Organize Your Grocery Shopping List for Speed & Efficiency
(closed account) says:
Consider that a grocery store is broken down by departments.
Adding items to your list by item name makes finding what you need in RTM while shopping very difficult... deli, produce, grocery, back to deli, dairy, back to produce. It's inefficient without grouping by department.
So I assign a department in front of each item I need on the list. For example: d = dairy; p = produce; g = grocery; m = meat/deli; f = frozen.
The list now auto sorts in RTM automagically and groups like foods by department. This makes it much easier to find what you need based on what aisle you are in.
Here is an example of what my shopping list looks like:
d - butter
d - milk
d - american cheese
f - pizza
f - tater tots
g - salt
g - Chicken soup
g - pancake mix
m - ham
m - steak
p - apples
p - bananas
This can be applied to any big store with many aisles / departments.
Happy shopping and..... REMEMBER THE MILK!
Adding items to your list by item name makes finding what you need in RTM while shopping very difficult... deli, produce, grocery, back to deli, dairy, back to produce. It's inefficient without grouping by department.
So I assign a department in front of each item I need on the list. For example: d = dairy; p = produce; g = grocery; m = meat/deli; f = frozen.
The list now auto sorts in RTM automagically and groups like foods by department. This makes it much easier to find what you need based on what aisle you are in.
Here is an example of what my shopping list looks like:
d - butter
d - milk
d - american cheese
f - pizza
f - tater tots
g - salt
g - Chicken soup
g - pancake mix
m - ham
m - steak
p - apples
p - bananas
This can be applied to any big store with many aisles / departments.
Happy shopping and..... REMEMBER THE MILK!
amitsk says:
But wouldnt drag and drop be even easier? To reorder any list. RIght now I'm numbering them which isn't so bad, but adding a random task by email or milksync gets messed up
relevart says:
Great idea!
I think I'll try it soon.
Thanks for sharing!
I think I'll try it soon.
Thanks for sharing!
dekov says:
I use RTM for shopping groceries aswell and your tip is just great. I changed it a bit and use numbers instead of letters for departments. So the first department in the store i 1 the second is 2 and so on. This way I have created a route in the store that brings me as quickly round as possible. I only use the method for the store I most frequent. Groceries I need to get elsewhere I simply tag with the name of the store.
I have two tags for shopping for items that I want to get next time I go to Staples, and for next time I go to Home Depot. These items are generally undated, so they don't clutter my inbox, but whenever I find myself at either of these stores, I show only tasks with the appropriate tag, and find that I need tape or hanging files, or leaf bags and electrical tape.
- I add these whenever I am running low on something, so it's there as a reminder next time I'm at the appropriate store (or a store like it).
- But if I really need the item, I'll date the task for the next day that I can run to that store, and I'll set as P1.
- With recurring "consumable items," I won't delete the task once I buy the item; I'll just undate and deprioritize it. Especially helpful for items that have particular specs (like air conditioning filters), which can be added to a note. When I use the last one at home, I'll simply date the task and set a priority, without needing to re-enter all the specs again.
- I add these whenever I am running low on something, so it's there as a reminder next time I'm at the appropriate store (or a store like it).
- But if I really need the item, I'll date the task for the next day that I can run to that store, and I'll set as P1.
- With recurring "consumable items," I won't delete the task once I buy the item; I'll just undate and deprioritize it. Especially helpful for items that have particular specs (like air conditioning filters), which can be added to a note. When I use the last one at home, I'll simply date the task and set a priority, without needing to re-enter all the specs again.
(closed account) says:
This is good, but currently I have a much simpler approach. ALthough not organized by "isle", at least alphabetically I can get to them (or search).
Basically, I have a food "Shopping" list. I added a task for every food item I am likely to need to get. I set them as Priority 2, and complete. Now when I am read to start making my list, I go to my "Shopping" list, view all the complete tasks (aka, food items), and check what I need, then mark "uncomplete". Boom, they show up on my tasks. They are segregated simply by being in a separate list.
If I forget something from the general food shopping, then I can makr that item (or add a new) one uncomplete, and even give it a due date to make sure I pick up those items right away. One disadvantage, I need to remove due dates on those items I flagged to pick up, extra step I guess.
I am tossing the idea around of adding an "isle tag" to these items, but then I feel like that's might be too much.
Basically, I have a food "Shopping" list. I added a task for every food item I am likely to need to get. I set them as Priority 2, and complete. Now when I am read to start making my list, I go to my "Shopping" list, view all the complete tasks (aka, food items), and check what I need, then mark "uncomplete". Boom, they show up on my tasks. They are segregated simply by being in a separate list.
If I forget something from the general food shopping, then I can makr that item (or add a new) one uncomplete, and even give it a due date to make sure I pick up those items right away. One disadvantage, I need to remove due dates on those items I flagged to pick up, extra step I guess.
I am tossing the idea around of adding an "isle tag" to these items, but then I feel like that's might be too much.
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