My most important shopping tool – and favorite app!
I’m not into many apps, and I’ve found that the ones that are supposed to keep my life super organized seem overly complicated. The few apps I do use have broad uses, my favorite being Wunderlist.
I’m going to go ahead and assume you know the benefits of making a list before you go grocery shopping. There is less time involved with multiple trips to the store each week, money saved by knowing what you need and buying mostly only that, and less gas used to get to the store only once a week compared to four times.
Lists are a great thing, and I love them. But I can’t tell you how many times my grocery list has been left at home, or we are out and think “hey, we could go ahead and do our grocery shopping!” But the list is at home, and we know we will forget things. Enter Wunderlist.
Like I said, I love lists. This app was made for people like me. Although I probably only use a fraction of the features, they make a world of difference in how I do things. The following are some of my favorite features:
Ability to check off/reschedule items.
Checking something off your list has quite the feel-good power. For me it shows that I had planned to do something, and I followed through. It also helps me get a grip on what I need to do throughout the day. If “clean bathrooms” is on the list, I know I can wipe down the sink and scrub the toilet while my rice is cooking for dinner (and of course wash my hands between tasks).
There are only so many hours in the day, and a never-ending list of things that could and should be done. Wunderlist allows you to reschedule items for a different day, a feature I use quite often so I don’t forget I still need to do something.
In the case of my grocery list, I can leave an item on the list if the store is out or I want to wait to buy it.
Repeating tasks.
While something like “clean out the garage” might only be on your list once a year or so, writing a rent check happens on a continual basis. I have “give Trixie a bath” and “get trash together” repeating every other week and every week (respectively), along with some other tasks.
share lists.
This can be especially handy around the holidays! My family has shared lists for menu items we are each responsible for. If Kevin baked the apple pie and started brining the turkey, those two items would get checked off of everyone’s “Thanksgiving Dinner” list.
Join with Google calendar.
You can sync Wunderlist with your Google Calendar so that list items pop up in your calendar. I have tried using Google Calendar, but for now I use a paper planner along with the Wunderlist app on my phone. To each his own.
Keep grocery lists for unusual stores.
There are some stores we go to only occasionally for specific items like unsweetened coconut flakes. Since we don’t go there often, we would forget items we thought of between trips.
The best part of Wunderlist is that it is FREE! (something I love about as much as lists). Having this app on my phone has made grocery shopping so much easier! Anything is easier when you have the right tool for the job; Wunderlist makes all kinds of jobs easier!