ADHD glossary · Family perspectives
Shopping list: record the items people agreed to obtain
A shopping list, in our coordination example, records items people have agreed to obtain on a particular trip or order. Its useful question is “What is actually on this purchase list, and what should happen if an item is unavailable?” A suggestion, a confirmed item, and an item already obtained need different labels.
General education and practical perspectives. Editorial standards.
This is narrower than a meal plan, which includes arrangements around meals. It is also different from a record of things already in the house. You can check what is present before making the list without turning the list into a complete household inventory. This page recommends no products, prices, nutrition choices, or spending level.
Worked example: supplies for a postcard table
In this invented scene, two partners and a teen are organizing a postcard-writing table at a neighborhood gathering. One partner offers to obtain the agreed supplies. The teen asks for twelve plain cards. The other partner finds envelopes already in a drawer and removes them from the proposed shopping list.
“Markers” remains unclear. The teen means two black markers for addressing cards, while the shopper imagines a mixed-color set. They clarify the item before the trip. They also agree that if the plain cards are unavailable, the shopper will leave that item unbought and send an update, rather than choose a replacement everyone is assumed to want.
A younger child suggests decorative stickers. The family puts them in an “ideas to discuss” section; writing down the suggestion does not turn it into a purchase promise. The child can ask which list it is on instead of having to interpret an unexplained checkmark.
After the trip, the shopper marks the cards as obtained and the markers as unavailable. The group now has a specific question to resolve. They do not silently send the shopper on another errand or assign the teen to find replacements.
Copy a purchase-coordination list
Trip or order / date:
Person who accepted the shopping task:
Who may edit this version, and until when:
Agreed item | Quantity / identifying detail | Current status
___________ | _____________________________ | ______________
___________ | _____________________________ | ______________
Already checked as present; do not obtain again:
Suggestions not yet agreed:
If an item is unavailable, the agreed response is:
Person to contact about a question:
How changes after the trip begins will be communicated:
What still needs a decision afterward:
Keep identifying details to what the shopper actually needs. Do not attach personal explanations to a shared list just because the tool has room for notes. A paper list can be enough; the format does not require an account or an app.
Change the list without changing the job in secret
If someone adds an item after the shopper leaves, communicate the request and check whether it can be included. Do not assume an edited screen means the person has seen or accepted more work. Likewise, distinguish “obtained” from “still wanted” before carrying an old list into another trip.
A partner can state which items they accepted responsibility for. A teen or child can contribute a preference without becoming the shopper. A grandparent helping with supplies can ask for one current version. When the list becomes a disagreement about what to buy or who should pay, return to that separate decision; a checkbox cannot settle it.
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