Making a Grocery List Clipboard with My Personal Assistant

I have a Personal Assistant.  How many of you out there have one of those?  While I’m eternally grateful to have him in my life, he really doesn’t contribute much in the way of “assistance.”  Yet, I keep giving him raises and singing his praises!

Rather than being a great assistant, he is “resistant” of my many attempts at creativity and is very persistent with his insistence that I recognize his existence!  Have you figured out yet who he is?  NO, it’s not Charlie, although he runs a close second in the “persistence, insistence, existence” routine!

He’s Coco.  Also known as Coco Puff, Puffy, My Sweet Baby, My Lovey Kitty, Coco Loco, Loco Coco or Ol’ Blue Eyes depending on my mood and his.

Anyway, I decided that I should have a better way to keep track of grocery items needed rather than the multiple lists I tend to make and leave in various places:  in my purse, on my iPhone, on my desk, on my coffee table.  I’m forever trying to gather up my lists (if I don’t lose them before I use them) and corral them into one list BEFORE I head out the door to shop, because I’m inevitably forgetting something at the store and quick trips back into town aren’t on my radar, ever.  So, when I was in Office Depot the other day, inspiration struck and I thought, “I need a clip board in my pantry with a grocery list” and that’s how this all came about.  The Personal Assistant (AKA Coco Photobomb) was an added bonus.

So, here’s a quick and easy project with added benefits:  time management and corralling clutter.  Put this clipboard on your pantry door or inside a pantry cupboard door or even a kitchen drawer.  Then when you notice you are out of an item, running low on something or need a special ingredient for a recipe, your list is in a handy and logical location, ready to use, saving time and various scraps of paper scattered hither and yon.

Here’s what you need –

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. Clipboard with a means to hang it
2. Pen
3. 48” length of ribbon of your choice
4. Hook
5. Printed Grocery List
6. I used one of those Command Hooks  made by 3M.

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

1. Computer
2. Printer
3. Printer paper
4. Scissors

 

Picture #1

Create a Grocery List and print it!  I used a grocery list available on Microsoft Office Templates.  I just modified it to fit my needs.  It’s an excel spreadsheet.  You can find many types of templates at Microsoft Office Templates and choose one that suits you.  Here’s an Excel version for you, if you want to use this one:  Grocery list1

Picture #2

Attach the hook to your pantry or cupboard door following installations instructions on package.

Picture #3

Place your clipboard on a flat surface.

Picture #4

Select your ribbon and cut it at least 48″ long (you can adjust the length later).

Tie the ribbon to the clipboard.

Oops!  Personal Assistant AKA Coco the (Photo) Bomb checks out the pretty ribbon!  Here’s the dialog running through his little kitty mind:

Oh, this looks like fun!  Can I help tie it?  Maybe I need to check it out first and make sure it’s the right ribbon!  It’s gotta have the Coco “seal of approval”!  Testing – maybe I should “taste test” it too!  Ummm…don’t think it’s the right flavor – doesn’t taste like tuna!  I give up!  Can we just move on?  I guess I haven’t checked out every single inch of this ribbon yet!  We all know that it has to pass my rigorous inspection standards.   One last taste…don’t want to leave if it is, indeed, tuna-flavored!  Well, it definitely doesn’t taste like tune!  I’m outta here!

Editor’s Note:  those are my mother’s feet in the reflection of the mirror.  She is staying with us for a few days and has her feet elevated in the fancy, dancy Sleep Number bed!

Picture #1

Thread the ribbon through the clipboard hanger.

Picture #2

Tie a knot to secure the ribbon to the clipboard.

Picture #3

Make a loop and tie another knot about two or three inches from the first knot.

Picture #4

Close up of knot (and pretty ribbon).  Personal Assistant has now vanished seeking better opportunities!

Picture #5

Tie the ribbon into a pretty bow.  Adjust the ribbon length to your specifications, using the scissors to cut it.

Picture #6

Attach the Grocery List to the clipboard.

Picture #7

Add a pen.

Close-up of clipboard – no PA in sight!  Notice “Meat/Seafood” in the first category and “Dairy” on the far right?  Imagine that!  Both at the top of the page.  Always thinking of my PA’s wants and needs!

Hang clipboard on hook.  Ready to use and pretty to look at!

Many thanks to PA Coco for his intervention in this project.  Lord knows I couldn’t have done it without him!

Tootles,

 

Related Links:

(other posts featuring my PA, Coco)

• 42 Cooking Essentials for a Well-stocked Kitchen
• A Boy Named Coco
• And the Winner is…
• Attack of the Amazon Elves
• Easy Shamrocks and Leprechaun Centerpiece
• Emergency Planning Checklist (has a Coco video)
• Herding Cats
• Orange Crush
• Sweet Baby James
• The Backup Plan
• The Blind Leading the Blind
• The Squish Factor