fatigue-man-shopping-400×400

fatigue-man-shopping-400x400

Some people love to shop and God bless them. But I see a strange phenomenon in my part of Connecticut. Retail stores are closing, lots of them. And when I look at these empty storefronts, I feel this odd, misplaced sense of guilt. Am I partly responsible? You see, I never, ever, walk into stores anymore if I can help it. Here’s how I manage this….

I buy food online – That’s right. I now have most of my groceries delivered by a local chain. For years my husband Randy tried to convince me to do this, but I fought him. “I want to pick out my own produce!” was always my argument. He’d roll his eyes. “But do you need to pick out your own package of Bounty paper towels or Cheerios? Get everything but produce!”

One day I found myself pushing a heavy metal cart through a soulless big box store for the third time that week. The cart was laden with kitty litter, laundry detergent, and cases of dog food.

This is insane, I thought. That afternoon I started a delivery account. I began modestly, ordering the heavy, cumbersome stuff. Soon I added other fare — paper towels, disposable plates, toilet paper and napkins.

Within weeks I was throwing in cookies, bread, frozen pizza, crackers, and even chicken breasts. And yes one day, I summoned all my courage and ordered four tomatoes. And you know what? The store picked out better ones than I did.

Once during the frigid winter I went completely rogue, adding flowers. The next day a delivery guy (rather cute) rang my bell, holding my bouquet of pink Stargazer lilies. “For you I assume,” he said with a smile. I smiled back. I could get used to this, I thought. And I have.

I buy clothes online — I have the attention span of a cranky 4 year old in department stores. That’s where they group items by designer. I start out hopeful. Here are tops, I say to myself, happily going through a rack. But then I see more over there… and there… and there… and 500 feet away. My palms start sweating. I just want one blouse.  Damn, I’ll be here forever.

Then I discovered online shopping. Yes, it took a while to find those perfect skinny jeans or the kind of tops that aren’t too loose or too tight. I’ve learned who has the best black pants and the nicest-fitting jackets. But once found, I’ve stuck to these brands with the loyalty of a hunting dog.

I buy everything else online – and I mean everything. Know what I bought from Amazon last month? File folders, sugar free candy, pens, pillowcases, ink toner, nail clippers, moisturizer, books, hairspray, 3-hole punch paper, vitamins, a change purse, headphones, lipstick… everything. Everything. Even if a store is just miles away, I’d rather wait a few days and have the stuff delivered. I’ll do anything to avoid schlepping down endless aisles looking for that one stupid thing.

(And last but not least… drumroll please)…. I buy dinner ingredients online! It was like that scene in the “Music Man” where the whole town turns out for the Wells Fargo wagon. Recently my culinary-talented son Paul and I couldn’t wait to see that first box arrive on our front porch. The makings for a meal!

Now anyone who reads this blog knows I hate cooking. So that’s why it was so gratifying to pick up this box… and hand it to Paul! It was a win-win all around. (And by the way, he did a great job with almond-crusted tilapia).

So yes, I buy everything online… almost.

Alas, I’m not completely store-free. No one is. But now I’m able to choose where I put my limited retail energy.

The other day I went to Whole Foods (one of the few retail chains I like despite its high prices) and treated myself to a grocery bag of heaven – fat, juicy blueberries, handmade Provence lavender soap, organic chocolate, gooey Roquefort cheese, and crusty French bread.

“Now this is why stores were invented,” I thought later, unpacking my stash, popping a piece of bread in my mouth.

Maybe I’ll go back next week. Maybe I won’t. For once, it’s my choice…more or less.

I gave a sigh of contentment. Even the cranky four-year old was pleased.

 

Do you shop online or prefer stores? Comments are always welcome and if you like, please share. Thank you!

 

Comments(38)

  1. This was great.

    I’m not there yet. My sister orders cat food and kitty litter from Amazon, which I think is weird.

    Oh, we do have a cat. If we didn’t have a cat, then it actually be weird.

    Someday, I’ll make the jump. Maybe I live too much day-to-day to order dinner online still.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 8 years ago

      Nasreen, I’m ordering so much more online than I ever intended. Life (and Amazon) work in mysterious ways. Thanks for reading.

  2. I have come across this post at exactly the right time!

    Here in Canada, we don’t have as many delivery services. Add to that, we live in the woods, so grocery store chains are simply not interested in taking the journey.

    However, since moving here, I’ve been wandering aimlessly in search of a store that sells the bras I like to wear. I haven’t found one, but reading your post made bells go off. I have just found a store that will deliver exactly what I want! (And let me say, it’s just in the nick of time!)

    Thanks!

      • Laurie Stone

      • 8 years ago

      Yay for you! To have anything delivered has become my saving grace. If I don’t have to schlep through another store, I’ll be very happy. Thanks for reading!

  3. I’ve started ordering my groceries online just to avoid the grocery shopping with my four year old and baby. I order online and then do click and collect which is free. It just means going to the front of the shop and someone wheels it out to me, it’s great.

    I must have a weird body shape or something bc all my attempts at clothes shopping online have failed!

      • Laurie Stone

      • 8 years ago

      Rebecca, Ordering groceries online changed my life. So glad I never have to actually go into supermarkets much anymore. Thanks for reading!

  4. I hear you! And yet, part of me wonders if we’re becoming like the people in WallE–the movie. Very little human and physical interaction! But I shop like you do:).

      • Laurie Stone

      • 8 years ago

      Nothing would surprise me, but of all the new-fangled things in this world, less stores is fine with me.

  5. What grocery store do you order online from? I didn’t realize you could do groceries and I get everything online considering that we have been carless for quite some time now. Btw i have a Amazon Store on my page if you dont have one mine could use some love lol. 😉

      • Laurie Stone

      • 8 years ago

      Jamie, I live in Connecticut and use Stop & Shop. Its very good. Once I got hooked, I couldn’t go back. Thanks for telling me about your Amazon page. I’ll check it out.

  6. I have transitioned to online shopping almost exclusively. It is so much more convenient as you say.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 8 years ago

      So agree, Shari. Thanks for reading.

  7. I was ordering groceries online particularly when I was very pregnant and getting out to shop was exhausting. Now that I can get out of the house to go shopping WITHOUT bringing the kids with me, I don’t mind as much. I will admit that shopping is repetitive and boring.
    Staying in the house too much, not good either.
    At present, I prefer a hybrid method where I can stock up on all sorts of non-perishables online but still pick up my meat and veggies fresh.
    When it gets cold and snowy, this too may change!

      • Laurie Stone

      • 8 years ago

      Gloria, That’s a good compromise, and one many people do, including myself. I also like buying the “fun” things like fresh produce and all things touchable. Thanks for reading.

  8. I have an Amazon Prime account. I shop there first. Except for work clothes. Then I shop Loft because their clothes fit me and I know what size to buy. If my husband didn’t love grocery shopping, I’m sure I’d buy my food online, too.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 8 years ago

      Peggy, A husband who loves grocery shopping? God bless him. He’s a keeper. Thanks for reading!

  9. Hi Laurie,

    I love this idea! I despise shopping in stores and thus have mafe Amazon Prime my best friend. I anxiously await being able to order groceries online and have them delivered!

    Thx for sharing!

    B

      • Laurie Stone

      • 8 years ago

      Bren, Having groceries delivered online is awesome, something I initially resisted. Now I can’t live without it. Thanks for reading!

  10. It is so bad around here. I live about five minutes from the grocery. But with work and child and life and 100° heat – – I Instacart all the damn time 🙂

      • Laurie Stone

      • 8 years ago

      I hear you, Carla. Thanks for reading!

  11. I am with you. Other than the groceries – which I would love to try doing – I buy a ton of stuff online. I am not store-averse, but I find that online the size, color and style selection is much better. Although, I did find 2 really wonderful things at a little boutique this weekend that i never would have found online – so sometimes you have to get out!

      • Laurie Stone

      • 8 years ago

      Sharon, I also love the little boutiques. Its a very different experience than the big-box stores which I avoid. Thanks for reading!

  12. I actually like to shop for some things: clothes, produce, shoes! But I agree, I never have to shop for paper towels and shampoo again. Grocery stores make me nuts, hate them, drug stores, can’t stand them. I do appreciate making “friends” with people in bodegas and other little stores in Manhattan, where I live. I’m not a big online shopper. Not clothes for sure, I like to feel and try on, plus I do research for my blog. You’re absolutely right about retail stores changing and closing, and in my opinion it’s a good thing. Sounds like you have found your shopping groove, enjoy the time you save.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 7 years ago

      Anita, Thank you, and I agree with what you say about that sense of community in little, neighborhood stores. Alas, they’re becoming more and more rare in my neck of the woods. We’re being taken over by the chains.

  13. I buy a ton of stuff online and coincidentally just wrote about a few I use. Amazon, definitely. I get a vegetable box every 2 weeks and love Chewy for Dog food and products.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 7 years ago

      Rebecca, Vegetable box? That sounds intriguing. I’m not sure what I’d do without Amazon.

  14. Since I run an online company, Bless you Laurie! Here is the irony, I love to shop, so except for cat food I am a hit and miss online shopper! When I first started my company I was told by an old women’s wear buyer that women would never buy sleepwear or shoes on line! HA!!

      • Laurie Stone

      • 6 years ago

      Haralee, I’d love to buy sleepwear on line! I’ll check out your site.

  15. This is a double-edged sword for me. I love to shop online because I can’t stand crowds, long lines or trying things on. But, my husband and I once had a chocolate shop that suffered from people not coming out to buy things. They would show up for the holidays and exclaim over how nice it was to have a shop like ours to buy high-end chocolate for gifts. But then never show up at any other time of the year. These were the same people who complained the most when we said we were closing.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 6 years ago

      Jennifer, I can’t imagine running a real store these days. It must be so hard when everything is so deliverable. I’m sorry about your chocolate shop. It sounds like a fun place!

  16. I hate shopping with a passion and have fallen in love with delivery, but I haven’t done it with food shopping yet only because the hubby does it. My daughter has twins though and uses the grocery pickup all the time. I was so happy this year that I did all of my Christmas shopping online and I enjoyed the holidays SO much more! It’s funny there is a grocery store that closed down here in our town and I feel guilty every time I see it!

      • Laurie Stone

      • 6 years ago

      Rena, I also did all my Christmas shopping online and it was great. I sat in the living room with my laptop in front of a fire. It was awesome. I also feel guilty when I see closed-down stores. Maybe its just a sign of the times.

  17. My heart very often immediately goes to THE OTHER–the people who work at the store, the delivery men, the butchers, the saleswomen. They will lose their jobs. Not all of them will. But many. My convenience might become their inconvenience. AND I think it’s good for us, me especially with children raised, to GO OUT, be with other people, talk to folks in stores etc. YES, malls will close. But the community of SHOPPING would be sad to eliminate. It’s not all good, but it has much to offer in the mingling of peoples. Which as a nation we need to do more of.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 6 years ago

      Interesting point, Beth. I never thought of it that way. There are certain stores I like, especially the smaller ones. Wish so many weren’t these big box stores, which I have to admit, I avoid like the plague.

  18. This cranky four-year-old hates shopping as well. Hates it! In fact, when I gained a little weight recently and had to choose between losing said weight or going out to buy new clothes? Well, let’s just say it’s easier to give up a few yummies than to have to buy new clothes. Am I right?
    You’ve opened my eyes. You mean I can order all of this stuff without having to take my cranky self someplace public?! This is a life-changer, Laurie! A life-changer. I have to go. I have some investigating to do…

      • Laurie Stone

      • 5 years ago

      Diane, Go glad this resonated! I find the older I get, the more I dread shopping. I now buy almost everything online. Glad you were able to lose those few pounds. Its something we all tackle.

  19. It’s taken me a little longer to do all my shopping online. Yes, grocery shopping is great and having it delivered is awesome, but sometimes I do like to get out and see the world and what stores have to offer and, let me point out, I’m not a huge fan of shopping either. I try to pick times when the stores are less hectic. Also, I mostly like to support small businesses and local shops, because they usually have unique products that I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. I must say, Laurie, you are very convincing that I should be doing more of it…especially around the holidays.

      • Laurie Stone

      • 5 years ago

      Laurie, I know, its such a personal decision. There are many styles to shopping — the diehards who love every second, the in-betweens who still love the store experience here and there, and the cranks like me who avoid it at all costs. Knowing where you fit is half the battle.

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