If You Show Me Your Lists, I'll Show You Mine

I am a lists person. I actually have quite an obsession with them. The lists keep me organized and I find immeasurable joy in the check off. They work for me. They don't work for everyone. I love to hear how other people keep their lists, how they use them, how they organize. I suck every piece of list knowledge out of random strangers. I want to know how you schedule your day, your kids day, how you keep track of homework, chores, groceries, blah, blah, blah.

So, I decided to share how I organize my weekly schedule, meal planning and grocery shopping. I have tried many different book/systems over the years and none of them worked for me, so years ago I made my own.

Having a daily list of to-do's makes me crazy. I work by weeks. I have a notebook that I keep track of EVERYTHING. At the beginning of the year, I sit down with my new notebook and write down week intervals. Each week is titled at the top of the page. Once I have written in the entire year, I go back and write in birthdays. I will also put a reminder on the week before to send a card, etc. If there is something I want to remember to do next Christmas, I write it on the first week of December, etc.

My to-do list functions by what I need to get done/remember for the week. I keep a running list on the left hand side of the page of what I need to accomplish. If it is not done this week, I'll move it to the next. On the right hand side of the page, I keep miscellaneous notes. I'll write down phone #s, messages, information from school, etc. Never, never, never keep random bits of post-its. I write everything here.

On the bottom left of the page I write down the meals I have planned for the week. These are the meals I know I will have groceries for. Each day, deciding on time and schedules, I'll decide which of the meals I want to cook. And of course, I plan out my desserts as well.

On the bottom right of the page I keep a list of anything I need to get at the grocery store. When I run out of honey, butter, eggs, I write it down. My kids and Todd know that if they need to request something from the store, they write it here.

The only other schedule tracker I use is a massive calendar that is the size of Ohio. It's posted in the kitchen.


I went through my 2008 notebook and wrote down every meal, side dish, dessert I made. I then compiled this list that I use as a quick guide to plan my weakly menu:



I also went through and wrote down all of the items that I had made a note to buy at the grocery store. This is a master list of the most common things I buy:



This is how I write my grocery list. This is exactly how my mother always made her list when I was growing up (I know, creepy). It's ingenious. Fold a regular sheet of paper in a fan. Each fan section is used to list an isle/section in the grocery store in the same order that you shop them. I always start in the produce and then work my way down the isles. I just follow my list in order.


If I discover that any of you are going about your daily life just willy-nilly, no lists involved, I'll go bazerk. I'm not kidding. Life can not be lived without a list. If you don't have a list, get one. Now. Otherwise, I'll be forced to make you talk to Addie on the phone. For an hour. I promise, she won't even take a breath. I'd start that list if I were you.....