One of many specialty pads from Knock Knock
Several months ago I purchased the All Out Of pad from Knock Knock. It was an impulse buy and I hung it on the side of our fridge to see if it would magically make me more organized. (Do you buy organization supplies that turn into clutter?). Of all the specialty notebooks and pads that I've purchased - I've actually used this one! When my husband notices we are out of something, he checks the item on the list. I do the same thing. When it is time to go shopping, one of us tears off the sheet and away we go. It makes grocery shopping easy too because items are grouped by aisles in a grocery store. While every grocery store is slightly different, many food groupings are universal (e.g., flour is in the same aisle as sugar).
I think the logical comment is Can't you just write items down on a piece of paper - why purchase a specialty pad? What has made this work for us is that we fall very short of perfect and as a result we run out of many items and don't check them off. By having a list of commonly purchased items, it is easy to read through the list and be reminded that you are out of something. This is called recognition memory - when you can't remember something (What was her name?) but if someone gave you options (Was it Sue or Sharon?) you will recognize it (It was Sue!!). We all have better recognition memory abilities than recall memory abilities. If you are at the grocery store with a handwritten list and you realize that something is missing from the list, you are forced to try to recall it. If you have the All Out Of list, you can read through the items and are more likely to recognize the item you are trying to remember.
This product has helped me organize my grocery shopping, but I still have a lot to work on. Are there organization products that have helped you shop and meal plan?
6 comments:
I love your yellow blog! Stopping by from SITS. I personally plan my meals out first and write those down, then make a grocery list based on what I need for those meals. That way as we have a meal I cross it off the week and I know what is left for the week. THen of course I just add the extras I need like milk/snacks etc.
That looks amazingly perfect. Knowing me, I wouldn't even remember that we're out of something unless the notepad reminds me what things I might be missing. Thanks for the tip.
I think this is a great idea! I totally understand that sometimes having a special "tool" gets a job done right.
I've been experimenting with http://www.relishrelish.com. It's a menu planning tool. It's pretty cool!
That is so cool. I'm terrible about remembering what needs to be replenished!
I love this idea! We always seem to forget something. My husband has been two Target twice in the past week (and needs to go AGAIN) because we keep forgetting things that need to be replenished.
If you have any suggestions for doing the produce right when you get home, I'd love to hear them! It is SUCH a big help when I do it, but often I am too tired/hungry/busy to get it done.
Good post.
I have a good friend who prepares all her meals on Sunday, and I am envious of her determination, mostly because I am rotten when it comes to planning meals for the week. My problem is that I'll change my mind mid-week or just get lazy. Plus, I like to buy meat the day I use it (which is insane, I realize, but the grocery store is on my way home from work). I find that if I freeze it, the meat never defrosts all the way by the time I'm ready to prepare it, and if I use the microwave for assistance, sometimes the meat gets partially cooked. I have a complicated relationship with mmost meat products anyway, and this doesn't help matters.
I think I'm at the grocery store every single day of the week, and I probably end up spending more and wasting more this way. Plus, if we ever want to have kids, I am going to have to make big changes.
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