Household spreadsheets that answer a real question

Leila makes the grocery list change with the plan

Leila Gharani starts with a problem she keeps meeting: buying ingredients for dinner and then finding more of them at home. In her tutorial she makes a sheet for the meals she plans to cook, the quantities those meals need and what is already in the cupboard. A separate “to buy” column subtracts the amount on hand from the amount needed.

For a week with soup and pasta, she needs three tins of tomatoes and has two. The sheet shows one to buy. She changes the meal plan to use four tins instead, and the result changes to two. She shows how the subtraction refers to the two quantities, then checks the answer against the cupboard before shopping.

The following week Leila opens the same sheet, updates what remains and swaps a meal. The list is useful because it changes with her plans: she is not rebuilding it every time or treating last week’s cupboard count as current.

Pulenaz compares the packs

Pulenaz wants to choose between two laundry detergent packs. In her spreadsheet she enters the price and the number of washes on each label, then divides price by washes. One pack costs $12 for 30 washes, or $0.40 per wash; the other costs $21 for 60, or $0.35 per wash.

The larger pack is cheaper per wash, but takes more space and costs more today. Pulenaz chooses the smaller one for her current cupboard and marks the larger pack as an option to reconsider later. The sheet makes the trade-off visible without deciding it for her.

Excel can calculate with ordinary arithmetic: Microsoft’s guide explains that a formula starts with an equals sign and uses a slash for division or a minus sign for subtraction.

References: Microsoft Support

Two sheets, two useful decisions

Leila’s sheet answers “what is missing before I shop?” Pulenaz’s answers “what am I paying for each wash?” Both start with information the person can update, and each ends with a decision outside the spreadsheet.

Sources and attribution

1. Microsoft Support

   Use Excel as your calculatorPublication date not listed · Recorded Oct 30, 2026