A List of Lists

I am a classic list maker. Nothing makes me happier than to have a blank note pad so that I can make a list. A list of ideas, or a to-do list or a grocery list or a Walmart shopping list. I love lists! (I'm pretty sure that whoever invented the "sticky note" was a list maker who was frustrated by not being able to keep track of their lists.) 

At the office I save paper which is blank on one side just so that I can afford to make lists, otherwise it would get expensive to make as many lists as I make. Lined lists are great because then they are neater lists, but just plain paper will suffice most times. And, if they are recycled lists, I don't feel bad about just tossing them in the trash when I am through with them.

I have tried to convert my list-making to my cell phone, along with the calendar that was intended to keep me where I need to be when I needed to be there. Somehow I just can't quite convert myself to cell phone lists. I am a paper list maker.

Personally, I don't know how anyone can do anything without a list. Apparently their minds keep better lists than mine do. Here are a few of the lists I regularly keep:

• A grocery list. Without a list I would do well to stay home from the grocery store. I would end up with all sorts of great stuff but probably forget the eggs and milk and bread. And if it's not a regular weekly item, like something for a special dish, it would never be purchased, in which case it would require a second trip to the store (with the items neatly written on a list) and more money spent. On the few times when I have arrived at the store without my list, I either called home to have it read to me or went back home to get it. Can't shop for groceries without my list!

• A Walmart list. If you've ever been to Walmart, you know that you can buy almost anything at Walmart from groceries to beauty and personal care supplies to clothing to auto supplies. The store is too large to just browse the entire store to see what you need, and the temptation would be too great to resist buying fun stuff that I didn't need, so a list is in order. I try to keep a Walmart list all the time so that I can write things on it as needed, but it seems that I am usually writing it on the way to Walmart so I never come out with everything I should have gotten, which might be good because it always costs too much when we check out anyway.

• An Amazon list. If you've ever shopped online with Amazon.com, it is an experience! So far I haven't found anything that can't be purchased at the online store. So, when I think of something that we need or want, I check Amazon. If you find what you want at the price you are willing to pay, then you can put you item in the "cart" for checkout. This works well so that you can checkout when you are prepared to make your purchase and don't have to remember what you were going to buy. It worked especially well last week when Mike accidentally purchased everything that was in the cart when he only meant to purchase the part for the car. The Amazon list is also nice because it's online and you don't have to keep track of a piece of paper. A word of caution: don't fall asleep while shopping on Amazon. I personally know of a couple who were shopping Amazon on their phones while lying in bed and put an item in the cart to purchase at a later date. After falling asleep with the phone in his hand, the husband inadvertently sent the order. Surprise when the item arrived a few days later!

• A to-do list. This is my favorite list, and I make one every Saturday morning when we are home. I put everything that needs to be done on the list and cross it off as I accomplish the deed. Some Saturdays I feel so unmotivated that I find myself putting routine items on the list like "fix lunch" or "make bed" just so that I can feel productive when I can cross off the item. But I find that crossing off an item is so motivating that I will eventually find the motivation to do many of the other items on the list just for the thrill of crossing it off. I'm pretty sure I've never accomplished every to-do item on the list, but I'm also sure that I've gotten a lot more done by having a list than not having one.

• Kind of related to the to-do list is the menu list for company. When we are expecting company for a meal, I make a list of the menu items I plan to serve. This keeps me on track for preparing the food and also helps me get all the food on the table at serving time. How many have found the salad still sitting in the fridge after company has gone home? My hand is raised!

• A honey-do list. This is one list I don't have sitting around. I used to have one when Mike was working full-time, but since he is now semi-retired, I never get a chance to make one. He is usually one step ahead of me and has done the job before I realized it needs to be done. On the rare occasion that I need something done he hasn't thought to do, I only need to mention it, and it's as good as done. Yes, I know how lucky I am!

• An idea list. I have dozens of these sitting around. Pinterest has taken care of a few of them, but there are still a a lot idea lists laying around. Ideas seem to be vapor in my mind, they come and go quite rapidly. If I don't write down an idea when it wanders through my mind, it is lost and may never again be found.  

• A to-do-in-town list. I know this one really tells on the state of my mind, but if I go to another town I have to make a list of places I want to stop and things I need to do in town. Otherwise, I will get home and realize I forgot to do something. I began to make this list after I arrived home from Winner one day and found the boxes of clothes I had intended to drop at the thrift store still in the back of my van. So here I was, stuck with those boxes until the next time I went to town! Trips to town are too expensive and time-consuming not to do it all in one trip.

• A goals list. These should be written on better quality paper because they will probably be hanging around for a fair amount of time. Studies show that keeping a written list of goals, as opposed to a mental list, makes achieving that goal much more likely. Keeping a goal in front of your face keeps you on track for achieving the goal. It might be a good idea to post that list on the bathroom mirror or on the window above the sink where you wash dishes, somewhere you will see it often.

Mike is not, by nature, a list-maker, but recently when we were getting the camper ready to leave for a trip, he asked me to make a list for him so that he could get everything in the camper. And often as we are driving down the road on our way to somewhere, he will ask me to write an item on my Walmart list or my Menard's list or my Sam's Club list. He is coming to see the value in a list!

So there you have it, I am addicted to making lists. I believe you are either a list-maker or not. If you can remember everything without lists, you have my undying admiration. And if you find yourself forgetting things or not doing things, you might need to cultivate the habit of making lists. Happy list making!