Please don't make me go to Giant again, ever.

[jjquantz]

That was the subject line on the email I sent DW this morning. We had a really busy weekend and she had no time to go to Giant to buy the loss leaders that are the only reason we shop there. I do most of shopping at Aldi. So last night she made up a list and said, I quote, "I tried to keep it simple."

There were only 14 items on the list, so I blithely went out this morning after rush hour.

You can judge the success of my trip from the body of the email which read:

Why?

1) The Pillsbury flour on sale was only the regular all-purpose, not the unbleached. So I bought the Giant brand.

2) They had 10 different kinds of Tide, but not the Simply Clean and none of it was BOGO.

3) What kind of Lipton tea? There were only 5 or 6 choices.

4) Mangoes were tiny and didn't look good.

5) Don't tell me I bought the wrong crackers, I tried to follow your instructions but there were SO MANY CHOICES.

6) Largest Roast was 3.5 pounds, so I got that.

7) What the hell IS Brownie Brittle, anyway?

8) The only caramels I found were Ghirardelli, pretty sure you didn't mean that.

9) Initially grabbed the wrong pork tenderloins and had to go to the service desk for a refund. After I got home, I'm not so sure that the Giant brand was really that much of a better deal, even with BOGO.

Not bad, 14 items on the list and only 9 caused me frustration.

Hope your day is going well.

Fortunately, she took the note with good humor because she is a wonderful human being.

 

[Walt34]

Reminds me of this Jeanne Robertson's:

 

[RunningBum]

Or from Mr. Mom

 

[jazz4cash]

I have the same issue with Giant but I have to beg for a list or write my self. If I get a list it just says "cheese" (how much and what kind?) but that gives me a huge margin for error.

 

[sengsational]

It depends on the list maker. I had the opposite result when I shopped from my sister's list for a houseboat stocking run. I realized after I got home, I could have very easily entered her list into the walmart grocery store app and just driven through and had them put it all in the trunk. Mind you, I had the non-perishable list as my assignment, so everything was boxed (none of the 'too small mangoes' problems).

 

[rodi]

I find grocery shopping frustrating in general. So I go every week & 1/2 or 2 weeks on a costco run - and let DH fill in the stuff in between.

I also insist that I arrive at Costco before they open - so I can zip through fast - before the crowds build. And I ****never****, under any circumstance, go on a weekend.

We keep a list on the fridge - both DH and the kids add to it. So I have to decide on the fly if the kids request for junky type foods is legit or not. And I have to interpret DHs spelling. (The man cannot spell spanish words at all - 'tortia' instead of tortilla for example)

I shopped this morning. I'm good for another week and a half.

 

[splitwdw]

jjquantz, It sounds like list maker error and not Giant. Why didn't your wife list what kind of crackers? Did she tell you and you forgot? lol

 

[jjquantz]

jjquantz, It sounds like list maker error and not Giant. Why didn't your wife list what kind of crackers? Did she tell you and you forgot? lol

There was a bit of list maker error, to be sure. She did mention some kinds of crackers, but the descriptions were somewhat more generic than what was printed on the boxes. Ignoring her small mistakes is what keeps me in her good graces.

 

[Walt34]

jjquantz, It sounds like list maker error and not Giant. Why didn't your wife list what kind of crackers? Did she tell you and you forgot? lol

I have (finally!) gotten DW trained to write specifically how many and specifically what brand and flavor, etc. she wants when I go to the grocery store alone. She'll even leave an empty box or bottle on the counter next to the grocery list to show me.

Hey, it works for us.

 

[jjquantz]

I have (finally!) gotten DW trained to write specifically how many and specifically what brand and flavor, etc. she wants when I go to the grocery store alone. She'll even leave an empty box or bottle on the counter next to the grocery list to show me.

Hey, it works for us.

DW has probably developed an excessive confidence in my abilities since I do our regular grocery shopping (successfully) at Aldi without a list. As most of you know, Aldi doesn't present the shopper with the plethora of decisions that one of the major chains does. At Aldi, "green beans" means "green beans," "Molasses cookies" means "molasses cookies," etc. There is no need for greater specificity.

Why on god's green earth are there 10 different varieties of Tide?

 

[braumeister]

Why on god's green earth are there 10 different varieties of Tide?

I hear ya!
Last week I happened to notice that my local supermarket had (by actual measurement) 27 linear feet of shelves holding I don't know how many different variations of Oreo cookies.

 

[splitwdw]

DW has probably developed an excessive confidence in my abilities since I do our regular grocery shopping (successfully) at Aldi without a list. As most of you know, Aldi doesn't present the shopper with the plethora of decisions that one of the major chains does. At Aldi, "green beans" means "green beans," "Molasses cookies" means "molasses cookies," etc. There is no need for greater specificity.

Why on god's green earth are there 10 different varieties of Tide?

For every day shopping my husband or I can shop off of each others list because we eat the same thing most of the time. I know kind of boring but works for us. He can write "crackers" and we only buy 1 brand of saltines and how can you go wrong with romaine? We don't buy roasts unless it's for company. We eat chicken or fish and he buys himself an occasional steak. If it's shopping for company, I usually do the shopping because I make the meals.
I wish there was only 1 Tide, unscented. My migraines don't like smelly stuff

 

[jjquantz]

For every day shopping my husband or I can shop off of each others list because we eat the same thing most of the time. I know kind of boring but works for us. He can write "crackers" and we only buy 1 brand of saltines and how can you go wrong with romaine? We don't buy roasts unless it's for company. We eat chicken or fish and he buys himself an occasional steak. If it's shopping for company, I usually do the shopping because I make the meals.
I wish there was only 1 Tide, unscented. My migraines don't like smelly stuff

That's the way we are, usually. But when we do the loss leader hunt we are usually getting out of the ordinary stuff. So, I'm sure that "Keebler Club Crackers" sounded specific enough, but then I get there and there are whole grain, traditional, low-sodium, and who knows what else. And "Tide Simply Clean" could not have been more specific, but this Giant only had 10 other varieties.

 

[Dreamer]

Reminds me of this Jeanne Robertson's:

Thanks, Walt. I really needed this laugh today!

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I also insist that I arrive at Costco before they open - so I can zip through fast - before the crowds build.

Don't you miss the free samples that way?

 

[Marita40]

You don't know what Brownie Brittle is? To die for!

 

[Bestwifeever]

DW has probably developed an excessive confidence in my abilities since I do our regular grocery shopping (successfully) at Aldi without a list. As most of you know, Aldi doesn't present the shopper with the plethora of decisions that one of the major chains does. At Aldi, "green beans" means "green beans," "Molasses cookies" means "molasses cookies," etc. There is no need for greater specificity.

Why on god's green earth are there 10 different varieties of Tide?

And easy peasy--you have cruised every aisle at Aldi's, paid, bagged your stuff, and are back in your car before you could reach the dairy department of the typical grocery store, never mind Costco. We went to Costco today and the three items we bought took us twenty minutes to find. No samples either but it's not really about the samples any more.

 

[anethum]

4) Mangoes were tiny and didn't look good.

I'm guessing that the "tiny" mangoes were the Ataulfo variety. The skin is solid yellow and they are smaller than most mango varieties. However, they have a superior taste and texture. The flesh is smooth and much less stringy than the bigger varieties which get imported to the U.S. Definitely worth trying if you haven't had them before.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ataulfo_(mango)

 

[Aerides]

I only send DH out for small orders - single digits, and only for things I need that day if he is going nearby anyway. And I show him the actual item already in our house, or a photo, or say things that I know will register, like "the milk with the purple label".

Last Saturday we popped in together, I wanted cold meds, we needed bacon - he went to the bacon aisle, he got the same kind we always get (points!), but it was on BOGO... and there were signs, and he came back with ONE pack (minus points!) I didn't have the heart to tell him or he'll use that as a darn good reason to never go again.

I asked him to get tissues earlier in same cold. Both our bathrooms have nice tissue covers for the cube/square tissue boxes we have used for EVER. He came back with rectangle box tissues. I was like "have you seen either of our bathrooms before?"

 

[jjquantz]

Shared the thread with DW. She enjoyed it, especially the video clips. She wanted me to point out that she does NOT send me to the international grocery to "buy rice." She figures that would make my head explode.

 

[mpeirce]

Since we divide up meals (I make breakfast, she makes dinner, we both fix our own lunch) we both usually visit the grocery roughly one a week (plus the monthly Costco run).

Since I eat low carb and she has celiac disease, we avoid 90%+ of the products in the center of the market. I just visit produce, meats, dairy, plus a couple of exceptions. Fewer choices (well, there do seem to lots of apple varieties, same with cheeses, yum...) keeps things simple. It's also why we gave up coupons. They were almost always for products we no longer purchase.

Works for us.

 

[Al in Ohio]

No sympathy here. You should be making your own lists for meals you are helping to make. Personally I love to not only grocery shop but make the meals or "co-make" a meal throughout the week and the list in my hand is mine.

 

[rodi]

Don't you miss the free samples that way?

For the most part. But I also miss the shopping cart idiots who block all paths anywhere near the food samples....

When my husband goes - he does multiple passes past the food fairies... that's his main reason to go to Costco.

jfquantz - I have no idea why there are so many different varieties of tide. I always buy the house brand.

 

[Al in Ohio]

And easy peasy--you have cruised every aisle at Aldi's, paid, bagged your stuff, and are back in your car before you could reach the dairy department of the typical grocery store, never mind Costco. We went to Costco today and the three items we bought took us twenty minutes to find. No samples either but it's not really about the samples any more.

Oh it's all about the samples! At my Costco you can eat enough samples to forget about lunch!

 

[splitwdw]

I only send DH out for small orders - ....
I asked him to get tissues earlier in same cold. Both our bathrooms have nice tissue covers for the cube/square tissue boxes we have used for EVER. He came back with rectangle box tissues. I was like "have you seen either of our bathrooms before?"

This made me laugh. Maybe you should make up a book or paper similar to the thread "Leaving behind a spouse who is not an investor".