Thursday, October 8, 2015

The Store List – Which One Are You

For years I’ve known there was a major difference between how Bev and I go to the grocery store but I never completely understood it until today and it boils down to the role of the store list.

For me the store list is the plan and when I go in the store I forget everything else and move through the store picking up the items on the list and buy nothing else except the rare impulse buy from the stuff blocking the aisles.  So for me the list is pretty much the maximum buy list.

But for Bev, the consummate shopper, it's just the opposite and the list represents the minimum amount of items to buy and those that should not be forgotten.  So she goes from aisle to aisle buying those items she knows we need (even though they are not on the list) but being sure she gets those items that are on the list.

This explains how we can go to the store with the same list and I get ten items while she gets a cart full – can’t believe it took me 30 years to figure this out.  I'm not sure if it’s a left brain/right brain thing, being the person responsible for meals showing up on the table, or something else that accounts for the difference.

Which type shopper are you and what do you think makes us so different.

Ain’t it great to be re-tared and have nothing better to do than contemplate and write blog posts about something like this.  Life is good here at Almost Heaven South.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Larry

10/7/15 event date

14 comments:

  1. Even being re-tared and replying to the post is great too.
    I do all the cooking and meals so I do the shopping, a lot like Bev I guess, have my list but always find something else we need or is on sale as well.
    Suzie does nor like shopping of any kind, its rare that she even goes into a store.

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  2. Larry, I'm kind of a cross-over. I do some of the cooking...simple though it is...and most of the grocery shopping. So I work from a list but I also generally know what we might need as I cruise the aisles...but I don't do much impulse buying. It does take a lot longer when I shop with Laurie as she tends to check out all the possibilities with health and beauty and cleaning products as well as a few other categories. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  3. I shop 3 stoers period with my coupons and the loss leaders, do most of the cooking toooooo..But I use coupons for everything and have a master list of what the item actually costs, I don't dilly dally with any impulse buying & shopping is not a sport for me as a woman I am rarely in stores to get anything frivoulous, we live on so much and that is it..We don't have a class EEE or whatever it is you own, we don't take trips like you do and we don't live in a gorgeous home like you do in a state with a very low cost of living...we just make do..We do go to the coast and inland with others we have known since we were wee ones..No foreiegn travels and definitely not the miles you did on your lovely home on wheels..we are simple people living on a limited amount of income from a retirement and volunteer for food issues at a pantry and d/v shelter!

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  4. I am not a shopper - in fact I hate shopping - except in a grocery store. When I walk into a store filled with wonderful food I immediately relax and enjoy. I shop like Bev. I love wandering through the aisles looking at all the new things they have come up with and deciding if it's something we might like to try. If I'm not on a schedule, I can really enjoy myself.

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  5. Both George and I are more like you... We go together --and always have a list... We do on occasion buy something we might have forgotten to put on the list.. AND--we do take time to 'look' for exactly what we want. SO---some days it takes longer than other days. We also shot two grocery stores; Walmart on Mondays (for the basics and 'cheaper' items we use from there) and Kroger's on Saturday --where I work hard with coupons (both paper ones and digital ones) and store specials... We buy less at Kroger's but probably take longer to find what we are looking for... Overall, this works well for us --but we are not gourmet cooks like you two are.... Guess that makes a big difference.

    By the way, I'm not a 'shopper' AT ALL --like most women-- so even when we travel, we seldom ever go anywhere to do any kind of shopping at all...

    Hugs,
    Betsy (and George)

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  6. Except for milk and bread between times, I order from a restaurant supply house, so if it's not on the list, Don doesn't hand truck it in. I do sometimes order non-perishables on line, and sometimes the boys go "off the reservation" at the supermarket. It's OK; I can make anything work. I guess folks like Bev make the stores profitable for the rest of us!

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  7. I must have some engineering genes in me, because I am just like you are when it comes to shopping - get the stuff on the list and get out of there. I've pretty much gotten Meakin in the habit of doing the same. I can't imagine not having a list... After being in management in major department stores much of my life, I am not a shopper like most women. I get in and get out as fast as I can...
    Sam

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  8. Bev's logic is perfect! I have to have a list and I have to go aisle by aisle....there is always something that I remember we need...walking the aisles jogs the old memory!

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  9. I think I shop more like Bev, but I usually don't have a list with me at all, or I have forgotten it in the car.

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  10. I have a blank grocery list categorized by the layout of the store; Produce, Bread, Dairy, Meat, Center aisles, Frozen, etc. It was devised by my DIL and I print one out every time I go to the store and fill in the blanks with what I need. Here it is if you are interested http://www.menubility.com/how-to-plan-family-meals-free-printable-grocery-list-and-menu/ It keeps me from running all over the store for things that I have forgotten. I try not to shop with David because he is an impulse buyer and takes forever in the store. LOL.

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  11. I mostly stick to the list. There will be an occasional impulse buy or something I see that I know we need but it's never more than a couple of extra things beyond the list. I found a great app for my phone called Cozi where I create shopping lists that sync with my tablet, phone and desktop so I'm never without my list. It's great to go paperless too.

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  12. I always have a list and pretty much stick to it, unless I see a good buy on something and get it. I arrange my list by the layout of the store to make it easier and faster. I also have an app on my iphone for it that I use sometimes. I definitely am not a shopper like most of the women I know, do not like "window shopping." Bill takes a list to the store, buys exactly what's on it, then home!
    Good fun post!

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  13. I must have a list or I forget everything. I often add an item or two but really hate going to the store - so I am in and out as fast as I can. We learn something new everyday!

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  14. I shop like Bev. I'm a grocery store browser and it drives Bob nuts.

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