Tips to Simplify Sundry Shopping by Streamlining the Process

Most of us would prefer to be doing anything other than necessary errands. But the more organized you are, the faster they’ll get done and the more time you’ll have for things you enjoy. Instead of jotting down notes and lists on scraps of paper, use the technology at your fingertips. Here are some things I do to streamline the process and simplify my sundry shopping.

Grocery Shopping

If you’re like me and buy mostly the same staples at the market – from fruits and veggies to meats and more – you probably make a new list each week. Years ago, I got tired of writing down the same items week after week and decided to create a master market list…by category, of course. And yes, I did try to organize the categories in the order of my local supermarket layout. I know it sounds nuts, but it’s a great way not to forget anything or have to backtrack around the grocery store. 

My master market list has become the joke AND envy of my friends. When I bump into someone I know at the grocery store and they catch a glimpse of my list, they tease me. But then they ask me to send them a copy. I’ve posted a copy of my master market list below for you to download and edit in any way that works for you.

Tips For Getting Started

• You can download a copy of my master market list, below, and edit it in any way that works for you.
• Take one of your recent shopping lists or several of them, sit down at your computer and start typing it up. Then take a mental inventory of your fridge, pantry, snack cabinet, etc., and add things to the list.
• Another great place to start when creating your first master market list is to look at any online grocery shopping you’ve done, which was very popular during COVID. Sites like Peapod and Instacart populate all your orders into one master list so you can reference it for future orders. This is a great way to add to or create your own personalized grocery list. 
• Print several copies of your market list and put it on your fridge so you can check, circle and fill in as you go. Be sure to leave yourself a few blank lines under each category for miscellaneous items that come up.
• Remember, the master list is not set in stone. As lifestyles change and family units change, edit your list as much as you want. When my daughter was diagnosed with celiac, I added a gluten-free section to my master list.

A master supermarket list is a great way to simplify going to the grocery store. Plus, it serves as an efficient checklist when looking through the fridge and pantry for those favorite items you like to keep on hand. 

And, if you’re lucky, your family, significant other or roommates will add to the market list when they finish something. My luck with that has been sporadic, at best. When I get home from the market and my kids ask if I bought something I don’t eat, I say, “If it was on the list, I got it; if not, then no”. You’d think this would motivate them to add things to the list when they eat the last one…but not so much. I hope you have better luck with this than I have.  

Errands

Who doesn’t want to streamline sundry shopping? When I’ve got lots of little errands to do, I want to bang them out quickly. Fishing around in pockets and purses for crumpled pieces of paper at each store used to drive me nuts. Worse than that was forgetting my lists altogether and having to walk up and down the aisles trying to remember what we needed.

Mind you, as I age, it’s getting harder to remember stuff…like taking the list with me, never mind what was on the list. So I’ve taken to using the Notes app on my iPhone. It’s there I keep running lists for pretty much anything and everything – pharmacy, dry cleaner, Target, etc. Whenever I think of something we need, I immediately add it to the appropriate list. This way I always have my lists on hand because I always have my phone with me.

Tips For Getting Started

• Choose an app on your smartphone where you can create customized lists or notes There are list-specific apps you can download, such as AnyList. I just use Notes, see a sample below.
• Create a new list for each store where you run errands as well as for other things you want to remember. For instance, I have lists for CVS, Target, Costco, the hardware store, the mall and the wine store. I even have a list of questions I want to remember to ask when I take the dog to the vet.
• Every time you think of something you need, like more white wine, add it to the appropriate list.

Trust me, this is easier than trying to remember everything and a lot less frustrating than forgetting the pieces of paper you’ve been scribbling on at home.

Streamlining

In general, I like to do things efficiently and effectively…do it right the first time so I don’t have to do it again. Having everything automated in a printout and/or a phone app, makes doing errands more efficient. I loathe getting home only to find I forgot to buy something I need, like toothpaste, and having to go back out to the store. To me, it’s a waste of time and gas and, therefore, money.

Streamlining everyday errands makes my life so much simpler. I hope these suggestions do the same for you.

Please let me know if these ideas simplify your sundry shopping or if you have any shortcuts you’ve created to make life simpler.

Happy Shopping!

Simplify Some More

Looking for other ways to simplify your life? Check out some of these other posts:

Above is my Master Market List and below is a sampling of lists I keep in Notes on my iPhone.