Wish List Wednesday - Week 2- A Gift for the 'List Person'
Are you a list person? Are you lost in the store without a list? Do you write a list and then misplace it and have to start over? Do you think of something you need and then forget what it was by the time you get the pen and paper?
This was me last year. I would start a grocery list, put it somewhere, think of something else to put on it, and not be able to find the list, then forget what it was I was going to put on it when I eventually found the list.
Noticing my struggles with lists, my angel of a husband gave me The Smart Shopper for Christmas last year. At first, I thought it was frivolous, a luxury item we certainly shouldn't be spending our limited budget on. But then I tried it. And I can't believe how much easier it made my life! I LOVE IT!!
Now let me explain The Smart Shopper. It is a small battery operated device you speak to, with a magnet on the back you can stick to your fridge. Hold, on, it is not as crazy as it sounds. You press record, say the name of the item you need, or the place you can't forget to stop at on your errands, and the Smart Shopper gives you a list of possible words that you said, you pick the correct one, and it is added to your list. That simple.
For example, If you are in the kitchen, reaching for the flour, and realize you have just enough for this batch of banana bread and need more next time you go to the store, but your hands are all full of flour and you can't find a pen, you just go to your Smart Shopper conviently located on the fridge, press the button, say 'flour', and select from the list the item you need. For flour, the list said 'flour', 'flowers', 'flatware', or 'lawyer', and it is in your list. You do this for every item that pops into your head, and by the time you are ready to go the store, you have everything you need on the list.
As if that wasn't great enough, when you are ready to go to the store, you press print, and your list prints out, conviently sorted into department sections. Meats all go together, laundry supplies all go together, baking supplies all go together. It is uses a thermal printer so needs no ink. It is awesome. I actually come back from the store with everything I needed.
As a bonus, you can also make lists of all the errands you need to go on, such as bank, pharmacy, post office, dry cleaners, lawyer, etc. Now, going to the lawyers usually isn't something I need to to every week, and if I did need to go, I believe I wouldn't forget this particular errand, but that is just me. You can also keep 2 separate lists going at the same time. So one for the Thankgiving dinner, and one for the regular grocery shopping.
The kids have a ball with this item as well. You see, they can add whatever they want to the list too. No more "Mom I need more Pop Tarts!" They can speak to the Smart Shopper and Pop Tarts is on the list. It comes with 2500 pre-loaded item names in its library, so it has practically everything you can think of in its 'memory'.
The kids also enjoy the fact that sometimes, it does not recognize the item you are saying, and comes up with a crazy list of totally unrelated items. For example, say 'tunafish' and it can come up with 'depends', or 'tampons', or canned yams, and when tried again, it may say 'nipples'. Super funny, especially to a bunch of kids. Sometimes I print off the list and get to the store and see things like 'diapers' or lawyer' or 'nail glue' on the list. So I get a laugh while at the grocery store too.
The fact that sometimes it does not recognize what you are saying is a source of great dissapointment and frustration for some, but we have found it to be more reason to laugh than to get upset, and it usually does get the right answer after a few tries. I just said tuna, and it was first on the list. Though 'total' and 'gin' were also on the list, but tuna was first!
This makes a great gift, and I highly recommend it for the shopper in your house. Shop around a bit though, and make sure you get some refill paper rolls. You can go direclty to their website, SmartShopperusa.com,you can get it on Amazon.com, or you can get it at specialty shops like The Sharper Image. I have found there is a big range in price at these venues, the older models being much cheaper, so do a little research before you decide which model and which place you will purchase from.
I simply love this helpful device, and wouldn't give it up and go back to hand written grocery lists for anything. The Smart Shopper has made grocery shopping preparation and actual shopping easier, a bit less time consuming, and the whole family has fun with it.
And I almost feel organized.....
This was me last year. I would start a grocery list, put it somewhere, think of something else to put on it, and not be able to find the list, then forget what it was I was going to put on it when I eventually found the list.
Noticing my struggles with lists, my angel of a husband gave me The Smart Shopper for Christmas last year. At first, I thought it was frivolous, a luxury item we certainly shouldn't be spending our limited budget on. But then I tried it. And I can't believe how much easier it made my life! I LOVE IT!!
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| My Smart Shopper (last year's model) |
For example, If you are in the kitchen, reaching for the flour, and realize you have just enough for this batch of banana bread and need more next time you go to the store, but your hands are all full of flour and you can't find a pen, you just go to your Smart Shopper conviently located on the fridge, press the button, say 'flour', and select from the list the item you need. For flour, the list said 'flour', 'flowers', 'flatware', or 'lawyer', and it is in your list. You do this for every item that pops into your head, and by the time you are ready to go the store, you have everything you need on the list.
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| A short, incomplete list for me |
As a bonus, you can also make lists of all the errands you need to go on, such as bank, pharmacy, post office, dry cleaners, lawyer, etc. Now, going to the lawyers usually isn't something I need to to every week, and if I did need to go, I believe I wouldn't forget this particular errand, but that is just me. You can also keep 2 separate lists going at the same time. So one for the Thankgiving dinner, and one for the regular grocery shopping.
The kids have a ball with this item as well. You see, they can add whatever they want to the list too. No more "Mom I need more Pop Tarts!" They can speak to the Smart Shopper and Pop Tarts is on the list. It comes with 2500 pre-loaded item names in its library, so it has practically everything you can think of in its 'memory'.
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| I said tunafish.... |
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| I said milk.... |
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| New model of Smart Shopper at The Sharper Image (Notice it is rounded now) |
I simply love this helpful device, and wouldn't give it up and go back to hand written grocery lists for anything. The Smart Shopper has made grocery shopping preparation and actual shopping easier, a bit less time consuming, and the whole family has fun with it.
And I almost feel organized.....
I always forget something when I go to the grocery store, so this sounds like it could really help. I think I am going to have to add it to my holiday list.
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