Free Checklist Templates

After looking at the search data on my site, the one phrase in the top 10 that kept coming up was "checklist". So, by popular demand, we've created a few different printable checklists along with some checklist templates that you can edit in Excel, Word and Google Sheets.

Update 11/20/23: Good News! Excel is finally adding an in-cell checkbox feature like Google Sheets. This will make to do lists and checklists SO much better and easier.

Check List Templates

House Cleaning Checklist

Excel, GS, Word, PDF

Prepare for a visit, spring-clean, or create a cleaning schedule.

Spring Cleaning Checklist

Excel, GS, PDF

A room-by-room checklist for seasonal cleaning.

Packing Checklist

Excel, GS, Word, PDF

Be prepared for your vacation, business travel, or college.

Camping Checklist

Excel, GS, PDF

Download a general checklist for your camping trip.

Backpacking Checklist

Excel, GS, PDF

Use this backpacking list to help you remember the essentials. Includes packing tips.

Moving Checklist

Excel, PDF, ODS, GD

Things to do to get ready and things to do after you've moved.

Baby Items Checklist

Excel, Word, PDF, ODS

A comprehensive list of baby supplies including general care, clothing, diapers, feeding, sleeping, etc.

Grocery List

Excel, PDF, ODS

Print a simple blank grocery list or a categorized grocery list.

Annual Calendar / Checklist

Excel, ODS

This annual calendar was designed to be used as a New Year's Resolution Checklist.

Wedding Checklist

Excel, GS, PDF, ODS

Stuff to consider when planning a wedding.

Wedding Planning Checklist with Priority

Excel, GS

Uses fun Excel features like conditional formatting to cross out items when completed.

Grocery List with Meals

Excel, PDF, GS

List your weekly meals and create a categorized grocery list using this simple template for Excel.

Task Checklist Template

Excel, GS

A general-purpose task list for assignments, projects, or whatever.

Grocery Checklist - Print and Fold

Excel, PDF, GS

Print four separate grocery lists on a single page then fold in half twice to make a list that fits in your pocket.

To Do and Task Lists

To Do List

Excel, GS

Great for creating to do lists for projects.

Prioritized To Do List

Excel, PDF

A printable to do list for highlighting primary and secondary tasks.

Simple To Do List

Excel, PDF

A very simple 2-column or 3-column to do list for Excel or PDF.

Homework To Do List

Excel, GS, PDF

A to do list spreadsheet designed for tracking homework assignments.

Daily To Do List

Excel, PDF

Print a to do list for checking off your most important tasks on specific days of the week.

Family To Do List

Excel, PDF

Print separate to do lists for different family members or task categories on one page.

Project Task List Template

Excel, GS

A simple general-purpose Excel task list for simple projects.

Simple Task Tracker

Excel, GS

A simple task list that demonstrates the use of custom icon sets to display priorities.

Action Items Template

Excel, GS

Download templates for tracking and ranking action items.

Other List Templates

Wedding Guestlist Template

Excel 2007+

Make a list of people to invite to your wedding dinner and reception. Track RSVPs and estimate costs.

SMART Goal Worksheet

Excel, GS, PDF

Create a SMART goal and check off the steps as you complete them.

Contact List

Excel, GS, ODS

Create a list for gifts, Christmas cards, service company contacts, etc.

Medication List

Excel, Word, GS

Create and print a list of medications, pills, vitamins, and supplements.

Customer List

Excel

Add a Customer List worksheet to your invoice, work order, or other worksheet. Includes instructions for how to set up a drop-down list and create lookup formulas.

Printable Password List

Excel, PDF

Keep track of your online usernames and passwords with a printable password list. Remember to store your list in a secure location.

Password Log

Excel, PDF

Maintain a sortable list of online usernames and passwords using Excel. Remember to store your data securely. Not recommended for websites that store financial or other sensitive data.

Grocery Price Book

Excel

Track grocery prices so that you can know when to buy items on sale. Edit and use on the go via mobile Excel.

Feature Comparison Template

Excel

This template includes many different techniques for creating a feature comparison table with ratings and check marks.

Pros and Cons List

Excel, GS

Create a pros and cons list when you need help making an important decision.

Phone List Template

Excel

Learn how to create a sortable 2-column phone directory in Excel.

Home Inspection Checklist

Excel, Word, PDF, GS

A room-by-room inspection checklist for home buyers and sellers. For personal use, not for official certified inspections.

Eisenhower Matrix

Excel, GS

An Eisenhower Matrix helps you prioritize your tasks.

Creating Checklists in Excel

The main question people have when creating a checklist in Excel is what method to use to create the check box. I've listed the most common methods below, along with an explanation of the uses and pros/cons.

• Cell Borders - This is perhaps that simplest and fastest way to create a checklist from scratch. Just size the column containing the check boxes so that they appear square. It is easy to customize by copying and pasting items, inserting new items, etc. I use this approach in the wedding and camping checklists.
• Special Unicode Characters in Data Validation Lists: ☐, ☑, ✓, ✔ - This may be my favorite approach. You can include special characters like this in a Data Validation drop-down list. This isn't quite as good as clicking once to fill in a checkbox, but it is great for the mobile Excel apps. The only hard part is remembering how to insert a check mark symbol in Excel. For more information, see my article Using Unicode Character Symbols in Excel.
• Parentheses (  ) or Brackets [  ] - This is a very common simple approach for including a checkbox within a text-based file. You'll see this approach used a lot in legal documents and other types of forms. If that's the look you're going for with your checklist, then by all means, go for it.
• Autoshapes (Drawing Objects) - I don't recommend this approach unless you are going for something fancy, like using fluffy clouds in your check list. Moving a bunch of autoshapes around in the spreadsheet can get messy and annoying.
• Checkbox Form Object - Use the checkbox form field only if you are wanting to add interactivity to your checklist. The checkbox form field, found in the Forms toolbar, can link to a cell in the spreadsheet without requiring any Visual Basic programming. The linked cell will be a boolean value TRUE or FALSE. Like the drawing objects, working with a large number of checkboxes can get messy.

Creating a Checklist in Google Sheets

Google Sheets beat Microsoft to the punch and introduced a Checkbox as one of the Data Validation options. You can go to Insert > Checkbox to quickly create one, and you can customize it by going to Data > Data Validation. I've updated most of the Google Sheets versions of my checklists to use that feature. I hope Excel gets smart and introduces a similar feature some day.