Maybe you’ve seen those pads, sold at some supermarkets, that have a huge list of grocery items with a checkbox next to each. You’re supposed to check things off as you realize you need them, then take the list to the store.

I bought one of those years ago and found it less than useful. We always ended up needing things not on the list (why the list doesn’t have fish sauce on it I’ll never understand) and then checking three items, which felt wasteful. We switched to a magnetic list pad with a picture of a cat on it. I got eight of them for like $5 from Miles Kimball. We also have a little pen holder on the fridge. For grocery shopping, it works perfectly.

But then there are the special trips. Trader Joe’s. Costco. Whole Foods. Often we’ll go to one of these stores in search of something special, but also want to grab some regular items (such as diapers, Trader Joe’s caramels, and Prince Charles Biscuits). We tried taping a separate list to the fridge, but ended up intermixing items from multiple stores and mixing greatest-hits items with one-timers. And what do you do, bring the list along and then remember to tape it back up when you get home?

It was time to go online. We set up a Shopping page on [Backpack](http://backpackit.com/?referrer=BP2WJ), a website that might be called a place to upload your brain. Any time I have some random piece of information to write down, I put it somewhere on Backpack. This has saved a lot of Post-Its. It’s free to sign up and create up to five pages; I liked it so much I subscribed.

Now when we’re heading to Costco or Joe’s, we can consult the Backpack page and be reminded, oh yeah, we also need a Pound Plus bar, which is a huge chocolate bar allegedly used for baking. We write down what we actually need on a paper list, head to the store, and don’t come back smacking our heads because we forgot the ravioli.

Laurie and I can both add and delete items from our Backpack page. You can’t, but you’re welcome to have a look.