One list, one route

Before you write a list, walk through the kitchen. Not quickly, but with a look into every corner: fridge, freezer, pantry, spice rack. What's there, what's already opened, what's almost empty? This round takes five minutes and saves you a second shopping trip later.

Don't write everything down—just what you need for the upcoming dishes. A full inventory is an inventory, not a shopping list. For the plan, the question is enough: What's missing for the five evenings I want to cook?

Anyone who skips this round buys duplicates: the third packet of paprika, the second bag of rice, the fourth jar of mustard. These aren't big amounts, but they sit in the cupboard taking up space until they go stale.

A common mistake is copying the list straight from the recipes. Then it says 200 grams of feta for one dish and 200 grams for another, even though a larger piece covers both. Plan in quantities you'll actually use: one packet, one bunch, one net bag.

For two people, these are often smaller amounts than recipes suggest. If you're cooking for four, you don't have to double everything—rice, pasta and potatoes keep well for the next day, fresh herbs and leafy greens less so. The quantity follows consumption, not the serving suggestion.

With herbs, a different calculation pays off: one bunch is enough for two dishes if both are in the same week. A second bunch for a third dish is usually a leftover that wilts.

Sort the list the way you walk through the store: fruit and vegetables, chilled section, meat and fish, dry goods, frozen, drinks. This isn't about tidiness—it's about time. If you work through the list from top to bottom in the store, you won't pass the same counter three times.

At home, the same sorting has a second benefit: you can see at a glance whether a section is too full. Five items in the chilled section and two in produce suggest a plan with little fresh food. That's not a mistake, but a conscious decision.

And if you order online: sort the list by the shop's categories, not by your route through the store. Otherwise you'll spend longer in the shopping cart than in the supermarket.

Duplicate purchases don't come from stupidity but from uncertainty. You can't remember whether there's still feta in the fridge, so you buy some. You're not sure if the pasta will be enough, so you grab two packs. The remedy is unspectacular: touch the opened packs before you head out.

Take a second look at the things you buy “just in case.” A second sauce, a third oil, another spice. If you note down for a week what stays unopened, you'll know your own duplicate buys better than any list could show.

Write on the list what you already have at home but aren't sure about. A question mark next to the entry is enough. At the store, you then decide whether to check or buy more.

A good shop isn't planned down to the last item. Leave a gap for whatever looks good right now, and a reserve for an evening that turns out differently. If you predetermine every meal, you'll end up buying more, not less.

The list should also include a fixed slot for coming home: unpack the bags, put the vegetables in the drawer, the bread in the cupboard or the freezer. If you do this straight away, you'll see what you have duplicates of and find what you're looking for the next day. How to create the plan is explained in Creating a weekly plan; a ready-made example is available in the Weekly plan example.

Also plan a buffer for the day after shopping. Fresh vegetables last longer if they don't have to be used straight away; if you shop on Sunday, you shouldn't have used everything up by Monday.

A shopping list isn't a wish list. It says: this week I'm cooking these five dishes, and for that I need these things. If you stick to it, you'll buy less and throw away less—not because the list is smarter than you, but because it was made before you got to the store, not in the store.

If you notice you're writing the same list every week, that's not a sign of a lack of imagination. It's a sign that your kitchen works. Change one or two items if you like, and leave the rest as it is. An example plan shows how five dishes and a list come together.

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