The One With 4 Stores

It's crazy.

Insane.

This grocery shopping thing is making my head spin.

Our main store, let's call it Schmaleys, well they are highly over-priced.

So we switched to an alternate store Chafehay. The prices are better.

But, the change is overwhelming. Overwhelming because we had to learn a new road map to maneuver the place.

It's like coming home to find your bedroom on the opposite side of your house, and the shower outside.

It's that crazy.

Our main store was like our second home. Plus, the produce and meat selection....like one of our children. Huggable, loveable, 7% fat and fresh.

Imagine my horror when I tried to choose a few good kids at the "other" store. The meat is not as lean. The celery, not as crisp.

Then we tried gargantuan Scmalbart. Even better prices, but the meat and produce...not worthy or our main store.

Don't get me started on Plarget. I am anxiously awaiting their addition of a produce and meat section, so I can just pop a tent in the outdoor section and live there.

Damn it! Trying to make a dang good meal requires 4 stores, two towns, and hours of stress.

Why can't this be easier?!

32 supporters in group:

  1. ~gail~mooselovingmamabear said...

    Hahaha, I can relate, except our only store in town became a "super" store and it's like grocery store aerobics. It's awful if you forget something on one end of the store when you're on the other. Push your big ole' cart up and down, up and down.... whew...

  2. Jill said...

    Trust me... I completely feel your pain. Just on an entirely different (and somewhat more horrific) level!! :)

  3. SweetPeaSurry said...

    These are the times I love being single, childless and fancy free. I spent 20 bucks on sammich fixins that will last me two weeks. HAH! I love it!

    Oh ... I didn't mean to be 'in your face' like that. Really. I'm actually freaking out a bit about da monies this month.

  4. Martha said...

    I too have four stores that I need to shop at to really buy all of the stuff I want or need. Luckily three of them are within 2 miles of my houe, but really who has the time! I sure have changed my shopping habits in the past few months attempting to cut spending!

  5. Tenakim said...

    you took the words out of my mouth and off of my computer screen!!! I JUST had a similar convo with my sister- so plese don't think I'm a big copy cat when you see my similar post.

  6. The Mother said...

    I don't get this either. But I have learned from my mistakes and misfortunes.

    Since my kids go through an average of eight gallons of milk a week, and even with two refrigerators and a freezer, there just isn't enough room for it all, that means multiple shopping trips, anyway.

    So, since they ALL carry milk, a little shopping list gerrymandering means I can get everything I need over the course of the week, by visiting only one store at a time.

    Until I get home, and someone says, "Mom, I forgot to tell you we were out of..."

  7. Jo-Jo said...

    I feel you. I do the same thing.

  8. Mrs. Schmitty said...

    I feel your pain. Near me there is Peapod (dot com) and it uses Stop and Shop. I can place an order online and they deliver!! The delivery charge is only about $7. I just order the sale items and then buy other things at my regular store. It makes a difference.

    Is there something like that near you?

  9. Heather @ Simple Wives said...

    Haha...I can feel your pain! I hate it when we try to shop and grocery stores that we are unfamiliar with.

  10. Sass said...

    You are SO right. I hate the fact that MY store (We'll call it...Fleijer, lol) has THE freshest produce, the best meat, but not always the best prices.

    Ugh.

    Oh well, I'm going to stay true because of convenience.

  11. Anonymous said...

    I feel your pain. I scour the ads each week and choose one drugstore (Walgreens, CVS or Rite-Aid), one grocery store (Meijer or Kroger) and one superstore (Walmart or Target). So I hit at least three stores every week, sometimes more. Thankfully, all of my stores are within one mile of each other. They are also in the process of converting our Walmart into a Super Walmart. I hope their meat and produce selection is decent so I can cut out one of my stops each week, but I'm not hopeful. The things we'll do in this economy to save a few bucks...

  12. Eyeglasses & Endzones said...

    Yeah, that is just wrong...do you have any companies that deliver to your house? That makes it less stressful and I bet it might be cheaper than the FANCY store...that was a good compromise for me a while ago but then guess what...I was back at Plarget!!!!

  13. Mary@Holy Mackerel said...

    There used to be a time when I'd spend the better part of Saturday touring the city for various stores...not anymore. I couldn't be bothered, and I'm too old now...

  14. Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

    I can so relate...we need one store for the prices, one for the produce and meat, and one store for tp, etc.

    Ugghhh...it's all so frustrating and overwhelming.

  15. Evolving Mommy Catherine said...

    I shop in 2 or 3 different store weekly. I spend most of our food budget at our main store but there are a two other smaller places with great deals on produce and/or coffee and spices. It can be a pain but my grocery budget is not a guide it's a rule. The thing I have noticed about Plarget is that although their meat and produce is nice it's way more expensive than other stores.

    Um, it wasn't my intention to write you a novel but I did so, yeah.

  16. TentCamper said...

    I am soooooooo the grocery shopper of the house. I do, though go to 3 different stores. they each have certain items that I like to get. As for the main grocery store, or any grocery store...I hate learning new places to find everything...though I DO go down every single aisle...I just have to...I'm a freak like that!

  17. Elaine at Matters of the Heart) said...

    Oh yes, I can relate. I am actually laughing very hard, because it sounds so familiar.

  18. Jamey said...

    I can relate as well! stop the madness!

  19. Anonymous said...

    oo I feel your pains! What I do is plan my meals for the month go to the cheap store for anything that is not perishable and go to the more expensive store for the stuff that is.

  20. Mrs4444 said...

    I know, and Schmalbart no longer sells Propel by the quart, so at least I can cross them off my list now and shop at Target instead. Fortunately, our grocery store has everything I like except a special bread, but I can buy that frozen 3 at a time, so we're good there. :)

  21. Lynn C Mama to 3 said...

    I am bad... I pay too much for the convenience of not having to drive far away or wander the aisles trying desperately to find my Nestle Quik. I am lazy, I admit it... I just excuse it by claiming to be a voluntary part of the economic stimulus package.

  22. Unknown said...

    I feel the same way about change...lol.

  23. jen aka mommay said...

    I cannot bring myself to buy meat at Schmalbart...it's not natural for fresh meat to be fresh for that long! I like my Shaw's, um...Smaw's because it's 2 minutes away and the prices are just dandy.

  24. Unknown said...

    I often visit two, but not four! EGADS!!

    And we all know I LOVE me some Plarget, with the exception of their groceries...

  25. Jenni said...

    I tend to shop at whatever store I am closest to because I am horribly lazy...

  26. Messy Mommy said...

    We have 2 grocery stores that are about double the price of walmart, which is an hour away.

    P.S. They should make ALL walmarts with the same layout. Now wouldn't that just make sense?

  27. Laura Marchant said...

    This is why this weekend when the Hubs offered to take BG and do all the shopping I happily sat on the couch and said OK!

  28. Linda S said...

    Lately I've added PMS and Shmallgreens, just for the rebates and coupons.
    I feel your pain...

  29. Anonymous said...

    You have my sympathy. Bet it snows there, too.

    Barbara

  30. Brittany said...

    Even though it kills my soul, we shop at Walmart, best prices. As for meat, we started buying a whole cow a few years ago, and it's the best investment ever, we always have meat in our freezer. And in the summer, our local farmers market is the cheapest for produce. If I need chicken, I turn to gigantic frozen bags fo it from a wholesale giant.

  31. Aracely said...

    Don't y'all have a Stater Bros? I think that would solve all your problems... move down south a little ;-)

  32. Helene said...

    I can totally relate to this post!! I was shopping at Smart Foods for awhile until I realized that Safeway had much better prices and deals but it totally threw me off when I had to learn my way around Safeway. I felt a little out of sorts for awhile!!

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