There’s a store like half a block from my apartment, so I just treat it like an external pantry.

I keep a list that is shared/synced with my s/o via a self-hosted KitchenOwl instance. I've been slowly porting my recipes over to it as well. Overall very satisfied and it works well.

I make a list, forget the list, and end up winging it.

Plan meals for a week. Make list of what’s needed. Shop once a week. Rarely eat out. Never delivery.

My family always made a very careful list which was followed when grocery shopping.

Now that I do my own shopping I also make a list, on my phone though. I note down only the very essentials and leave most things open to what I can find whenever I get to shop. For example, I really need eggs and deodorant so I write that, but if I need veg I don't list the type of veg, I just note "veg on special" and make my choice on the spot.

I have a spouse and child. Winging it simply would not fly.

Anything less than strict adherence to a list would be another fight... and there are already too many of those.

Wing it

I did worse than wing it actually... half of the groceries I got over the past few weeks were from Too Good To Go, so near-expired food that the grocery store winged-it for me💀

Yes

I stopped winging it after all too often ending up with both a fridge full of rotting produce and yet also nothing to eat. Turns out grocery shopping needs some strategy that I can’t do without help.

AnyList has been an awesome tool for me. It’s got all my recipes, a meal plan building to sketch out the next week, and builds a shopping list so I can only buy the things I will for sure cook with.

It’s also made me realize I’m not about to buy fresh herbs or green onions when they’re only going to be used as a bit of garnish for one dish.

I'm shocked nobody has mentioned Aisleron (https://aisleron.com/), I use it for my semi-monthly shopping. It lets you organize items, and then you swipe it if you're out of it/need to buy more. You can have different stores set up, and each item will go to the corresponding location in that store.

It basically functions like a database for grocery items with an intuitive interface.

Oh, did I mention it's FOSS?

A little of both. As a mom you get used to doing a mental inventory of what you have and what you need to create meals for everyone while trying to reduce waste

I usually do our food shop online, however I plan the meals and write down everything we need for the week. If I'm going to the shop then I'll write the list down in the order I'll move through the shop so that i can just work my way down through the list.

I don't make lists for anything. My life is pretty much winging it... Which does explain a lot when I type it out like that :P

I make a menu that includes two breakfasts (6 and 9 am) a lunch (11) and six dinners. I account for what i have and list the rest of the needs. Then i go shopping and add two treats(for snacking or dessert) and two beverages (oj, pop, prebrewed coffee, rtc) and a freezer pizza.

If i have to go back that week for anything, i fucked up.

Grocery list and I take a pen along and mark everything off when it goes into the cart.

Yeah, I'm old.

I'd love to have a database with all my recipes with ingredients and add them at a click of the button. The problem is I have a fairly well stocked kitchen and I still need to go through the list anyway to make sure I'm not buying anything I already have. So having a computerized system really doesn't save me any time.

I make a list and every so often I remember to bring it with me.

It’s a bit of both. We do have a list with the staple items and foods we buy and we check it to see if our pantry needs refilling but other than than we just take what we think would be good and/or useful

No list and I do constantly forget stuff. But I also go shopping every other day, so it's not like anything essential will be forgotten for too long.

List

Mostly wing it based on my memory. But in some occasions, there's a list of important stuffs. It's mostly just 2,3 items like "we're out of potatoes/onions/salt", then wing the rest.

I think except for important and constant stuffs like spices, it's better to just buy what's available cheap and make your food from that. But that could be just me

Both!

Always go a list nowadays as I have ADHD and if I go for three things I will forget one of them. The list is what I must get, but once there, I get what is on the list and then maybe get a few more things that I forgot to put on the list.

So I never really make a full and complete list, just a list of necessities and wing the rest.

I take a list, and I grab everything on the list, but I also follow my whims

I've been eating the same things every day for over a decade. I can manage without list.

yes. I have this botepad on the fridge whenever I notice something is needed I write it down and when I go to the store I just grab that list, anything I didn't/couldn't get I try to write back down. I tend to forget to get the list so I half wing usually to poor results

Both.

My grocery list is just to prevent me forgetting the main points. So three items on the list "cat litter, dinner somehow, bake a cake" turns into any number of things bought as I decide on what to make for dinner and which cake to bake while shopping.

I just go when I need something and then it’s usually a few things. No need for a list. If I’m going to need to get a lot of stuff then I’ll make a list.

make a list, then also wing it at the store.

List, once I have everything in it then I look for stuff I might be in the mood for.

I make a list of the things I need, organized by the places I need to stop and buy them and a list of the things I need to do

I wing it. Since I don’t know how to cook, I usually just walk around the grocery store, anxious as fuck, pick out a bunch of junk food, and go home and starve.

Fortunately, my gf is a wiz in the kitchen— cooking, baking, whateva. She handles the groceries now too, I’m just the cart pusher and bag carrier.

I start with the "buy again" list on the grocery website.

Stop mid-exercise because I remembered something I need, roll the dice to decide on which of my todo lists I'll add it to. Then maybe start organising the lists a bit and get absorbed in the devices. Later I'll probably meet a friend or go for a walk and on the way back do the shopping, without any lists and forgetting half the stuff I need.

That's pretty much my average.

I add things to an online pickup order as I think of them, I don't actually go in the store anymore

When I lived alone I did not need a list. I did meal prep and for most perishables I could get away with using a whole unit so as long as I remembered the recepie I was fine most of the time.

Living with a girlfriend that is a very picky eater that changes what she likes every day made it too complex to keep track of. She sends me the list, I go by the store on my way home from work.

I text twin throughout the day to bring home groceries. If we're all going to the store then there's probably a big list twin can't just bring home easily after work.

List. I have a shared digital list with my wife. When we run out of something (or when open the last package/box/tin) we put it on the list. But sometimes the list just says "dinner" or "breakfast 2x" and we wing it.

i should but usually don't :D I often end up with not having all the things I needed or too many things I don't need

Anylist

LIst. A mere scrap of paper we keep nearby on which my spouse and I jot down whatever we see is or will soon be depleted and need to be renewed. The first of us that is able to do errands simply grab the list and that's it. The moment we notice the list is not where it is supposed to be 1) we know the other is doing errands 2) we start a new list ;)

Doing so, we never have to wonder what we need to buy when we're doing errands, we just follow the list.

In this economic situation, I really need to use grocery list to make my money last till the next month.

Take stock what's running out, make a list, wing it.

I go to the market regularly, so I don't need a list. I know what I need. That's just 2-4 types of products per visit.

I always make a list otherwise I will probably forget something.

Both.

• for something unusual or occasional I make a list
• for my usual stuff the fastest approach is to just take every aisle and wing it

For example for dinners in a week

• I’ll just wing it to get a couple packages of chicken and some veggies. I do the same every week
• I’ll need a list if I’m out of a spice or need rice or scallions or something

If I'm baking or cooking to a recipe with unusual ingredients I definitely make a list. I've got a master list of staples on my phone with check boxes that I sometimes use. But mostly I wing it. Top tip: never do your grocery shopping when you're hungry.

I need a list especially when doing a big shop.

I make a list, tick off the first couple of things then, for whatever reason, forget about the list completely and go through the store winging it and forgetting half of the things that were left on there. every single time.

Nope shop like ounce a week for myself only so make a mental grocery list of at most 10 things to grad so no need for a physical list.

I have multiple grocery stores within walking distance so I just wing it.

I make a list between shopping of stuff I realize I should get (eg: peanut butter). When I go, I sometimes just grab stuff that's cheap or appealing.

I also live like 5 minutes away on foot from several grocery stores, so it's not a big deal to go.

Both. Anything not in the normal set (milk, salad, peanuts, tofu, natto, bananas,.and sweet pepper) gets written down immediately when I know we used up the previous one or need something for a particular recipe. We also get sushi and ice cream once a week (usually on Friday) unless we're going out to eat.

+1 repetitive single person.

I make a grocery checklist categorized/sectioned by area of the store.

Even if the list is repetitive - it just helps ensure I don’t forget something while daydreaming at the store or end up with 10 bottles of a condiment because I’m afraid that I have might run out.

I use a calculator and decide what I won't need based on that in the store.

It takes me two minutes to drive to the store, 10 min to walk, I am winging it.

I make a dinner plan for a day or two then walk to the grocery store for ingredients

Things get added to a list on my phone as I use things up or decide I want to make something. I absolutely use that list in the store - but I also buy on impulse: "oh, that looks really good / is on sale, I have a recipe but I'll need these other things". Or sometimes one thing will set off a chain: those chips the kids love are on super sale so I'll get them, and we should have some queso dip to go with them, and if we have queso dip I should get cauliflower, and if we have cauliflower ... "