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List 8: Shopping lists
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It’s a really bad idea to be hungry in a supermarket with no idea of what you want to make or be set free, feeling creative in a craft shop filled with gorgeous beads and haberdashery without a project in mind. I can’t count the number of times we’ve come back with bags and bags of snacks and realised we still haven’t bought anything substantial to cook for dinner, or opened a cupboard to be avalanched by haberdashery I bought years ago but haven’t crafted with yet. To combat the clutter, and for heath and safety reasons, I’ve given myself a rule that I won’t buy anything until I have a plan for what to do with it.

So now, when I have a craft idea or a recipe I want to try, I list down all the materials or ingredients I need on a shopping list. I have separate shopping lists for craft supplies, groceries, clothes and homeware so I know which one to look at when I’m in the appropriate store, so I have a list of food to get when I’m in the supermarket and a list of homeware when I’m in Ikea. When one of my list gets super long, it also prompts me into a trip to the shops so I can buy supplies for all of my projects in bulk and the next time I’m doing grocery shopping, I can also pick up supplies for a new recipe I want to try at the same time.

The most important thing to think about when working out how to store these lists is to keep them somewhere portable, that you can have on you all the times. A to-do list on your phone that you can access offline or a paper based to-do list you can keep in your bag work well.