Stop Using Your Notes App for Your Shopping List — Try This Practical Alternative Instead

I’m a big fan of making lists, but I’m still looking for the ideal list system to help keep my entire life organized. I’ve tried to-do list apps, Post-It notes, and a magnetic whiteboard on my fridge. I’ve sent texts and emails to myself and have made countless lists in my Notes app. 

All these list-making methods work okay, but I still feel like there’s some better way to keep track of everything.  Now, I may have finally found an easy way to simplify my trips to the grocery store, thanks to a video posted on TikTok.

It can feel like people online are always trying to sell you something or make you download yet another app. But this mobile grocery list tip, which comes from Australian content creator Brad Canning, doesn’t involve anything of the sort. Rather, you simply rely on the capabilities your iPhone already came with. In a recent TikTok, he explains that instead of creating a bullet-point checklist on your phone’s Notes app, you should utilize a particular feature of the Reminders app. Canning says to open the Reminders app and create a new list by clicking the blue button on the top right. Label it as you wish, and then toggle the “list type” to “shopping.” This is “where the magic happens,” he says. 

As you see in the video, items added to a list in the “shopping” category will now get automatically sorted into groups like dairy, meat, and personal care, which is ideal for grocery shopping — I can’t count how many times I’ve had my list set up so that “dry shampoo” is right next to “yogurt.” This way, you can create your list to snake through the grocery store as you would in real life. “You can also rearrange the order of the sections,” one commenter noted. “I matched mine to the layout of the grocery store so my list is in order of how I shop.” You can also share lists with other iPhone users, which can be great for families, roommates, or even if you’re prepping for a group trip. Other commenters say that the auto-labeling isn’t perfect, so be sure to double-check it, but it definitely seems like a good way to streamline your shopping.