Large Print Lists: Free Printable Sheets

Which large print list should I print?

Pick the sheet by the job it has to do. A large print grocery list has category blocks and blank lines for the weekly shop. The large print to-do list has big check boxes, and it suits the small jobs of the day or week. The large print phone book gives each name and number its own tall row, with alphabet tabs, so you can find a person quickly. The large print address book has room for a full address on each entry, for holiday cards and for a family that moves often.

Most people keep two or three of these together. A folder by the phone, with the phone book on top, works well, and so does a clipboard in the kitchen for the grocery list.

How do I make a list easy to read?

Use the largest size you can read without leaning in. The guidelines of the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) set 18 point as the smallest size for large print, and many people prefer 24 or 28 point for handwriting space and for reading from a chair. Write with a dark, wide marker rather than pencil, because faint pencil disappears on a printed line. Matte paper avoids glare, and the cream background option softens it further.

Print a new copy when a page is full or crossed out. It costs a few cents, and a clean sheet is much easier to read than a crowded one. If you want to add your own text, the large print maker turns anything you paste into a PDF in the same layout. What is large print explains the rules behind these sheets.

What should go on a list for someone with low vision?

Keep each line short: one item, one name, one task. Put the most important people at the top of the phone book, such as family, the doctor and a neighbor, and mark them with a thick line. Write numbers with a space between groups. On the to-do list, tick each box with a big mark so that it is clear from across the room what is finished.

If you are helping someone else, ask them to choose the type size and the sheet, and let them do the writing where they can. A sheet that suits its user is used, and one that does not is put away. The large print calendar pairs well with a list, since dates go on the calendar and the tasks that go with them go on the list.