After making a menu and figuring out what I already have, it's time to make a list for the grocery store. For the longest time, I just wrote what I needed on lined paper. But, after too many times of overlooking an item and having to trek back across the entire store for it, I started making a more organized list.
Originally, I was going to go aisle by aisle and write down what each had, but I discovered our Meijer (which is basically the main store I shop at, so I can use the same list week to week) had a list of each aisle number and what was in each aisle. It was at the front of the store next to the sale ads. (It wouldn't hurt to call or ask customer service if your grocery store has one.) I used Print Shop (So old school but we don't have Excel. If we did, I would have made a spreadsheet.) and made a list with two columns. I wrote each aisle number and a few of the main things in that aisle as a heading (ie: Cleaning Supplies, Baking, Dairy) I left space underneath for writing my list. It isn't fancy by any means, but it works for me. It definitely helps me to be organized when I have to shop with the kids.
When it comes to actually using the coupons when shopping, I put a little "c" next to the item on my list that I plan to use a coupon for. Then, I put the coupons I am planning to use in an envelope in my organizer. That way, I don't have to dig through for the coupons, but know which ones I need to take out in case I can't find a particular item. I still bring my organizer, because there are sometimes clearance or non-advertised deals that I may have a coupon for.
One more thing...I only write the aisle headings down for the grocery side of the store. I have a heading labeled "Misc.", where I write things like shampoo, diapers, etc., because I usually only need a few things from that side of the store. Otherwise my list would be twelve pages long!!
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