Grocery shopping nags at me... it mocks me. And when I try to shop with Sir Dynamite and Miss Tater-Tot... it laughs loud, obnoxious, belly laughs at me. For that reason, I avoid taking both kiddos to the store like the plague. When I'm in a serious bind (ie: completely out of diapers, wipes, or formula) I'll stick Tatum in the cozy-covered cart chair and Trevor in the germ-infested basket. She delights passersby with cheeky smiles- he delights himself as he takes giant bites out of unopened hotdogs, pokes holes in anything pliable, and makes himself "soo tall" while stacking and sitting on formula cans or diaper boxes.
So I shop at night, when my angels are sleeping. Shopping at night means resigning myself to bottom-of-the-barrel produce and some empty shelves. I recognize that at the end of a 12 hour day, the place is going to be picked-over. But last night... "picked over" hit a new level.
I love Target. For many reasons... it's fantastic. I love being able to buy bread, mascara, and shoes at the same place. That kind of efficiency really works in my world.
And I hate Target... because for all it boasts to be... it really let me down yesterday.
Yesterday, I numbered our rations and realized I had 6 diapers left, and 2 servings of baby food. This meant a trip to the store was inevitable. Because I knew I would be buying a lot of squishy produce-I didn't dare take the kids (see note above). And because I love my husband, and like to spend time with my family, I chose to wait until after dinner, bath, and bed-time to leave.
When buying meat or produce, I normally try avoid Target, because in my experience...well, "fresh" is not one of their strong points. However, when buying diapers... I stick with mega-stores, where I can buy mega-sized boxes.
I needed four main things: Diapers, Milk, Produce, and Mascara. Target has it all- Target wins.
EXCEPT...
- When going to buy diapers, I head to the aisle to find ZERO boxes of size 5 diapers. Their shelves were near empty, with the exception of the super small packs of twenty-something. Seriously? I have two kids in size 5's... 25 diapers would last through... Friday? So I bought two... at over $10 a pack.
- Milk is next. I head to the fridge and grab a gallon of skim for the grown-ups and go to grab a gallon of whole milk for Trevor. And no, it isn't organic. (The shameful truth is, I stopped buying organic because my wallet really didn't like it.) But on this fateful day, the shelves were again EMPTY. There was not ONE gallon of whole milk. I move to the organic section and had to remove two bent, dented, barely contained gallons before finding one SIX dollar jug that wasn't about to explode. The expiration date? September 3rd. The near-empty gallon sitting in our fridge says September 5th.
- Produce is next. I need Pears, Peaches, Apples, Squash, and Sweet Potatoes. There were no pears, and no squash (things other stores have no trouble carrying.) And friends, the produce they did have was literally ROTTING on the stands. Their organic peaches were black. The apples were mushy.
So I left with what I had (a heaping helping of disappointment and irritation), and stopped at another store on my way home to get what I'd missed.
All of this leads me thinking... there has GOT to be a better way. So tell me... what is it?
5 comments:
If you live in the same town I live (being vague for privacy sake) then that Target has disappointment me too! The shelves were empty in several places as well. I totally know that frustration! I even went back 2 days later for the same thing hoping it was re-stocked and it wasn't. Seriouly...frustrating. I always have good luck at Tom Thumb (and do the grocery game) but it's not an "all in one" stop. Hope today goes better!
Buy baby food in a jar, take candy for Trevor to eat while in basket, (smarties!!) sing to Tatum, bring your own can of Lysol in the car to spray the basket before putting them in it, park by the basket retrieval place, and pray for strength. Ha!! Take any/none of those and apply :) I love Target but agree that it might take a grocery store! Ps Ty was one of 2 kids in all of Prestonwood with the cheap nap mat! Lol
Grocery shopping is the WORST! Sometimes I'll just starve rather than going to the store...lol. I usually have to go to 3 stores to get everything I need.
O.K., I share your love/hate relationship with Target...you've seen my post on them before.
Like Mary mentioned, I carry a travel-sized can of lysol that I disinfect the cart with. If at Target, I always buy Ryder a bag of popcorn, filled only half-way. Avoids spills and occupies him the whole shopping trip. If going to another grocery (and I refuse to go to multiple stores, so in your scenario, I would have chosen the same place), I always take a little bag of "cookies" with me. I say "Cookies", because right now he thinks any cracker, popcorn, snack, etc...is a cookie.
I do buy Organic Milk..hit Kroger if you can, their Organic Milk is much less than anyone else. If you choose to buy Organic, by 2- half gallons instead of one gallon. It is cheaper and the expiration date is way further out. I have never figured that one out. Their produce is always fresh (at least at the one by my house).
I always save the diaper / formula (if that applies, which it soon will for me again, too) run for the weekend and go to Costco. We make it a family outing. Matt loves Costco, so we all get to go somewhere together and I have help! The diapers and wipes are a lot cheaper and they seem to last awhile.
Watch CVS for things like Mascara and Diapers as well. With coupons and their Extra Care Bucks, you can sometimes make money on a deal. Have to be smart in how you do it. Example, one time they had diapers on special where you received $3 in Extra Care Bucks. I also had a $2 coupon. So, I pay for the diapers, get my $3 Extra Care Bucks back and go put my diapers in the car. Come back in and purchase my $6 razor that I have a $2 coupon for along with my $3 Extra Care bucks and only have to pay $1. Can be a little more time consuming, but it makes you feel really good when you save that money!!! I always come home and "Brag" to Matt about how much I just saved!! Target is a coupon Nazi, so we won't even go there!
O.K., I've written you a novel...so sorry! But that's my "Two Cents". I don't have two kiddos just yet, so some of my advice might change..but for now, that's how I get it done!
P.S., Carley is right...you can have very good luck at Tom Thumb if you play the Grocery Game! I think their produce is a little higher than Kroger's though...
Post a Comment