From one week to the next, a shopping list barely changes: bread, milk, fruit, yogurt, the ingredients for the same meals. That’s exactly what makes preparing it so repetitive, and it’s where there’s the most time to save.
In this article, I’ll show you how I organized mine with Listeno: a base you build once, recipes and a checklist that do the heavy lifting, then a quick update each week.
1. Create your list
In Listeno, a new list starts empty. To save you from typing everything by hand, I’ve included 300 item suggestions, already sorted by aisle: they appear as soon as you start typing.
So the first step is simple: add all the basics that come to mind (milk, bread, cereal…). No need to be exhaustive, the list will fill out over the weeks.
Tip: if you shop at several stores, I recommend creating one list per store, for example an "Aldi" list and a "Costco" list. I even have a separate list for my Amazon orders. Listeno+ gives you unlimited lists.
2. Organize your items by aisle (with categories)
Categories match the aisles of your supermarket. Take the time to put them in the order of your route through the store, by drag and drop: you’ll avoid pointless back-and-forth while shopping.
Every store has its own layout, and every list has its own categories: with one list per store, each one follows the order of its aisles.
3. Add your recipes
Here’s the feature that saves me the most time: recipes. I’ve never seen it in this form in any other shopping list app.
A recipe is simply a group of items from your list. Let’s take an example: 🥞 Crêpes.
You’ll need:
- Flour
- Eggs
- Butter
-
Milk(already in the list)
Check the ingredients you need and leave unchecked the ones already in your cupboards (here, the butter). Then apply the recipe: the flour and eggs move to the items to buy. The milk is flagged "Already in the list", since you added it earlier.
And that’s it! No more juggling between your shopping list and your recipes, or even remembering the ingredients.
4. Fill in the checklist
The checklist groups the items you rarely buy. You no longer have to scroll through your whole list to spot the ones you need to buy again. Here are a few items from my own checklist:
- Toilet paper
- Shower gel
- Toothpaste
- Coffee
- Laundry detergent
Before every shopping trip, I go through it and check what’s missing: it’s added to the list. That way, I no longer find out I forgot something when I get home.
5. Refine your list over the weeks
The following week, the base of your list is already there: items you bought don’t disappear, they move to "Other items". No need to rewrite everything like on a paper list: move what’s missing back to "To get", apply your recipes and go through the checklist.
Over the weeks, your list fills out, your recipes fall into place and your checklist gets fine-tuned. From then on, everything goes much faster.
And at the store?
Once the list is ready, start shopping mode. Every item you check off goes into the cart. If you share the list (sharing is included in Listeno+), progress shows up live on everyone’s phone: whoever stayed home sees what’s already been picked up, and can still add something that was forgotten.
At the end, enter the amount paid at checkout: Listeno works out everyone’s share, and uses it to estimate the price of your next shopping trips.
Listeno is a free download on iPhone and Android, and works without an account and without ads.