SpecsyShopping lists
A family shopping list that updates on everyone phone
Not a list one person writes and everyone else ignores. A list the whole household adds to, and whoever passes the shop clears.
- Milk
- Lactose free, 2 x 1 L
- Bread
- Sourdough, the dark one
- Coffee
- Lavazza Rossa, 1 kg
- Sofia
- PE kit, size 128
- Added by Andrei
- Dishwasher salt
Why the family list usually fails
Most household lists die for one of three reasons. Only one person can edit it, so everyone else texts their requests instead. Or it lives in an app only one person has. Or it says "milk" when what was meant was a specific lactose free brand.
The result is a list that is always slightly wrong, and a phone call from the shop that undoes the point of having a list at all.
A list that works has to be editable by everyone, visible instantly, and specific enough to buy from.
What makes an item buyable by someone else
- The exact product, not the category. Milk is a category, lactose free 1 L is a product
- Quantity, because two people buying one each is a common failure
- Who added it, so a question has someone to go to
- A photo for anything specific
- Which shop it belongs to, when it is not sold everywhere
Ticking off in real time is the part that matters
When two people shop at the same time, a list that does not sync produces two of everything. Specsy updates on every phone as items are ticked, so the second person sees an empty list rather than a duplicate trolley.
The same applies at home. Someone finishes the washing powder, adds it from the utility room, and it is on the list before they have left the room.
How a household usually starts
- One shared list, not fiveStart with the weekly shop. Specialist lists can come later, if they turn out to be needed.
- Invite the adults firstChildren can be added later, and mostly add things to the list rather than clear it.
- Link the repeat items to cardsThe coffee you always buy and the tablets you always buy stop needing to be described every week.
Questions people ask
How many people can share one list?
Three people on the free plan and ten on Pro, each on their own phone.
Does everyone need the app?
Yes, everyone who takes part needs Specsy on their phone. Joining itself is one link: you send an invite, they open it, and the list appears in their app.
Can we split who paid for what?
Yes. Specsy can total up what each person spent from a shared list and show who owes whom.