I make a list of the things I'm having for dinner for the week.
Tuscan Potato Soup Asian Stir Fry Pesto
Usually limited to just 3 meals, because I buy a lot of fresh veggies and this seems to be the sweet spot where I can get all 3 meals cooked before ingredients go bad.
You can get a whiteboard for the fridge for those 'special' items -- just write the date it goes bad on the whiteboard. The process of doing this will help just as much as walking past the fridge and seeing it every time.
I'm a bit of an extremist in the kitchen, so I have a notebook with all my recipes, then add the grocery list (and meals!) to a different notebook I can take to the store.
Then you just live off the grocery notebook and cross out meals after you make them. Mine stays propped up on a kitchen shelf.