Shopping Lists

See

Your shopping list shows needs you must "cover" soon, that is, things you need to buy. It also provides buying advice for each need.

Use this page to build and organize the list of things you need to buy, and to shop for them.

Viewing Your List

To use this page:

1. (Optional) Filter by a top folder.
Often a top folder corresponds to a specific store type (e.g. children's apparel) or department (e.g. cleaning supplies), so the results displayed are a shopping list for that store type or department.
2. (Optional) Filter by a Days left.
Note the three categories:
1. It's GOOD to filter by simple days left. This shows needs for which you need to shop right away.
2. It's BETTER to filter by lead time. This shows needs for which you must start shopping now to assure that you'll have adequate time to purchase them correctly. For example, you may want extra time to get a good deal on big-ticket items.
3. It's BEST to filter by receipt date. This allows you to synchronize your shopping trips onto a schedule. See shopping schedules for more information.
3. (Optional) Filter by a Management Type, Priority, and/or User.
4. (Optional) Check "Show folders" to show the complete need name (preceded by its folders).
5. (Optional) Check "Show priorities" to show the priority value you've assigned to each need.
6. (Optional) Check "Show prices" to show past unit prices paid for each need.
7. (Optional) Check "Show assets" to show the need's current assets and buying advice.
8. Press "Go" to display the needs that satisfy the filter conditions.

The search results will be listed in the lower part of the page. You can re-sort the results if you like by clicking on a column's heading text. Using these results, you can:

• Print out a shopping list and take it with you to a store. Click on the "Print Version" button (upper right) to get a cleaner version of the page for printing.
• Click on the need name to display the Need Properties page.
• "# Prices" (if shown) shows the number of assets (with price data) you've used to cover that need. These are used to calculate the "Past Unit Prices".
• "Past Unit Prices" (if shown) shows the minimum, average, and maximum of the prices paid in the past to cover this need.

Changing the Needs On Your List

Your shopping list is constantly changing, so you need ways to easily update it in MakeLifeEasy. This section describes the commands available on this page. The topic How to... Use Your Shopping List - At a Glance provides more information on how to use the commands to maintain your shopping list in different situations.

You can change needs one-at-a-time or many-at-a-time using these commands. There are four sets of operations: the Need Management Buttons along the top of the list, an Actions button next to each need, Update Columns that you can display in the list, and Quick Updates that you can perform on assets (when they are displayed).

Need Management Buttons

There are four buttons for managing needs on the page:

• Update this list. Pressing this button displays the Update Columns (described below) in the list. These allow you to quickly perform actions on several needs at once.
  
  
• Add a need. Pressing this button displays either the Quick Need Adder ^< or the Advanced Need Adder ^< to add a single need.
  
  
• Add many needs. Pressing this button displays the Add Needs page, so that you can quickly add several standard needs to your list.
  
  
• Get postponed needs. Pressing this button displays the Search Needs ^< page, so that you can get needs that you have previously postponed or de-activated.

Actions Button

The "Actions" button next to each need pops up the Need Actions Menu, which allows you to perform one of several actions on the need in that row:

• Check/update the amount left of assets covering a need
• Add an asset to cover a need
• Postpone (or de-activate) a need
• Hide a need
• Delete a need
• (other actions)

Update Columns

The update columns are displayed when you press the Update this list button. These columns allow you to do the same actions as those listed above for the "Actions" button, except that most of these actions can be performed on several needs in the list at once.

• BEST: Change amt left (or add asset). See the Need Actions Menu for an explanation of this action. The difference here is that you may update several needs a little more quickly than using the menu on each one.

  The best way to maintain your shopping list is to keep track of the assets that cover your needs. When a need rises up on your list, take a physical inventory and adjust the amount left if it's incorrect, and/or buy a new asset and enter it into MakeLifeEasy. Either of these actions can move the need back down (or off) your shopping list by increasing its days left.

  When you press the "Do it" button, if you have any assets currently covering the need, the Need Properties page will pop up, and you can check/update the amount left and/or add an asset. If you have no assets covering the need, the Add an Asset page will pop up, allowing you to add a new asset.
  
  

• GOOD: Postpone (until later). See the Need Actions Menu for an explanation of this action. The difference here is that you may perform this action on several needs at once.

  NOTES:

  1. For a postponed need, you may select "0 (undo)" to un-postpone it.
  2. (Advanced) If a list entry with an asterisk (*) is present, this is the "Typical Rebuy Interval" ("TRI") you entered for the need. The "TRI" entry will appear you have entered the need's usage rate in "assets per interval" (for example, "1 asset(s) every 6 week(s)"). In other words, this is how often you typically shop to cover this need. If you have just shopped to cover the need, and the "TRI" entry is present, it makes sense to simply postpone the need by the amount of the "TRI" entry.
  
  
• OKAY: Hide (today only). See the Need Actions Menu for an explanation of this action. The difference here is that you may perform this action on several needs at once.
  
  
• OKAY: Delete (forever). See the Need Actions Menu for an explanation of this action. The difference here is that you may perform this action on several needs at once.

Saving Your Update Columns. When you perform an action with a "Do it" button, that action is completed on the spot for each need, one-by-one. For all other actions (postpones, hides, and deleted), Press the "Save updates" button at the bottom of the page to save your actions. They will all be performed at once.

Quick Updates

If you have checked "Show assets", the individual assets will be displayed for each need on the page. You can perform quick updates on each asset. This may be a slower operation, though, because the page must be refreshed each time. Use it for occasional updates only.

Keeping Your List Up-to-Date

1. Right After Shopping
2. Between Shopping Trips
3. Right Before Shopping

How to Update Your Shopping List Right After Shopping

What Happened With the Need?	MakeLifeEasy Action(s) You Can Use (Pick one):
Bought an asset (covered it)	Cover it by adding an asset    OR Postpone it until you need it again    OR Inactivate it (Postpone it forever) if you can't even guess when you'll need it again    OR Delete it if you'll never need it again and you don't need any record of it
Didn't get around to it yet	Do nothing so it stays high on your list
Changed my mind, holding off	Postpone it if you DO have an idea when you'll need it    OR De-activate it if you have NO idea when you'll need it    OR Delete it if you'll never need it again and you don't need any record of it
Changed my mind completely	Delete it
Altered my plans, covered something similar	1. Delete it, then 2. Add an asset and create the new need "on-the-fly" (if you want to manage the asset)    OR Rename the need, then cover it, postpone it, de-activate it, or delete it (see above)
Changed my mind completely	Delete it
Bought unplanned items not on my list	Add assets and create the new needs "on-the-fly" (for assets you want to manage)
Something else happened	What, we're missing something? Please, please drop us a quick message and let us know. We want to make this your complete shopping list program!

How to Update Your Shopping List Between Shopping Trips

To keep your list updated between trips, the fastest and easiest way is to add the Shopping List mini-app toolbar button (you can drag and drop this to your "Links" toolbar):

Then, you can quickly add needs to keep your list updated and ready for shopping. For more information, see toolbar buttons.

Here's how you can use the above actions to update your shopping list between trips, based on what happens:

What Happened?	MakeLifeEasy Action(s) You Can Use (Pick one):
You noticed you ran out (or will run out) of something	Check/update the amount left if the need is already on your list Add the need otherwise
MakeLifeEasy sent you an email that a need moved onto your list	For each need on the email: check/update the amount left(best)    OR use any other update function (postpone, hide, etc.)

How to Update Your Shopping List Right Before Shopping

Here's how you can use the above actions to update your shopping list right before your shopping trip:

1. Open your Shopping List ^<.
2. (Optional) filter for the store type (the top folder), days left, etc., and press "Go".
3. The items at the top of the list are the most urgent. For each item on the list,
   1. If it's actually not urgent because it's still covered by assets, update the amount left.
   2. Otherwise, use the actions described above (postpone, hide, etc.) until you get the list the way you want it.
4. Add any additional needs you like.
5. Print the list.

Notes

1. To hold temporary needs that you just want to show on your shopping list as a reminder.
2. To hold candidate needs that you think you might have but haven't decided on.
3. As a general-purpose scratch pad to hold thoughts, ideas, etc.

Note that any needs you type into the "Notes" field won't be managed, and you won't receive offers on these because sellers won't know about them. Of course, you can always change these to managed needs when you're ready.