It's true. Grocery shopping and I do not get along. I honestly have insane anxiety just thinking about grocery shopping. I cannot find a grocery store nearby that isn't disgusting. My nearest Whole Foods is 30 minutes away, and Big Y (a local chain) is 20 minutes away and those are the only two I can tolerate. However, sometimes I just do not feel like going that far out of my way, especially if the weather is not very nice.
There is a Stop and Shop and Aldi literally one minute from my house. Now let's be honest, Aldi is a train wreck. That store is so horrible I went in twice and never went back. Stop and Shop fares no better in my book. The one near me is so poorly managed it's not even funny. The produce department is disgusting, rotten, yes rotten fruits and veggies are really all there is to choose from. I might be better off shopping for produce in the dumpster behind the Italian restaurant down the hill than I am at my local Stop and Shop. Not only that but they NEVER have the shelves stocked. No matter when I go the store is destroyed, ravaged and empty. And it doesn't end there, oh no!
The staff is horrible. Honestly when I am checking out I do not want to hear some loser 19 year old cashier talk about all of the b*tches he b@nged last night". No exaggeration, that is the conversation I have overheard one particular employee having with the bagger on numerous occasions. I have also had the pleasure to hear cashiers talk about the drunken fight they were involved in over the weekend and heard them discuss how they cannot believe they made it home that night given their level of intoxication behind the wheel. Yes, classy group of employees at the Stop and Shop.
Not only that but the idea of planning meals for the week makes me crazy. I don't know what I want to eat on Friday when it's only Monday. It's happened so many times that I have planned meals and then never made what I planned because I wasn't in the mood to eat it.
Also, the thought of how much money I waste weekly on groceries makes me want to puke. I throw out so much stuff it is honestly terrible and makes me feel so guilty.
So here's what happened today. I went on Stop and Shop's website and I browsed the weekly circular and made a list of things I wanted to purchase. I grabbed my "green" bags and headed down the hill. I fought the massive crowds (and it was 3:30 pm) and finally found a parking space...
I entered Stop and Shop and went to grab a cart. First try was a fail, the cart would no budge! It was stuck to the one in front of it. Alright, breathe, go to the next row of carts. I grab one, SAME THING. Recently Stop and Shop switched from metal carts to plastic and these things are CRAP. The part that rises up to make room to store another cart consistently gets caught in making it near impossible to get a cart. Finally I found a cart that was solo so I grabbed it and went over to the produce section. BIG MISTAKE.
I surveyed the area and looked for items on my list. I zeroed in on tomatoes and tried to find adequate ones to purchase. Lo and behold the tomatoes were, of course, rotten. Disgusting, soft and inedible. I freaked out. I took my green bags from my empty carriage and hauled ass out of the store. I did not purchase a single thing.
On the way home I got a Tender Crisp Meal from Burger King, which only makes me feel worse about what happened. Not only can I not cook, I can't buy fresh groceries and I eat like a pig.
Overall not a good day here. This is not something that hasn't happened before. I have done this so many times my husband thinks I need psychological help. I have driven 20 minutes to a grocery store got almost through with grocery shopping, looked into the cart and realized all I had was snacks and random ingredients that didn't go together, had a panic attack and left the full cart in the middle of the store and drove home with nothing.
So you see this is a huge problem for me. Something that I can write in a humorous way but something serious and frustrating and something that needs to change.
So here's what happened today. I went on Stop and Shop's website and I browsed the weekly circular and made a list of things I wanted to purchase. I grabbed my "green" bags and headed down the hill. I fought the massive crowds (and it was 3:30 pm) and finally found a parking space...
I entered Stop and Shop and went to grab a cart. First try was a fail, the cart would no budge! It was stuck to the one in front of it. Alright, breathe, go to the next row of carts. I grab one, SAME THING. Recently Stop and Shop switched from metal carts to plastic and these things are CRAP. The part that rises up to make room to store another cart consistently gets caught in making it near impossible to get a cart. Finally I found a cart that was solo so I grabbed it and went over to the produce section. BIG MISTAKE.
I surveyed the area and looked for items on my list. I zeroed in on tomatoes and tried to find adequate ones to purchase. Lo and behold the tomatoes were, of course, rotten. Disgusting, soft and inedible. I freaked out. I took my green bags from my empty carriage and hauled ass out of the store. I did not purchase a single thing.
On the way home I got a Tender Crisp Meal from Burger King, which only makes me feel worse about what happened. Not only can I not cook, I can't buy fresh groceries and I eat like a pig.
Overall not a good day here. This is not something that hasn't happened before. I have done this so many times my husband thinks I need psychological help. I have driven 20 minutes to a grocery store got almost through with grocery shopping, looked into the cart and realized all I had was snacks and random ingredients that didn't go together, had a panic attack and left the full cart in the middle of the store and drove home with nothing.
So you see this is a huge problem for me. Something that I can write in a humorous way but something serious and frustrating and something that needs to change.
9 comments:
i feel the same way at times. However, I manage to get through the shopping. lol There has to be a way to get you through this!
Any advice???anyone?
My problem is I buy the wrong things. I buy barbage or like just 20 boxes of pasta!! and i get home with these boxes of pasta to what make a fort of boxes!! lmao
LOL Sarah I am SICK! There is def. something wrong with me! I hate it!!!!!!!
I buy all snacks or mad veggies and end up throwing them all away!
Oh my goodness. :<
Alright, wow. This is bad! Haha! I'm going to sound like a kindergarten teacher now. If it's this bad, find a responsible shopper and go with her!
For me, shopping with a friend is good because it means that I have less free time to browse and spend a lot of money. You guys might be able to pick up good pointers from friends about what you should pick.
You probably don't even have to tell them that you're observing their shopping. :)
What about Wal-Mart? You didn't mention it, so I thought maybe a) you hate Wal-Mart, or b) there aren't any grocery Wal-Marts in your area. You can get a great variety of fresh (nice, non-rotton!) produce there. The variety might be even larger if you have a diverse ethnic population in your area.
There's also a store called Meijer where I live, but I think that's almost exclusive to Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and maaaaybe Ohio... :/ I don't think you live any of those places.
I do agree Gina - i think if you found a nice grocery store that made you feel good, you would look forward to shopping more.
One advice tip I CAN GIVE lol my stop and shop has a coffee shop inside it (i know lucky) But when I got grocery shopping I always treat myself to a coffee at thestart of the excursion. It makes me look forward to going. :)
Erin, going with a friend is actually a great idea. We do not have a Meijer but I just discovered a Super Wal-Mart about 20 mins away a few weeks ago. It IS really nice and I did do my grocery shopping there once so far and it was a much better experience than the supermarket. I agree with you have do have nice produce there for sure and also some hard to find things as well. I should try and go there again, I just hate having to go on 3 different highways just to grocery shop!! LOL but yes that was a much better experience for sure.
Ohhhhh Sarah mine has a Dunkin Donuts too, I should do the same sometime. I think I just need to avoid Stop and Shop it's terrible!!
That sounds like a horrible grocery shopping experience!! I love grocery shopping but only at a local farmer's market. I highly recommend meal planning for the week and making a list before you go grocery shopping.
I think my problem is also planning what meals I want to eat. perhaps one of our posts should be on the fact that many nights we are cooking for only 1 person. Both our hubbys are on different schedules at times and so I only cook for myself. And cooking a meal with sides for just me seems pointless. lol
I live between two cities, so it's pretty normal for me to have to drive twenty minutes to get anywhere. I often forget that a lot of people are lucky enough to live close to things! :D
I think my favorite thing about grocery shopping is listening to music or podcasts, so that I can ignore almost everything else while I carry my basket around and shop. My iPod is like Sarah's coffee. :) Having time to enjoy my music/podcasts makes shopping nice.
Oh man planning meals out is sooo hard for me!!!!!!!
Erin, good idea. I love to listen to audio books on my ipod, maybe I should bring it to the grocery store with me. I never thought of that!!
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