anything we need from the shops? – google docs to the rescue

Being the technology lover that i am, i’m always looking for ways that technology will help improve and generally make my life easier.

I’m the main shopper for the household. It’s something that i’d like to be able to delegate without ending up with a cupboard full of pop tarts and steak.
But as i generally end up going to the shops straight after work, i always end up sms-ing the boy with something along the lines of “anything we need from the shops?” or “you wrote something on the fridge that we ran out of, what was that again?”.
All of which results in me going to the shops (which i hate), walking around the shops in a rage, and getting home and remembering what i needed to buy.

I knew that somewhere out there, someone else shares this problem.
And given that we both have iphones, there has to be an app for that.

Not that I could find, but I found a solution anyway.

Google Docs.

I created a shared document, which both of us can edit, and put a shortcut on each of our home screens.
Now when I’m shopping I can pull up the shopping list and not forget anything (or at least absolve blame).
And if I need to I can send J shopping and he (theoretically) can return with a balanced shopping trolley.

Items can be added as inspiration strikes, and live updating means that if i need to add something while J’s at the shops he can get it straight away.

It’s the best solution that i’ve found for sharing shopping lists between iphones, or indeed smartphones.