How to make a grocery list
Updated
A good grocery list means fewer forgotten items, fewer duplicates, and fewer trips back to the store. Here’s how to make one in six steps, from checking the fridge to a list your whole household shares, plus the mistakes that make a list useless.
How to make a grocery list in six steps
1. Check the fridge and pantry
Before you write anything, take a look around: fridge, freezer, pantry, bathroom, under the sink. Write down what’s gone or almost gone, and spot what needs to be eaten soon: those leftovers are your first meals of the week. A few minutes of checking keeps you from buying a third jar of mustard.
2. Plan the week’s meals
Count the meals you’ll actually eat at home (lunches at work or school don’t count), then pick a dish for each one. Nothing fancy: pasta, a roast chicken, tacos, soup. For each dish, write down the ingredients you don’t have. Keep one “leftovers night” at the end of the week.
3. Sort the list by aisle
Group items the way your store lays them out: produce, dairy, meat and seafood, pantry, frozen, drinks, personal care, household. You walk the store once, with no backtracking to the first aisle for the butter you forgot. If you shop at more than one place (a farmers market, a supermarket, a warehouse club), split by store first, then by aisle.
4. Write down amounts
“Tomatoes” isn’t enough: how many? “2 lb tomatoes,” “1 gallon milk,” “a dozen eggs.” With amounts, whoever does the shopping doesn’t have to guess, and you don’t buy too much or too little. For things that keep (pasta, rice, toilet paper), stock up if you have the room.
5. Keep a shared list up to date all week
A good list gets built during the week, not the night before you shop: whoever finishes something adds it right away. A notepad on the fridge works if everyone remembers, but it stays home on shopping day. A shared list on your phone goes with whoever does the shopping, and the whole household can see it.
That’s what kaidashi does: your whole household shares one list, updated live on everyone’s phone, iPhone or Android (on Android, through the test for now). Type the first few letters: the app suggests what your household usually buys and guesses the unit. At the store, you drag the item into the cart, and everyone else sees it’s been picked up, and by whom.
6. Keep a template
Part of your shopping is the same every week: milk, bread, coffee, fruit, toilet paper. Keep a template of those staples and start from it each time: all that’s left is to check off what you’re out of and add the ingredients for the meals you’ve planned. To get started, use our grocery list template, organized by aisle and ready to print.
A grocery list for the week
For a week of groceries, combine the two: the template for staples, and the ingredients for the meals you’ve planned. Our weekly grocery list has a sample seven-day menu and the list that goes with it, aisle by aisle. Do one big trip if you can, and save a quick stop for fresh food midweek.
Common mistakes
- Shopping without a list, or leaving it on the counter. You buy at random and forget what matters.
- Writing “vegetables” or “snacks for the kids.” Too vague for whoever does the shopping: they guess, and guess wrong.
- Not checking the pantry. Duplicates pile up: a second bag of rice, a third bottle of ketchup.
- Keeping separate lists. With two or more people, everyone buys milk, or nobody does.
- Shopping hungry. The list doesn’t stand a chance against the cookie aisle.
- Grabbing what’s not on the list “because it’s on sale.” A sale only saves money on things you needed.
- Planning too many meals. Fresh food ends up in the trash: a leftovers night works better.
What kaidashi does, and doesn’t do
kaidashi is a shared grocery list: the household adds items, whoever shops drags them into the cart, and everyone follows along live, even with no signal in the back of the store. Items are organized by store (farmers market, supermarket, bakery…), each with its own color, with a filter; not by aisle. kaidashi doesn’t come with a ready-made list and doesn’t import one: you add your items, and the app then suggests what your household usually buys. Free, no ads.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a grocery list for the week?
First check what’s left in the fridge and pantry, pick a dish for each meal you’ll eat at home, then write down the ingredients you’re missing, sorted by aisle and with amounts. Add any staples you’ve run out of. There’s a sample seven-day menu, with its list, on our weekly grocery list page.
What order should a grocery list be in?
The order of the aisles in your store: produce, dairy and deli, meat and seafood, pantry, drinks, personal care and household, then frozen food last so it stays cold. If you shop at more than one store, split the list by store first.
How do I share a grocery list with my household?
Use a shared grocery list app like kaidashi: everyone sees the same list, updated live on their own phone, iPhone or Android (on Android, through the test for now). Everyone adds what’s missing, and at the store you can see who got what. kaidashi is free, with no ads.
Get kaidashi
Free on iPhone. On Android, join the closed test: we’ll add you with your Google account email.
On Android? Join the test
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