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Introduction
Up until not that long ago, Mr. Groovy and I had cell phones with antennas. I had to grow my hair long enough to hide the antenna when I used my phone in public, which was not often. I’m not someone who enjoys being extremely connected so it should come as no surprise that I have not downloaded many apps. But the one I absolutely cannot do without is my grocery app.
I’m currently using one from the Google Play Store called simply Our Groceries. I was using another one, Out of Milk, for several months, but I stopped loving it after the last developer update. Our Groceries isn’t fancy but it’s simple to use and gets the job done.
Here’s an image from my phone. As you can see, the free version plops an ad in at the top. (And, no, I don’t have wrinkles.)
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Here are my top ten reasons why I shop with a grocery app:
1. It helps me stick to my budget and save money.
Using the app I find I buy only what’s on my list.
2. I save time shopping.
I list my items based on the layout of the store I’m shopping in. I no longer get to aisle 12 in Walmart only to realize I forgot to buy olives in aisle 2.
3. It relieves clutter.
I stopped scribbling on paper from those magnetic pads with a kitchy saying, or picture at the top. Those ended up being re-written so many times that I’d end up with wads of paper in several rooms.
4. The Pantry feature.
I will be perfectly honest with you. I adore this feature! But I’ve never used it. It’s on the Out of Milk app and I never got around to taking a good inventory of my pantry. But I’m sure if I used it, it would keep me from continuing to buy spices I already have. (Would you care for a shaker or two of cinnamon?)
5. It keeps me from forgetting to buy something.
During the week I add items and ingredients as I think of them. I used to drive myself crazy while shopping, knowing full well there was something I needed, but I didn’t write it down, and couldn’t remember.
6. I can create different lists for different stores.
Right when I realize I’m on my last box of the little diaper bags I use for collecting Groovy Cat’s left-over wet food, I add ‘diaper bags’ to my Dollar Store list. (I find separating the stinky stuff keeps me from changing large and more expensive tall garbage bags too frequently).
7. Items may be categorized.
Since I’ve read many reviews of people loving this feature, I’m listing it here. Grocery apps allow you to choose categories or make new ones. However, I don’t need to be reminded that cream is dairy or that chicken legs are poultry.
8. The app remembers my entries and uses auto-fill.
When I begin typing the entry ‘tomato’—tomato sauce, juice or diced tomatoes may appear as a suggestion— if those are foods I’ve already added to a previous list.
9. Lists may be saved.
Since I shop in several different stores and tend to buy the same things repeatedly in each of them, I save my lists. Then when I’m planning the next shopping trip I simply un-cross the items that have fallen to the bottom of the list.
10. It’s fun!
I get a kick out of being orderly. I like crossing items off a list and seeing them move to the ‘completed’ section. I like knowing when I have only two more items to buy. I suppose if I still used paper I could see that just as easily except that my handwriting is awful and I get anxiety trying to figure out what the heck I wrote!
Conclusion
I’d like to end with a tip. If you do any of the following with a grocery app—create comprehensive lists for a multitude of stores, add detailed pantry items, share lists with a partner, or anything complicated you don’t want to lose—choose a grocery app that allows you to back up the information to a computer or other device. And then remember to back it up!
I’m shocked and amused by the vile reviews left for apps after the developer has made an update that wipes out data or poorly affects functionality. Get over it. I mean, really, it’s an app for goodness sake. And most of the good ones are free.
Do you use a grocery list app?
What’s your favorite?
We use Google Keep – it’s a similar app. My husband and I can see it and add things to it at the same time.
Thanks, I have to check that out! I like the grocery app I use but it does have a few quirks. Maybe Google Keep would be better.
I started using the category option in OurGroceries a few months ago, and I love it! Grouping items by category means that I can see what else I need from the aisle that I’m in, while I’m in the store. Before using the categories, I’d get to the end of the trip and realize there was something at the bottom of the list that I had missed in a previous part of the store.
I pretty much have a category for each aisle or area of my favorite grocery store, and I swear it’s saved me about 10 minutes off each shopping trip since I started using it!
That’s a great point about using the categories. I just visualize the aisles of the store I’m going to and place items on my list according to where they are. But I can see how the categories would be useful, especially in a large supermarket. These days I shop more at Aldi which has an easy layout to remember. Thanks for your comment, Stephonee.
I didn’t know there were so many apps. We use Google Docs so we can both access our list and see it from our phones.
Organizing by an item’s location in the store saves tons of time.
Google Docs is a great way of sharing a shopping list. Some of the apps allow you to do that too, but shopping is not Mr. Groovy’s thing, which is fine with me.