Grocery shopping is daunting enough without having to constantly pick up and put down your grocery list as you grapple with plastic produce bags, reach for the cereal box on the highest shelf, or navigate the cart down a crowded aisle.

Turn ordinary household items into a grocery list caddy designed to conveniently attach to almost any shopping cart. The device allows you to easily access your list and check off items as you shop. Whether you prefer keeping your grocery list on your smartphone or tracking your purchases with the traditional paper and pen, the grocery list caddy will have you covered.

Step 1: Gather Materials and Tools

You may already have the materials to create this device on hand, either sitting in a desk drawer or left over from old craft projects.

Materials

Cardboard
Poster board or construction paper
2 metal binder rings
Small metal clip
Elastic
Necklace chain
Metal jump ring
Brads: 1 large, 2 small
Pen
Double-sided tape

Tools

Ruler
Pencil
Box cutter
Scissors
Hole punch
Wire cutters
Pliers
Metal pick or needle

Step 2: Create the Phone Pocket

Use ruler to measure dimensions of your smartphone.
Use scissors to cut poster board 1 cm wider and 1 cm taller than phone as a backing for the pocket.
Cut 3 poster board strips as the bottom and sides of the pocket--2 strips 4 cm wide and as tall as the backing, and 1 strip 5 cm tall and as wide as the backing.
Use tip of a mechanical pencil to score 2 lines the long way along each strip at 1.5 cm and 3 cm.
Crease the three strips along each scored line.
Use double-sided tape to secure the 2 long strips to the left and right sides of the pocket.
Use double-sided tape to secure the shorter strip to the bottom of the pocket, resting over the other two strips.
Use small pieces of double-sided tape on the bottom corners to secure the pocket.

Step 3: Create the Two Back Boards for the Grocery List Caddy

Measure a square on the cardboard, approximately 10 cm wider and 3 cm longer than the phone pocket.
Use a box cutter or scissors to cut the backboard out.
Trace the board onto another piece of cardboard to create a second backboard, then cut it out.

Step 4: Complete the Phone Pocket Board

Use double-sided tape to affix the phone pocket to the center of one backboard.
Press to ensure the pocket is secure.

Step 5: Create the Board for the Paper Grocery List

Punch a hole 1.5 cm from the top and 7 cm in from the right side of the cardboard square.
Attach the mini clip to the board with a brad--this clip will hold the paper shopping list.
Make a loop to hold the pen when not in use by cutting a 5 cm-long elastic strip.
Use metal pick to create two holes approximately 2.5 cm apart, centered on the back board top to bottom.
Insert one mini brad through elastic and into each hole, creating a loop to hold the pen.
Use wire clippers to trim an old necklace to 28 cm.
Use pliers to affix a metal jump ring to one end of the chain, then slip the loop around the pen's clip.
Attach the pen to the board by threading the other end of the chain onto one of the metal binder rings that you'll attach in the next step.

Step 6: Add Rings to Hang Device on Shopping Cart

Use hole punch to create two holes in each board--one 1 cm from top and 2 cm from left-hand side, and one 2 cm in from the right.
Insert one metal binder ring through the holes on the left side of each board. Repeat for right side, so both boards hang from a single set of rings.