Make Grocery Shopping Easier With A Reverse Shopping List

Taking stock for your reverse shopping list

As with many things, the most effective strategy is the one you actually start. So, whether you choose to work your way around the kitchen clockwise, begin with the spice rack, or tackle the deep freeze first, just select a route. Next, take stock of what you have. Any overly optimistic leftovers that have turned ancient, severely dented cans, or spices that have lost their scent need to be discarded. Add any items you want to replace to a reverse list, temporarily highlighting them to indicate they need replenishing. Once your list grows long (or, you know, a few rows in a Google Sheet, or even columns on a dry erase board), continue highlighting items as they run out. When it’s time to shop, those highlighted items will serve as your shopping list.

This approach works particularly well for households with regular meal themes like Taco Tuesdays, Wine Wednesdays, Spaghetti Sundays, and so forth. However, even for home chefs who prefer spontaneous meals with no two dinners alike, a reverse shopping list can help keep track of essentials like stocks, seasonings, oils, and grains. In the meantime, here’s a quick coffee fix, a tip for cleaning your microwave, and a trick for using canned tomatoes to help tackle that stubborn baking soda.