we keep amazon lists and want folders that have pages from magazines of any material item we may want.

I do the exact same thing as your husband! My amazon wishlist is almost entirely books, and I don't especially expect everyone to buy me them; it's more so that I can remember all the great books I hear about and then would ordinarily forget.

We just got "weddinged" this year, so our wedding registry is still up. I'm hoping people will be smart enough to check there if they can't come up with something on their own. I know it's the thought that counts, but I'm so tired of getting pajamas and make-up bags every year from the same people.

This is a good feng shui technique to visualize and manifest what you want to attract in life. Even Oprah does "Vision Boards". I like to refer to them as "Treasure Maps".

For whatever reason one may have chosen to keep a running wishlist on the amazon, I found out that mine help me to focus on getting what I really want when I finally decide to buy.

Andy Goddard
Cleaning Services

I use Amazon's Universal Wishlist for my Christmas and various other wishlists, which I have organized into subcategories like Style books, DVDs, Wii games, etc (I know - nerd). My dad, who will not go to the mall during the holidays, shops from my wishlist instead. I recently signed up for Pinterest, too, which lets you make visual online "pinboards" of stuff you like -- it looks pretty cool so far.

I keep a wishlist in Evernote, mostly for books that I want to read, just for myself.

My husband is an engineer, and therefore engineers everything TO DEATH!

On November 1, he emails a spreadsheet to our kids, sons-in-law, grandchilden and ME so we can insert our Christmas wishlist. Then there's a complicated system of checking off items without the recipient knowing what has been purchased or if there are any other ideas for another person.

We make fun of him, but last year I got the books and pashmina that I actually wanted--- and NO knick-knacks.

Pinterest is awesome for this. I pin things I want to remember on the internet and it keeps the link so I can always find my way back, whether it's a recipe or a particularly inspiring home tour or a fantastic product, it's all there. Plus, you get to follow other people's pin boards.
I also keep a list of books I want on Powells.com, because I too will forget and it helps me prioritize.
Oh, and I also keep a list in google documents.
I love lists.

I am apparently old-fashioned with my paper list in a little moleskine journal.

I keep a wish list on my computer of all the major purchases I plan to make. It's very satisfying to check something off and look back on how far you've come.

I have an Amazon wish list for books and CDs I want, but to my knowledge I'm the only person who ever uses it! It's mostly so I don't forget about that book I read a great review of in XYZ magazine.

I make idea lists for family members, though, for the holidays, starting immediately after Christmas. I used to keep them on paper, but they'd get lost, or the giftees would find them. Now they're all on the iPhone.

Oh, and I email ideas to myself with the subject "Xmas gift."

In my family, everyone is *required* to have a Christmas list. The younger generation has universal wishlists on Amazon, Mom and Dad still send out lists by email. For all other lists I use ColorNote on my phone.

Our family is old enough now that we no longer exchange gifts. Our mother gives us gifts, we giver her gifts, and together we siblings put together a stocking for her. That stocking is more fun than anything!

I use Evernote for my wishlist but also for items I think friends/family members would like, since it includes the link to the website it makes it easy once it's time to do shopping. Also, my dad has an evernote acct too so I just email my list from my acct to his.

I keep items in my cart. I check it often and buy when the price gets low enough.

I have an amazon book list too. Yet recently I've starting using Goodreads to keep track of books I want to read. I'm also connected to friends and sometimes add books based on a book they read and rated high.

I too have an amazon wishlist...mostly to keep track of things I want to buy when I have extra cash. My dad and in-laws usually refer to it for my birthday and Christmas.

I don't keep wishlists. I want to forget desires for things 'n stuff, not remember them. If it's something I really need I'll get it right away, and if it's a real heart's desire, I won't need to write it down to remember it.

more than one on amazon!! there's the 'i may get this sometime soon' list and the the 'maybe..someday..hopefully' list!

I use amazon's wishlist, but mostly only for myself. My old college buddies used to use it for me, but I pretty much would send a list of amazon links to my mother, who would then send me the confirmation email to make sure it was all right.

...we don't have many surprises here, haha.

I have several Amazon wishlists for different types of merchandise but just about everything I want to save is on http://www.wishpot.com/

I use Amazon's Shopping List to keep track of items I want to buy. The list is much longer than I would actually buy, but over time, I know which ones I really really want, and I can watch the price as well. Otherwise I save bookmarks on my mac under Shopping.

Thanks for suggesting Pinterest and Evernote. Will be checking them out right away.

I keep a list of gifts I've given (so I don't give my brother a flannel shirt every year!), and on the same document, a list of things I might like.

Even though I wish my parents and in-laws would stop getting me presents, they won't, and I'd rather they get me something I like (and that doesn't cost a fortune), then spend a lot of money on something I'll immediately give to Goodwill.

I was so excited this year to print off my ikea shopping list for my parents but they don't ship anything on my list and the nearest one is really far.

I'm pretty predictable - everyone who knows me knows I'll love anything beachy, or for my garden. We do make written lists for anything specific (books, movies, etc.), but I've bookmarked both Pinterest and Evernote to check out later - thanks to those who mentioned them!

I do keep a wish list!! But the photo of the handwritten wish list above is something that I would frame!! I love framing things like that!! As you can tell by the post on my blog about framing family heirlooms!

http://olivesanddaisies.blogspot.com/2010/11/framing-family-heirlooms-framed-recipes.html

my MIL insists, i use amazon with universal feature, i have alot of etsy stuff on there

I keep lists the old fashioned way every day with paper and pen... all my to-do's!

Also use Amazon Wishlist and Etsy's heart system to keep track of books and handmade treasures I love.

Like many of you I, too, use Amazon (mostly for books) & Etsy for personal wants & gift ideas for friends & family.

Just the other day I asked the Twitterverse if they used any all-encompassing wishlist websites with no response (!) so I am glad to see this post today. I was considering using something on the web where I could put all of my gift-appropriate wishes that I could direct friends & family to - 'tis the season!

Yes, have an Amazon list, but it's not public. I guess it's just for myself.

Also you can now add to your Amazon wishlist items from other sites via a link/button in your Bookmark bar. It's very convenient.

I use Wishpot

My bookmarks are organized into folders (books, music, clothes, shoes, electronics). If I see an item, I bookmark the webpage into the right folder. It's not a public way to manage a wishlist, though.
Sometimes I write lists on my blackberry notes feature, too.

Nope. I only exchange gifts with a couple of people these days, and don't want or need much of anything to put on a list. Focusing on "what I want" seems crass to me now.

This year my partner and I just spent nearly $800 on vet bills, and we agreed that "healthy pets" would be the Big Gift between us for Christmas. (We may spend up to $50 each on "something to open" for the holiday, but it won't be anything too important or serious.)

Some years, instead of a lists, I do put a moritorium on DVD purchases from Halloween on -- his birthday is in November. I can pretty much be assured that any decent Sci-Fi, animation, or science documentary DVDs that are new releases during that period will be purchased, so either he buys them or I do. But that's as close to a "list" as we get.)

My birthday being not all that long before Christmas, my family tends to go into meltdown without carefully organised lists - each to be given suggestions suiting what they like to buy for me.
I had a wish list at Anthro, but it got eaten by the interweb.

To avoid getting gifts that we don't actually like, my friends and I have a wishlist system in place for birthdays and Christmas. Each of us would create a wishlist of things that we would like to get (as long as its within the defined budget that we set), email this to the rest of the group and put it up on my friend's blog. Come Christmas or birthday time, we refer to the wishlist and split the cost amongst ourselves.

I keep a draft message in my inbox all year round. I add and delete from it whenever necessary and also keep a running list for close family. Works out well for me!

My husband and I always debate this point. He doesn't like to tell people what to get him or even what he would hypothetically like to receive because he thinks it defeats the purpose of "it's the thought that counts." However, like many other people mentioned, have received countless gifts that I immediately put in a donation pile or (gasp!) regift. It just seems to me much more efficient to have a list somewhere accessible that just gives people a clue.

My whole family and I keep one on Myregistry.com. It's great because when someone asks us what we want for the holidays, birthdays, etc. we just send them an email with our registries. It's great because not only do I finally get what I really want, but I don't feel awkward about telling people anymore.

My family uses CheckedTwice.com. We found it was easier to get Grandma and Grandpa on this site than Amazon wishlists. You can also keep separate wishlists for the immediate family, the extended family, in-laws, etc.

I prefer to use the neat wish list site Plentywish ( http://www.plentywish.com ), because of it's ease of use, and clean design :)