People Can’t Get Over This Vintage Metal Grocery List and We Want One Immediately
Source: Reddit
Following a lengthy day, there’s something oddly therapeutic about wandering through the grocery store aisles or scouting for hidden treasures, but there are times when efficiency takes precedence, and I must swiftly collect my essentials without any delay.
In either scenario, the one constant is my trusty, well-organized grocery list. While I understand the importance of crafting such a list, I am not particularly fond of the prospect of rummaging through my pantry and cupboards to ascertain what items need replenishing before jotting them down. Regrettably, this inevitably results in overlooking crucial items, like cereal, only to realize our deficiency when breakfast beckons the following morning.
Dating back to the 1940s, and possibly even as early as the 1920s, a brilliant solution emerged for this predicament: the mechanical shopping list, an ingenious contraption to hang in the kitchen, conspicuously displaying the status of pantry essentials.
Recently, a Reddit user stumbled upon one of these relics and shared their discovery. Here’s how it operates:
A vintage metal shopping list
by u/de_asset in Damnthatsinteresting
Adjacent to each engraved item on the list, you’ll find flexible metal tabs. If one were to employ a vintage metal shopping list of this nature, the process is simple. Initially, ensure that all the tabs are uniformly oriented, either flat or bent in the same direction. Subsequently, when you deplete a particular item, such as bacon, a quick adjustment involves bending the corresponding tab in the opposite direction. Convenient, isn’t it?
Granted, this list may seem somewhat rudimentary by contemporary standards. Where are the entries for oat milk and Cheez-Its? The inherent limitation lies in its lack of customization, rendering it potentially inadequate for the modern pantry. Nevertheless, there is an undeniable charm in encountering entries like “catsup” on the list.
For those intrigued by the prospect of acquiring a vintage metal shopping list, they can be found on platforms such as Etsy or at local flea markets and garage sales. Some may even bear labels in French or German, albeit with limited functionality. Nevertheless, they can serve as delightful decorative pieces, particularly for aficionados of the antique aesthetic. Securely hung on a wall, these vintage relics can make splendid additions to the ambiance of your kitchen or pantry.