# Lists and Routing

## Your existing lists come first

Yaffi always prefers a list you already have over creating a new one. It understands list names in any language — "Einkaufen," "Spesa," or "Groceries 🛒" are all recognized as shopping lists, for example — so it works with however you've already organized Reminders.

## It remembers what it learns

Once Yaffi figures out what a list is for, it caches that mapping on your phone. It only needs to ask again when you create a list it hasn't seen before.

## When nothing fits

If none of your existing lists match a category, Yaffi creates one standard list for it — Shopping or Home — the first time it's needed, and reuses it after that.

## "Other" items are never forced

Reminders that don't clearly belong to a specific category are still moved to a sensible list, but Yaffi never forces an uncertain item onto a list just because a category was suggested. When in doubt, it takes the safer route rather than guessing.

Some lists are off-limits entirely, or the only ones Yaffi looks at — see [Protected and Watched Lists](/en/docs/protected-and-watched-lists.md).