The short answer

What works
Sort the list into groups and count them, then link the items into a picture, a short story or a walk through a place you know. Grouping, pictures, stories and familiar places are all strategies taught in memory-training studies with healthy older adults.[1]
Which is best
No single one, in the studies. People who trained improved more on memory tests than people who didn’t, whichever strategy they learned.[1][2] That isn’t a promise about everyday memory.
What else helps
Give the list a moment of full attention and say it out loud. Mayo Clinic suggests limiting distractions and repeating new information.[3]
Is writing it down cheating?
No. Lists are one of the National Institute on Aging’s everyday memory tools. Memorize it, and keep the paper as a check.[4]

What’s the easiest way to remember a shopping list?

Group it, then count it.

Split the list into three or four groups by where things are in the store: fruit and vegetables, the cold aisles, the pantry shelves, household things. Then count each group: “three from the cold aisles.” Sorting into groups is called categorization in memory research, and it’s one of the strategies training studies teach.[1] The count is a simple check: if you remember two cold things, you know a third is missing.

How do I remember a list in order?

Make a short, silly story that moves from one item to the next.

“The coffee spilled on the lettuce, so I washed it with soap and wiped it with butter…” A silly picture is fine; it only has to make sense to you. Story methods appear in the training studies too.[1] It suits errands, where the order matters.

What is the memory palace, and does it work for shopping?

It’s a walk through a place you know, leaving one item at each spot. Try it with five to ten things.

Picture your front door and put the first item there: coffee beans on the doormat. Then the hall table: a head of lettuce. Then the stairs: a bar of soap on each step. At the store, take the same walk in your mind and collect what you left. Researchers call this the method of loci, and it’s one of the strategies in the training studies.[1]

Can I use the first letters?

Yes, for a short list. Make a word from the first letters.

Milk, apples and pasta make MAP. You can change the order to make a word, and a short phrase works if the letters won’t make one. It’s best for a short list of three to five things.

Why do I forget the one thing I went in for?

It may not have had your full attention. Give it a moment before you leave: say it out loud and picture yourself picking it up.

Mayo Clinic notes that you’re more likely to recall information you focus on, and suggests limiting distractions.[3] Doing several things at once can also get harder with age, according to the National Institute on Aging.[5] If it happens between rooms at home, see why you walk into a room and forget why.

Does practicing memory strategies help?

In studies, older adults who learned memory strategies improved more on memory tests than those who didn’t. That isn’t a promise about everyday life.

A 1992 review of studies with healthy adults aged 60 or over found that groups who learned memory techniques gained more on memory tasks than control and placebo groups, whichever technique they learned.[2] A 2012 review of 35 studies found the same pattern.[1] Mayo Clinic is clear that there are no guarantees when it comes to preventing memory loss or dementia.[3] The practical reason to practice is simpler: a method you’ve used a few times is one you’ll reach for in the store.

Try it: twelve things to buy

Read the list once. Sort it into four groups of three, and count them. Then cover the list, wait a minute, and write all twelve from memory. Check with the answers below.

  • coffee
  • lettuce
  • soap
  • butter
  • pasta
  • lemons
  • foil
  • ice cream
  • oats
  • potatoes
  • batteries
  • orange juice

Check your answers

  • Fruit and vegetables: lettuce, lemons, potatoes
  • From the cold aisles: butter, ice cream, orange juice
  • Pantry: coffee, pasta, oats
  • Household: soap, foil, batteries

Any grouping that works for you is fine; batteries might sit by the checkout in your store. Tomorrow, try the same list with a story instead. This is practice, not a test.

A shopping-list card to print

Four steps before you go, and a space for each group. Fill it in on screen and print it, or print it blank.

Shopping-list card

Before I go

  1. Group it: three or four groups, by where things are in the store.
  2. Count it: how many in each group.
  3. Link it: a picture, a short story or a walk through your home.
  4. Say it out loud once, then go.
What you type stays on this page. Nothing is sent or saved.

Where this comes up in the journal

Journal page for Day 1, “Three Shopping Bags.” A list of twelve groceries, four numbered steps, three columns for sorting the groceries into bags, an easier option, a memory helper called “Write your list by group,” and a check-in question.

Day 1 of The Everyday Memory Journal, Three Shopping Bags, sorts a twelve-item list into bags. Later days practice the other methods: Six Errands, One Story (Day 5), First-Letter Cues (Day 12) and Sort by Room (Day 16). Answers for every activity start on page 49.

Print the first three days free, Day 1 included, or read how to stop losing your keys and glasses.

Quick questions

Does this work for errands too?

Yes. A story works well for errands, because it keeps them in order: the bank, then the post office, then the bakery.

What if I still forget something?

Keep the written list in your pocket and check it before you pay. Memorizing is the practice; the paper is the safety net.

When is forgetting a reason to see a doctor?

Forgetting an item now and then is common. The National Institute on Aging says to talk with a doctor about noticeable changes in your memory, and that serious memory problems make everyday things hard, such as driving, using the phone and finding the way home. This page is general information, not medical advice.

Sources

Each page was read on the date shown; the studies were read as their PubMed abstracts (and, for the 2012 review, its free full text). These organizations and authors have not reviewed or endorsed this page.

  1. [1] Memory training interventions for older adults: a meta-analysis

    Gross AL, Parisi JM, Spira AP, Kueider AM, Ko JY, Saczynski JS, Samus QM, Rebok GW. Aging & Mental Health 16(6):722–734 · Published 2012 · read on October 9, 2026

    doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2012.667783

  2. [2] Improving memory performance in the aged through mnemonic training: a meta-analytic study

    Verhaeghen P, Marcoen A, Goossens L. Psychology and Aging 7(2):242–251 · Published June 1992 · read on October 9, 2026

    doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.7.2.242

  3. [3] Memory loss: 7 tips to improve your memory

    Mayo Clinic · Dated January 21, 2026 · read on October 9, 2026

    mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-aging/in-depth/memory-loss/art-20046518

  4. [4] Memory Problems, Forgetfulness, and Aging

    National Institute on Aging (NIH) · Content reviewed November 22, 2023 · read on October 8, 2026

    nia.nih.gov/health/memory-loss-and-forgetfulness/memory-problems-forgetfulness-and-aging

  5. [5] How the Aging Brain Affects Thinking

    National Institute on Aging (NIH) · Content reviewed June 27, 2023 · read on October 8, 2026

    nia.nih.gov/health/brain-health/how-aging-brain-affects-thinking