Your Personal Grocery List

Do you have a grocery list in your house? You know the kind you write down what you need from the store each week? I do, actually I have a little white board on the side of the fridge that has 4 types of lists with the categories of: Groceries, Target/Costco, Pets, and Other.

The grocery list has things like milk, eggs, bread, soy sauce, chicken...the weekly needs in our home. We go to our local grocery store a mile a way to get these things.

The Target/Costco list has things like toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, a broom, Easter supplies...the monthly or need future needs of our home. We go to these types of stores that are 10-20 miles away.

The Pets list has items specifically for our dogs, cats and fish like dog food, cat litter, scratching posts, fish food..specialty products that we need every few months or so and we write it down when we are about 2 or 3 months from running out. We get these supplies at specialty stores.

The last list is Other and includes things like new silverware, new pots and pans, a motorcycle, a boat cover...things that aren't needed but more wants and certainly only when extra funds are available.

So, those are see as my Little Fish Lists. You see them all the time and it's fun to see, but really nothing you can hold on to. You shop and it is erased...no big deal... but think about how much time and effort goes into these Little Fish lists?

Now think about Big Fish Lists - a movie a few years ago called it the "Bucket List"--things you want to do before you kick the bucket. Do you put the same amount of time into the Big Fish Lists as you do the Little Fish Lists? If not, why?

Here is my example of what I would like to have on my Big Fish lists:

Groceries (daily needs) - Workout, quiet time, love of an animal, a haircut, a hug, a kiss, giving someone a compliment, and having sun on my face.

Target/Costco (need soon within the month) - A boat ride, Fishing, a movie and popcorn night, make dinner for friends, a pinochle game night, and some bulbs planted.

The Pets (Specialty Items) - Feel value at work, feel value in my life, adopt a kitty or two, review my goals, and create a budget.

Other (Nice to haves, but long term) - A trip to Seattle to see my baby brother, a new deck, new windows, more blog readers, and two puppies.

There - my day to day and longer term little and big fish lists.

Morale of the story is if you never know what your Big Fish are, how in the world will you ever catch them? Don't settle with the little fish milk, eggs, and bread---go after those Big Fish needs!