Shopping and restocking updates

[harley]

What are a few weeks or month out of your life. Southern Michigan is raging with COVID. It think it is incredibly selfish for Michiganders not to stay put until this cools off. These PROTESTERS are people that are only thinking of themselves, not their families, friends, or communities. Michigan is loaded with beautiful lakes and scenery. BUT, This is NOT the time to go roaming with your camper, launch at ramps, cottages up north, or create any problems that would put others in harms way. Nothing is ever a problem until it is. Michigan has a serious health crisis that doesn't need to be spread further across the state. Stay put and stop bellyaching. IT WILL CALM DOWN SOON.

The few weeks or months can be the difference between the survival of a business (and everyone who depends on it for employment) and it's death. Most people are fine with legitimate limits, but explain the logic between being able to buy plywood at Lowes, but not paint. Why is the lottery deemed essential, but not vegetable seeds. Why shouldn't a person be able to leave their home in Detroit and go to their other home in the UP where the chance of infection is lower? Why should they be able to take their canoe out, but not their jon boat? Those incredibly arbitrary rules are the reason people are protesting, and if they weren't so arbitrary and micromanaged the people wouldn't be protesting. You reap what you sow.

 

[RetMD21]

I'm not judging but I did notice that the change from outrage at not being able to buy seeds to not being able to buy them at HD. FWIW I haven't seen many >50,000 square foot stores in the UP Here is a you tube link to an attorney who bought seeds at a < 50,000 square foot store.

My social media feed is full of people who are outraged at things they misunderstood.

 

[Aerides]

My social media feed is full of people who are outraged at things they misunderstood.

sounds like you need to better curate your feed then.

 

[youbet]

they are good folks

Emmmmm....... I'm doubting that Rex! Home Depot Carrot Seed Junkies are among the very worse tenants you can have. Their aberrant behavior may be passing under your radar but, believe me, it's only the tip of the iceberg! Next thing you know, they'll be explaining that only Home Depot carrot seeds grow well at "Deer Camp."

What were you thinking?

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

So I am confused with all of the back and forth, including some mods. Simple question: Can I buy seeds from HD - yes or no?

 

[Gumby]

So I am confused with all of the back and forth, including some mods. Simple question: Can I buy seeds from HD - yes or no?

What state do you live in? If you lived in CT, you could buy seeds at Home Depot.

 

[Mdlerth]

Long live Doctor Demento!

Emmmmm....... I'm doubting that Rex! Home Depot Carrot Seed Junkies are among the very worse tenants you can have. Their aberrant behavior may be passing under your radar but, believe me, it's only the tip of the iceberg! Next thing you know, they'll be explaining that only Home Depot carrot seeds grow well at "Deer Camp."

What were you thinking?

Thinking "At least it's still legal to drink, play cards and shoot the bull."

 

[Aerides]

So I am confused with all of the back and forth, including some mods. Simple question: Can I buy seeds from HD - yes or no?

The answer is "call your HD" - you cannot get a blanket answer here, as it's likely different by state/county/municipality/store: the definition of "essential supplies" seems to vary by location. a lot of big box stores fall into the broad category because of the main things they are known to sell.

And the need for more targeted restrictions in some locations has been made because some folks are using the big box stores to shop like nothing is happening. Since many stores are trying to limit the number of customers inside at a time, I don't want to be the twit wondering around the plants and pots when there's a nurse on a 30 minute break waiting in line to come in and buy cleaning supplies.

The point isn't "seeds are bad and should be restricted" but maybe, I don't need to go browsing rose bushes and patio pavers this week, and should limit my shopping to essentials. And most reasonable people get that, and are self-limiting. Many aren't, prompting some to say maybe the garden center is attracting the wrong behavior and isn't essential...

 

[gauss]

So I am confused with all of the back and forth, including some mods. Simple question: Can I buy seeds from HD - yes or no?

A discussion in a Michigan-specific thread has been 'transplanted' over into this thread by the Mods.

That may be causing the confusion about the Michigan specific discussion on restrictions on where seeds can and cannot be purchased especially in the context of Home Depot.

 

[youbet]

While the subject was carrot seeds, I'm wondering if that isn't code for something a bit sketchier? Maybe marijuana seeds? Those Michigan UP dopeheads have their special language and codes, don't ya know? They developed it over the decades communicating to buddies about prepping for deer camp while keeping the real deer camp activities from their unsuspecting spouses. And wasn't it the folks in Colorado who discovered that pot seed from Home Depot is much better than the crap you get from Menards? I mean, I mean..... if I could stay at Rex's condo and avoid the reality of returning to Michigan and "no seed," I'd sure do it!! It sure is fun to toss empty beer bottles and pee off the balcony!

 

[RetMD21]

anybody in Michigan who is planning to plant outdoors this month is guilty of poor judgment at least. It was snowing today in the southern lower peninsula.

 

[Gumby]

I went to the grocery this morning. It had been 16 days since my last trip. Masks are now required in the stores and only a certain number of people are allowed in at one time. I got to Aldi about 10 minutes prior to opening and was #15 in line. They let in 50 people, so I got to go right in when the doors opened. Fruits and vegetables, dairy and eggs were abundant, and they finally had some toilet paper and paper towels. Canned goods were low and there were limits on how many of each you could buy. Meat was low, with no chicken breasts. There was not a speck of flour to be had

I then went to the Big Y, which is always more expensive and less crowded. Again, plenty of fruits and vegetables and dairy, but also plenty of meat. I bought a number of steaks, as well as a pork loin, chops and bacon, and the chicken breasts. They had no TP but did have some paper towels. Almost no cleaning products. And, again, not a speck of flour. The pasta aisle was picked almost completely clean (except for the gluten free stuff, yuck), but I was able to score the last box of angel hair and some cans of diced tomatoes.

We are now good to go for at least another two weeks.

 

[harley]

We did our first Walmart grocery pick up yesterday. We haven't been anywhere in about 3 weeks. The process went pretty smoothly, but they didn't have some of the main items we were interested in. They require you to pick by brand and size, and don't really give you an option for choosing an alternative.

So I brought my mask and gloves and sanitizer and was planning to run in and pick up a few more items. But the store was every bit as crowded as it was pre-Corona, actually making it hard to find a parking space, at least on the grocery side of the store. And while all the workers were wearing masks, only some of the customers were. We saw a number of large multi-person families going in, and there didn't seem to be a lot of spatial awareness. People would come out of the store and stop right in the doorway (which I never understood even in normal times), and others would brush past them on their way out.

It as uncomfortable to watch, and I decided I didn't really need those other items right away.

 

[Car-Guy]

The DW wanted to go grocery shopping this morning so we went. It was the first time for her to go into a store in about two month. The two stores we shopped at were near 100% stocked. Even TP and paper towels were plentiful. We got everything on her list (~$350 worth of stuff). No crowds at all. About the only thing that looked unusual was almost everyone had on face masks. A few even had gloves on but not too many.

After we finished shopping she asked me what all the hysteria was about.

 

[W2R]

The DW wanted to go grocery shopping this morning so we went. It was the first time for her to go into a store in about two month. The two stores we shopped at were near 100% stocked. Even TP and paper towels were plentiful. We got everything on her list (~$350 worth of stuff). No crowds at all. About the only thing that looked unusual was almost everyone had on face masks. A few even had gloves on but not too many.

After we finished shopping she asked me what all the hysteria was about.

What a terrific and successful grocery shopping trip! Congratulations on that.

This is exactly what I am hoping for when I eventually go to the grocery store (last time was March 3rd). I just want to go in, quickly fill my cart, and get out of there ASAP without much if any contact with crowds or idiots and using a mask and other precautions. Being a timid soul, I am tentatively thinking maybe in a week or two I will give it a try.

 

[Souschef]

Went to my local Von's at 9 AM as I discovered that if you go at 7, they have not finished stocking. Walked right in, maybe 20 people in the store.

Got everything I needed except for nonfat milk of a particular brand. No TP or Paper towels. BUT I scored the only bag of dried split peas on the shelf They had both Lysol toilet cleaner and Soft Scrub
They require face masks,and have shields at the checkout stands

 

[RetMD21]

I have Kroger grocery pickups scheduled for Saturday and Wednesday. We'll see how it goes. I like the idea that you can add or change the order until midnight. Getting the pickup slot is the challenge.

In snowed again yesterday where I am in Michigan. When I did a google search for seeds in Michigan marijuana pops up. I think it is legal to buy but the state hasn't authorized stores. Lots of people are willing to sell you seeds by mail.

 

[scrabbler1]

Have any of you here been able to return empty bottles to get your deposits back? My local stores have closed their bottle return machines, whether they are inside a small area or outside the store. I'm glad I don't have too many empties to return (less than 10 over the last month), but I imagine it is tougher for larger families who go through many more bottles every week. I have been keeping my empties in the trunk of my car inside plastic bags, as I have very little room inside my small apartment to store them.


The stores are still collecting the deposits, of course, so for now all of these unreturned bottles will create a small windfall for the stores.

 

[John Galt III]

Update from Pa. The cheap wine continues to be sold out at the grocery stores. The 5 liter box wines (cheapest per ounce) don't exist at the grocery stores anyway. The cheapest 3 liter box wines and 3 liter bottles ( $14.99) are always sold out. The expensive 3 liter box wines ($21.95) are there sometimes. Plenty of cheap 1.5 liter bottles available ( $8.99 ). Unlimited supply of standard 1/5 gallon bottles (most expensive per ounce). You can possibly get a curbside pickup of the 5 liter box wines at the state liquor store if you can get them to answer the phone, or get into their overloaded website, but must use a credit card, no cash. And they are possibly sold out also, lol.

 

[Ready]

Update from Pa. The cheap wine continues to be sold out at the grocery stores. The 5 liter box wines (cheapest per ounce) don't exist at the grocery stores anyway. The cheapest 3 liter box wines and 3 liter bottles ( $14.99) are always sold out. The expensive 3 liter box wines ($21.95) are there sometimes. Plenty of cheap 1.5 liter bottles available ( $8.99 ). Unlimited supply of standard 1/5 gallon bottles (most expensive per ounce). You can possibly get a curbside pickup of the 5 liter box wines at the state liquor store if you can get them to answer the phone, or get into their overloaded website, but must use a credit card, no cash. And they are possibly sold out also, lol.

I'll trade you some cheap wine for some disinfectant spray and hand sanitizer.

 

[John Galt III]

I'll trade you some cheap wine for some disinfectant spray and hand sanitizer.

Ha Ha! I actually do have a dispenser of hand sanitizer I see every day on my bathroom sink. Never use it though. Just wash hands with soap and water, lol.

 

[scrabbler1]

My latest troublesome item to buy is organic brown rice. Tried both supermarkets. One had only the short grain I don't really like and the other had nothing. I guess I'll have to buy the stubby short grain or buy a non-organic brown rice, also looking barren at one store. I have another 10 days until I will be cooking it again, so I will be at a supermarket again before than.

 

[youbet]

My latest troublesome item to buy is organic brown rice.

Plenty available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=organic+brown+rice&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

 

[MBAustin]

Our HEB was almost normally stocked in most areas yesterday. No hand sanitizer or cleaning sprays and no yeast, not a lot of flour. Rice pretty much back to normal and good selection of pasta. Meats well stocked, although I did notice that many of the beef and pork prices are about $1-2/lb. higher than they were before all of this. Only person I saw not wearing a mask was the person at the desk of the walk-in medical clinic.

 

[scrabbler1]

Plenty available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=organic+brown+rice&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

I took a look at the products available, also varying the search parameters to better meet my needs. I saw short grain, long grain white, long grain other, frozen, instant brown, but, unfortunately, not the type I am looking for. Some of the possible but lesser alternatives are available at my local supermarket.