly or monthly shopping trip. Whether you prefer the pen and paper method for making your shopping list, or the functionality of using an App on your phone, these are both helpful methods for managing your lists. 

Most households will have staple items that they buy on a regular basis with a few others to supplement the weekly list. The difficulty begins when you forget to buy a staple item that every family member uses or a crucial ingredient needed for the success of a family dinner – or more importantly – toilet paper! Shopping lists help to prevent mini disasters like these and are well worth the ten minutes or so spent organising one before you hit the shops. 

Planning your shopping list

  • It’s sensible to plan your shopping list in conjunction with your menu planning for the week ahead. Have your cookbooks next to you as you make your shopping list so you can draw up a list of ingredients.
  • Keep a list on your fridge so you can take note of which items are running low. It can be hugely annoying to embark on the big grocery shop outing, only to discover that you forgot a staple like margarine and the current tub will only last a day or more.

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  • If you are writing out your shopping list, take the time to plan your shopping list while keeping the layout of your store in mind. Identify key categories and map them out on your list. So if the meat is at the opposite end of the store, plan for it accordingly on your shopping list. 

The benefits of an App for doing your shopping list

Using an App on your phone is a very practical way to manage your shopping list. Quite often you will be shopping for the same items on a regular basis.

  • By storing them in your App, you are saving yourself the trouble of writing them out over and over again. Some Apps will even let you dictate your list into your phone by saying it aloud.
  • They also have technology that lets you use a barcode scanner to scan the foods you have in your fridge so you can add them to your list.
  • The other useful feature is that they can usually sort items in list by the order of the aisle they are in at your local supermarket. All you have to do is to create the aisles in your App. 

These are a couple of popular shopping list Apps that are both free and can be easily downloaded to your phone. 

Irrespective of the method you choose, the shopping list is a valuable tool in saving you time when doing the weekly or fortnightly shop. It also prevents you from buying unnecessary items and will aid in successful meal times as well. 

Apps for setting up your grocery lists:

For: iPad/ iPhone:

For: Android (Samsung phones and tablets)

Helpful links for online shopping:

The top 5 shopping Apps in South Africa:

Other links for online shopping:

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