This easy to use free grocery list template is just what you need to simplify grocery shopping. Get your life back, but still save money.
I stood at the pantry door and sighed in frustration.
Who wants to come home from a tedious two hours of dragging a cart through a grocery store (the size of two football fields) only to find that they forgot a pretty important ingredient for tomorrow night’s meal?
Not me.
And not you.
So how do we avoid this want-to-throw-something feeling next time?
The fix is a grocery list template. Here’s how it works.
Why A Grocery List Template Will Save Your Hair
We Moms have about 1,000 things on our plate in any given day.
And literally putting food on plates is at least half of those problems.
(Maybe it just feels that way. But I think that’s close to accurate.)
And sometimes it feels like we just cannot remember one.more.thing. Like we are going to pull our hair out if we have one more thing dumped on our poor, tired brains.
That’s where a grocery list template can be your best friend. Because it will help you create a magic thing I like to call the master grocery list.
What Is A Master Grocery List?
I’m willing to bet that like me, you’re a creatures of habit. For example, you probably tend to buy at least some of the same foods week after week.
Think about the grocery store whenever a big storm is predicted.
You’d walk in to find that people cleared the shelves of milk, bread, and eggs, right?
(Do you ever wonder if storms give people a craving for French Toast? Just me?)
Anyway…
Why do you suppose people buy those items? It’s because those are foods they use regularly, and they don’t want to run out and have to go grab more in the middle of bad weather.
Think about the foods your family expects to have on hand most of the time.
What are your family’s favorite foods? Regular eating habits?
What are the things you buy every single time you go to the grocery store? The moment your starving teen walks through the door and drops his bag, what is he headed to the kitchen to grab?
When you open the fridge in the morning, what are you reaching for?
(If it’s coffee creamer, then you and I are probably soul mates.)
Those items are the things you should be putting on your master grocery list.
What Are Common Grocery Items?
No two families are alike, so your common items might look different than mine.
But, yes, there are some things that are common for a lot of us.
Like we talked about earlier… milk, eggs, and bread seem to be pretty basic grocery items for most families.
Try some of these cheap foods you can buy.
These produce items are popular:
- carrots
- apples
- potatoes
- bananas
Bakery Items:
- bread
- bagels
- buns
Canned or boxed goods:
- soups
- pasta
- salsa
- riceÂ
- beans
- mac & cheese
Condiments
- ketchup
- peanut butterÂ
- jelly
Meats
- ground beef
- chicken
Snacks
- tortilla chips
- trail mix
- nuts
- popcorn
Drinks
- coffee
- tea
- bottles of water
- sports drinks
Breakfast
- cereal
- oatmeal
- breakfast bars
Frozen Foods
- pizza
- frozen meats
- waffles
Baby
- diapers
- wipes
- formula
Dairy
- milk
- eggs (I don’t know why these are in the dairy aisle, but they are.)
- cheese
- sour cream
Paper Products
- toilet paper
- paper towels
- tissues
What Should Be Included In A Grocery List?
The easy answer is…everything you need from the store.
But how do you make sure you don’t forget anything?
Sign up for the grocery list template here:
What’s so great about this template?
Well, imagine that Sunday rolls around and it’s time for you to sit down and write out your shopping list.
The kids are begging you to play a board game (because you prooooomised you’d play!). And you already had about 20 other things to do today anyway.
So you put down your pen and go play with the kids. You’ll get back to the list after they go to bed.
Except that by the time you convince the last child that they’ve had enough water and it’s time to go to sleep, you are too exhausted to make a good list.
But the pantry is getting bare. Making that grocery list is optional, but grocery shopping isn’t.
And now here you are, searching the pantry for that one ingredient you need for dinner…and it’s no where to be found.
By using this template, you’ll save time and energy on that grocery shopping list.
Because the first time you open it, you’re going to write (or type) in the things that you always buy when you go to the store.
For me, if it doesn’t make the list, there’s a good chance I’ll forget it.
Yes, I’ve forgotten milk…even though I buy 2 or 3 gallons every single time I walk into a grocery store.
(Mom brain.)
So give your poor overworked mom brain a break.
Take a minute now to grab this free download.
You can print it if you like. Or you can type right into the pdf. (No special downloads necessary!) Easy peasy.
Type in those things you know you need, like 90% of the time when you go to the grocery store.
And save it.
Now imagine next Sunday.
You pull out the old grocery list template, add a few things that you’ll need for this week’s meals (the categories make it easy to brainstorm), and you’ll be done before the kids can get out their second or third beg. 😉
This grocery list template will save you a ton of time.
Imagine coming home from that long day of dragging around a grocery cart, knowing that you are all set. No need to walk back into the store again (until next week).
What foods are you going to add to your list first?
I'm Jamie, and I want to help you afford a beautiful life with your family. 
We tend to do the haphazard shopping with a shopping list on the fridge and buy as we need and big shops see and grab as we walk up the aisles, but yes organised shopping from an organised proper list a definite money saver.
Thank you for linking up with #ShowcaseTuesday and your printables are great
Yep, I definitely have times that I do haphazard shopping myself. I’m more likely to follow through with tasks like this when I make it as easy on myself as possible. Thanks for the kind comment and for hosting the link up!
This is a great idea! I never even made grocery lists until I started meal planning a couple months ago…now I don’t know how I ever lived without them!!!
Visiting from Wordless Wednesday
This is a fantastic idea. It seems so simple, yet I had never thought of it. I’m glad you shared it.
It’s funny how the simplest ideas can help so much sometimes! Thanks for visiting!
What a great time-saving idea! I’m going to try this out the next time I make my list 🙂 Thanks for sharing at the Welcome Home Wednesdays link party; we hope to see you again next week!
Great idea!! Love this since I need to be more consistent with my shopping! Thanks for sharing!
Hi from Pin Worthy Wednesday!
Hi from Pin Worthy Wednesday!
Having a list helps keep me somewhat focused. I keep meaning to make a standard list based on the layout of our grocery store so I can follow my list in order as I shop.
It really does save time in the long run. Thanks for visiting!
Visiting from the Welcome Home Wednesday linky party. What a wonderful idea. I love the walking through the grocery store in your mind as you’re making out the list. I do the same thing, it keeps me that much more organized. Sadly my next shopping trip won’t be so easy; we just got a new grocery store that I don’t know that well yet but they have some amazing prices, super excited.
Woohoo for a store with amazing prices! I’d be super excited, too! Maybe you can use your receipt to help you make a basic list for the next time?
I shop monthly…and this is brilliant. Thanks!
I used to shop monthly. Lately I have been wondering if we are getting to a life stage where I can do that again. And thanks!
I need this! Our grocery store is less than a mile away and I am there almost every other day because I am forgetting things & I’ve been too lazy to create a list. Imagine the hours I’d save with this grocery list for the next 2 weeks!?! I enjoyed your post & found it to be so helpful…thank you! (Coming over from the Welcome Home Wednesday Linkup)
Thanks for your kind words! Our store is far away and I was tired of forgetting things, which was another reason I created my list. 🙂
Good idea 🙂 I know there are lots of things I buy every week that could go on a standard grocery list and save me the time and mental energy of having to remember and write them down every week.
Ha! We do this! I don’t usually plan what we’ll be eating for the week (or 2) Before we go, opting to do so after. But, I definitely know what’s on my list or should be on my list Most of the time. I know what we always need, our staples, if you will. And I generally know how often I need to buy those items. Some things are specific, for instance, we eat meat every night. So I have “meat” on the list and depending on how long between shopping trips we’ll be going, determines how much and of what type meat cuts we’ll be buying. Next, “fruit” and “vegetables”. That way, when I walk in the store, I already know what I have left and how much, so filling in the gaps or taking advantage of a deal are easier! 🙂
I am really bad at making grocery lists but it makes such a difference when I do. I sort of keep a mental version of our standard items but it’s not like writing them down. I should totally do this.
I did the same thing for the longest time. But I do so much better when it’s written down! I live too far from the grocery store to forget things. Thanks for visiting!
Thanks for linking up with #JoyHopeLive
Thanks for hosting the linky!
Great idea…I often forget items and then have to put them on the list for the next week…this will remind me of the different areas of the store and what I may need, but was not thinking about
Glad I could help!
Hi, Jamie ~ I love this idea! And it’s a huge time and sanity saver. Thanks for sharing with us at the Merry Monday Link Party!!
I’m lazy and all about the time savers. 😉
Excellent time-saving tip, Jamie!
Maybe because it’s just my partner and I, we don’t really have a standard list. We buy a lot of different things each week.
But I can imagine that when you have more people in the house, you can’t escape.
Thanks a lot for sharing it on #TipTuesday.
Yeah, more people definitely requires more organization! Thanks for hosting the blog hop!
Great suggestion, Jamie! I’m in the process of making something similar. Especially for toiletry items, I like knowing the best price I can pay for them, and then I try not to buy until the price is low again (which means I stock up). With food items, it is really helpful to know which stores have the best regular prices on the items on our shopping list. So I’m creating a sort of master stock-up list that goes along the same lines as your suggestion. Anything to prevent mental overload, right? Thanks again!
I really need to work on a price book, too! Mental overload is a good phrase, gotta get that stuff down on paper and free up some space up there! 🙂
Thanks for sharing your tips on writing grocery lists. I always write one, but then I usually never take it out of my purse, or if I do, it some how doesn’t match what I buy. I need to get better at this. Thanks for sharing with us at Funtastic Friday. Hope to see you again at this week’s party:-)
Thank you for sharing with us at #JoyHopeLive!
This is a great idea. I wrote down items that I need throughout the week. This meal planner would be a great way to keep my list organized. Thanks for sharing on Sunday’s Best.
It definitely makes my life simpler!
This wonderful post is being featured on my blog today as part of Tuesdays with a Twist blog hop:
http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/2015/09/time-to-link-up-tuesdays-with-twist-128.html
Thanks
Angie
Wow, that’s wonderful! Thank you. 🙂
This really makes sense. There are certain things that I buy every month. Usually, I am able to stock up on them when they go on sale throughout the month. But I like your idea of making a standard list.
I have found it amazingly helpful! Simplify any way you can, right?
Good idea. I have done this for many years and over time the list seems to change and needs updated. It does help to stay organized and save money.
Oh yes, our needs definitely change over time. That’s why I like having a digital copy so I can modify and print it as needed. Thanks for visiting!
I totally made one of these before!! And then forgot about it… oops…
Maybe your awesome free printable will help jump-start me again! Thanks so much! 😉
PS Storms making people crave French Toast makes SO MUCH SENSE…
Glad I could help!
Featuring this post at Free and Fun Friday tomorrow! 😀 Thanks again for linking up!!
Yay! I’ll definitely check it out! Love the funnies you post on Fridays. 🙂
Hi Jamie! I use the “to do” app in my phone with my standard grocery lists for Aldi and Trader Joes – the two main stores that I shop at. It really does help! We are definitely creatures of habit and buy the same things repeatedly! Visiting from #LFEO
This is a real difference maker. I printed out a list of all the things that I usually have on hand and labeled it “stocked.” It’s hung on the fridge and anytime we run out of something we cross it off with pencil. That becomes our shopping list. It’s super helpful…
Love this idea, especially for getting started when you aren’t sure what to put on your list.