Absolutely use a list. I keep my lists for three months, and copy over them. It's pretty cyclical. If my items are on sale, and they always are, I can buy additional nonlist things. I shop once a month, and the intermittent as needed, e.g. milk, fruit, etc.

Not usually. Every week I buy fruit, veggies, milk, yogurt, organic chips & rice cakes. This week we were out of honey. One extra thing.

I just baked 2 dozen giant biscuits, made 2 lbs of sausage into patties ...and ran out of eggs for my breakfast sandies. So I ran to the store, middle of the week, on sale eggs/.67 dz., on my way to work on the house. So it costs me an extra stop, but who knew I was baking 2 dz of these things....and I was out and about anyway. :0)

Yes, I absolutely have to take a list. There was a time where just writing the list added it to memory, and I was OK if I left it on the counter instead of physically taking it to the store. Now I have to have it with me ;0) The list doesn't mean those items are the only things I'll buy, just things I know I'm out of or will need for an upcoming recipe.

I shop Costco, Trader Joe's, a larger full service grocery about an hour away (all three) maybe once a month. I'll shop locally for things I need like bread, tomatoes, store specials in between. DH has more time on his hands these days and he's happy to take a simple list and go...but I do still get some surprises from his shopping, he may guess what I wanted if he can't find it, not call or ask.

Absolutely. I have a large chalkboard just outside of my pantry and just between the fridge/freezer. When we run out of something or low on something we add it to the board. If hubby has a taste for something he will jot it down and I will add the ingredients. On Friday morning I take a picture of the board and walk the isles of the store that evening. Works very well for me. I have my mother living with us so this helps with her stuff as well. Now if I could just get her to write large enough so that I could see it, that would be nice.

Yes I have an app on my phone called mi-moment that I use for making lists including grocery list. Lots of other things too it's very easy to use.

Yes, I use a list. When I run out of anything, or see I'm about to run out, I scan the bar code and it posts the item into the appropriate store list. I love that app! But I don't limit myself to buying only what is on the list. I really like the "Out of Milk" app on my phone. I don't have regular or set days or times to shop, I go whenever I feel I need or want to. And even though I have a list, I like to take the time to shop for specials, & will usually stock up when I find something I use on sale. Actually, the list is pretty much for the 'basics', things I use regularly. And anything I might need for a new dish I want to try. I stay open to getting ideas for meals from things I come across while shopping.

Rusty

Always. My lists are usually for essentials and ingredients I might not have on hand regarding what menus/recipes I plan for that period. I often come away with lots that isn't on my list but it's what's on it that is important and can't be forgotten.....which they very well could be without a list!!

I also code mine as well as I routinely visit 3-4 different supermarkets that I favor for different type of products (one only for produce, higher quality meats and fish and gourmet items, one for the regular stuff and pet food and one for staples....and Trader Joe's :-)) I go grocery shopping only twice a month but hit the 'staples' store and TJ's maybe only once a month, sometimes less often.

Living up here in small town Michigan going to the grocery store in the "off season" (no tourists) can be challenging. If you are lucky they will have apples or some other produce item you need. I noticed that today they had grapes for $2.49 lb. Nope, too expensive for me. But I did buy Halos on sale $4.99 for 3 lbs.

I miss the meat counters where you can buy just 2 or 3 chicken breasts, not a large container. Or just a 1/2 lb of hamburger. We do have a gas station/grocery and they have a limited meat counter, you can buy just one steak.

Can't wait to get to Florida and off to Publix I will go. Love that I can buy a half loaf of bread!

But I wouldn't trade my home for anywhere else!

Husband does most of the grocery shopping for me. Bless his heart. I sit down and make up a menu for 7 - 10 days, from what we have in the freezer and pantry, then make him up a list of things we need to complete the menu.

More or less, I try to have a list and not go without a plan.

Shopping at our newish Wegmans has its challenges!

I LOVE using my Alexa app.

I tend to go off script and have to retrofit my needs based on my farmers market purchases.

I always make a list... but have yet to remember to take the list with me to the store.... sigh!

I love to keep my list on the Evernote app on my phone. It's my hub for the list and recipes, all in one spot. ravens mi-moment might be similar. so much easier than keeping up with all the papers. Sometimes I take a picture of the hardcopy list and that goes in there too. Coupons are loaded onto my grocery store card. I always forgot my coupons until I could do that. I love electronics for those reasons.

Always, the store is 45 min. away so I can't just run to get something. I do the big shopping once a month & every other week go for milk, bread & things like that. I have a list on the fridge so when I bring the 2nd item up from the basement I make a note to get another. It took some getting use to when we moved here 19 years ago, this area is very rural but we love it.

Yes, I make lists for everything

I keep two running lists on my phone - one for the grocery store and the other for Walmart/Target type items.

And if there is a certain recipe I know I am going to be making in the next few days, I take a picture of the recipe so I won't forget any of the ingredients when I am at the store.

Always a list. I have one in WordPerfect and add/subtract as needed. I keep one for local stores. And another one for the rare times I get to go out of town to WalMart and Aldi. Still doesn't mean I don't forget something by simply forgetting to put it on my list. (That's a neat idea to take a picture of your list with you).

Always. Alexa, add sour cream to the shopping list.

best way to bring IT home is, write a list. I don't really need to bring it along... cause once I write it, I remember the stuff on it just fine.

Now a days, I live so close to a grocery store, I walk. Thus, I only get a few things at the time, cause I don't want to carry a bunch. If my want list is longer, I take the bicycle... and ever once in a while, I stop at the store when I was out in my car, and that is the times, I buy distilled water. :)

Moni

As much a techno-geek as I am, I still prefer a plain old paper grocery list, probably since I don't keep my mobile phone on me in the house - in fact, it's down the basement next to the door to the garage. It's a running list - if I see I'm low on something or need an ingredient for something I intend to prepare in the next few days, it goes on the list.

I do a "big" shopping once a week at Kroger, but stop 2-3 other times at a small produce market nearby. I rarely make a list for there as I like to see what "looks good" that day.

I absolutely make a list. I like to keep ahead of things kept in the pantry. If I pull out a soy sauce, ketchup, etc, I buy another one to keep in the pantry so I don't run out.

We shop specials, so we look thru the grocery flyers every week.

Thursdays are seniors day (55+) at the large drugstore chain, and that's when I buy milk and other items. I save 20%.

If there are the normal Keep on Hand things we need and or other specific items needed for an intended meal, I'll have those on a list.

Otherwise, like others, I'll quickly cruise the aisles (if on that day I have enough time).

I never have produce or seafood items on the list, preferring instead to get what looks good or triggers an inspiration. We avoid doing much meal planning. We have a good variety of stores 10 minutes away and we go when we need or want to, that's also not something that takes advance planning. We both would rather get what looks interesting or what we find that we haven't had in awhile. I like to think of it as modern foraging.

We always shop with a list too. The nearest town of any size is an hour away and we go there about every three months to stock up on staples, meat and seafood and paper goods. During the week, we buy perishables such as produce, milk and bread at our local store. We'd buy more there, but they are so expensive (our theory is because they are the only option in town) and many times their items are past purchase date or spoiled. In the summer, we buy all of our produce at the local farmer's market, but it ended in October so that's not an option until spring. I get eggs from a local person who raises her own chickens. The price isn't necessarily lower than the grocery store, but the quality is much better.

I keep a little notebook in my purse. When we are close to out of something I add it to the list. On Wednesday when the sales circulars come out, I finish off the list then go shopping on Thursday. I usually have another page going for the non-grocery stuff as well and when it gets full I go shopping.

I always shop with my list. I even take a pen & cross off each item as I pick it up to make sure I get everything on my list.

Let's say I start with a list...but add items while I'm shopping.

Yes, I write everything down on a pad of paper that has my initial printed on top of each piece of paper. hey, if I have to do something so unfun, I'm making it pretty. :)

I always remember my list and cross everything off as I go.

I do use a list, mostly consisting of things I have run out o, but also some items I have a hankering for. Then I add things that are really good sale items, I try to always stay under budget,

Nope, not usually. I am pretty good at knowing what I need. Sometimes I do forget something. I live 15 miles from a supermarket. I used to live just about a mile or less from one. That way if I was going to cook something, and needed something I didn't have, I could just run to the store. It took some getting used to, to not be able to do that. I go to town almost every day....as much as I would like to stay home, there is always something I have to go and do. Kroger is the supermarket nearest me, because it is on the edge of town...out my direction. So it is easy to run in and get something. I like HEB, and we have a little HEB here, but I like to go to one of the bigger ones in a nearby town, so every week or so, I will go by there and get the things I like that I can't find at the local one. I love their fresh squeezed orange juice. And they have chicken hearts all the time....and I buy those for my possums. I also buy the possums' yogurt, and HEB has the cheapest yogurt in quart containers. I like their bakery and the variety of bread they bake in the store. I don't eat a lot of bread, but every now and then. I like several of their store brands and they also have frozen crawfish meat that isn't from China. I like to keep some on hand to make etouffe.

Most of the time I buy the same things so I don't need a list, but if I'm making specific recipes or have several unusual purchases, then I must have a list. My mental list-keeping ability has disappeared.

I definitely need a list for shopping, or I am likely to buy everything but what I went to the store to get. I don't remember lists as well any more.

I can't ever remember what I need so I make a list and add to it by writing a text to myself and it goes to my phone. I can then look at it when I'm in the store and see what I need. I like it because I can look back at lists from several previous shopping trips to make sure I've gotten everything on the list. Since i shop so many different places, food co-op, fish market, wine store, grocery, organic foods grocery, TJ's, etc., this makes it easier for me to have it all in one place, so if the co-op is out of oatmeal, I can get it at the organic grocery and will remember to do so since it's on my list.

Yes, a list. I shop twice a month and use a notebook to keep a running list of needs/wants. Then a menu is written up and sales flyers consulted. There are two pages created. One for the grocery and one for W-M. I also have page of top 50 dinner menus to refer to if I go blank on what to make.

ALWAYS. I am a huge list maker and have one for every kind of store. For example, I have a running list for the Home Depot type store and will get there sooner or later. I actually make lists for lists.

Yep. Each week I make a menu, check all the recipes against what I have in stock and make the list. Got this from my mom..and I have to say as I became an adult and was around women who spent MUCH time in angst over "what will I feed the family tonight" I was soooo grateful for the habit. One less stressor for me!! I always know what will be for dinner. Now that I am only cooking for two I don't have to cook every night as I continue to cook for a group and divide and freeze. I LOVE shopping my freezer or dinner!!!!

I personally only shop at Aldi any more and if I need something elsewhere, my girls will go in and pick it up for me. I take my list but like some, once I write it down I usually remember what I need. I do not buy much meat unless it is for a specific meal. My husband can not eat meat now, so I get by with very little of it. I am working on my list this morning as I do not know what day we will be going to get our groceries, possibly tomorrow.

Sue

Oh yes, so I won't forget the odd things I don't buy often or whatever I need for a certain recipe. Most of the routine stuff I pick up out of habit but I still will put it on the list.

Every time. Sometimes I list items by store. Often, like you, Sue, I'll buy things not on my list, usually taking advantage of a special. And like many of us, I'll go into a store for one or two things and come out with 10. I outdid myself yesterday, stopping on the way home at my favorite discount food store for three items, only to discover they were offering 20% off on everything in the store. I ended up spending $72, but that was for 10 heavy bags of groceries. Among other purchases, I cleaned the store out of canned red salmon.

Yes, I shop with a list. I also check each store's website for sales, and coupons.

Have to have my shopping list. Have used an electronic list for many, many years. Have lists for stores and holidays; for example, Aldi, Walmart, Costco, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. Makes shopping so much easier.

Yes. If I don't write it down I'd never remember what I need. Even when it's on the list sometimes I forget to pick it up! I keep my list on my iPhone, that way it's always with me.