Shopping For Groceries Is Like Hell Right Now (PT 5)

Previous thread.

The meat situation in my local grocery stores is freaking me out. Went shopping the other day and there was virtually NO CHICKEN other than a few lonely over- priced breasts under the butcher's glass- no pre-packaged breasts, thighs, no Whole chickens- and even in the freezer section hardly any of the god-awful chicken-strips for the kid set. Pork was the same- no chops, no hams, no loins- the only thing on display were huge racks of ribs. WTF? I. know the news has been inundated with stories of all the meat processing plant closures but I have NO FAITH in Trump's plan to simply "Order" those employees back to work. Why the hell should they risk their lives fir those shitty jobs. I've already decided I can go vegetarian if needs be through this crisis but Shit is SERIOUSLY gonna hit the fan when flyover suburbia discovers they can't feed their family of 5, meat 6 days a week!

R2 - What is your location?

For folks who frequent butcher shops rather than supermarkets/large retailers like Costco and Walmart, what's the skinny on the meat inventory there? Are they better stocked than those large places or are they hurting for product? How about fish markets? I'm in Brooklyn - there's a small meat store/butcher shop a few blocks down and I wonder if it makes any sense to even go there.

I just signed up for a grocery delivery, but the first availability date is two weeks from now.

[quote] Just got back from the local ACME supermarket here in SE Pennsylvania.

Even in a crisis ACME will promptly deliver.

thanks op

The only toilet paper available came in packs of 24.

It’s a small apartment. I don’t store more than two extra rolls.

R8 Desperate times call for desperate measures. I can't believe that you can't find someplace in your apartment for a 24 pack of TP. Unless you are a hoarder. Even people in those tiny homes can find a way to store a 24 pack of TP.

To those asking about what kind of masks I've been making and what materials I've been using, I've been making the ones that look like the photo below.

I use 100% cotton for both the outside and interior of the mask.

I line the inside of the mask with a medium weight, non-woven, fusible interfacing. Someone mentioned in the other thread that fabric stores carry this. It's a common item in sewing however, it's been out of stock for weeks.

I also line it with two layers of polypropylene material, which is the same material N95 masks are made out of and is effective at blocking out 95% of particles at between .01 and .03 microns.

I make these with a pocket and I slip in a Toolbox blue shop towel, also found to be effective at blocking out 95% of particles.

Again, I know it's probably overkill, but it makes me feel better.

Those are really nice looking masks.

I found a Filtrete filter at Sams Club, which shocked me because everyone’s out of them now. At Home a Depot they’re carrying nothing but Rheem now. So I figured I’d give it a try this weekend. Nobody seems to have interfacing.

Do you use a piece of pipe cleaner or other metal in the nose area?

You seem crazy, r8.

[quote]Do you use a piece of pipe cleaner or other metal in the nose area?

No. I originally tried that but the pipe cleaners I had didn't hold up in the wash.

Instead, I put in jewelry wire.

R11 be careful using that kind of filter in a mask. I read somewhere there can be issues with those if they have fiberglass in them. Additionally, you want to use a filter that says HEPA on it.

If you want to try to use something else, see if your Walmart carries this item (or order it):

Michaels currently has fusible non-woven interfacing. I'd recommend using that over a an air filter.

Filtrete in particular doesn’t have fiberglass, but I’ve read some do. I bet the Rheem filters that are still in stock are fiberglass.

R8, you wouldn't happen to be the one whining about bread flour all throughout the previous thread, despite the helpful comments from other DLers, would you?

[quote]polypropylene material, which is the same material N95 masks

Are you referring to the stiff, round N95s or surgical masks? I've never seen a standard N95 made out of soft polypropylene material.

Also, 1 layer of blue shop towel doesn't give a lot of protection. The tests with actual COVID19 particulate used 2 and 3 layers and still didn't rate anywhere near 95% filtration, so I use 3 or 4 layers.

R14, HEPA air purifier filters don't trap viral particles, just larger ones like bacteria, dust, and mold spores. That's why some people switched to furnace filters instead, which often do have fiberglass in them. However, Filtrite told me via email that they use poly material that should be safe, although they cannot recommend it for use in masks because they haven't done any tests. Filtrites rated the highest of all tested filter materials (so far, but they're about to test more).

R8, I would suggest buying the package, put the ad out on the apps, and pretend it’s a repeat of the train party you pulled last weekend.

Another twenty years and you’re going to need those extras rolls for a party such as this. Xoxo

"Again, the masks worn by the general public when they go out are not to protect you. They are to protect other people from your droplets by keeping your droplets from spewing all over the place if you cough, sneeze, yell, old man spittle spew, etc."

Or drool, if an especially hot guy walks by.

R8, I separated my t.p. 12 pack into 2 gallon bag packs of 4 each, which are easier to stash in various places. Break it up instead of trying to keep the entire pack in one area.

[quote]Are you referring to the stiff, round N95s or surgical masks? I've never seen a standard N95 made out of soft polypropylene material.

N95 masks.

[quote]The filtration material on the mask is an electrostatic non-woven polypropylene fiber.

Also, 1 layer of blue shop towel doesn't give a lot of protection. The tests with actual COVID19 particulate used 2 and 3 layers and still didn't rate anywhere near 95% filtration, so I use 3 or 4 layers.

[quote]The filtration material on the mask is an electrostatic non-woven polypropylene fiber.

I use one towel, but fold it twice. The report I read said that the studies done used two shop towels. Either way, I figure with the other two layers sewn in to the masks I've been making, one folded towel should suffice.

Someone in one of the other threads suggested storing extra TP in your suitcase. Seems reasonable.

Last night, I was finally able to get a Whole Foods delivery tonight between 6-8. Of course, I forgot something (sour cream), and they won't let you add on. So I'm trying to put together a second order. It's been longer than a month, I just noticed, since I've gotten a delivery from them.

I have 6 packs of 6 rolls of toilet paper on top of an IKEA Billy bookshelf in my very small apartment. It takes up the entire width on the top shelf. I can live with that more easily than with having only two rolls of toilet paper.

I used my last bit of ground ancho chili yesterday to make chili, and reordered that and a bunch of other stuff from Penzey's. They're out of a lot of things, and say orders will take longer than usual to ship because of SD.

And so it goes.

[quote] I forgot something (sour cream),

Make your own with milk, heavy cream and lemon juice!

Riiiight, I'm so sure R24 just so happens to have some heavy cream and lemons stowed away on top of his Billy bookshelf.

Yeah, because lemons and heavy cream are totally uncommon things to have around the house!

LOL, r26. I have no milk, r25, nor heavy cream. I do have a couple of lemons, though. I'm putting both cream and sour cream on my second order.

R10 and R18 you could also use vacuum cleaner bags as filter, it has a better filtration than cotton.

[quote]The report I read said that the studies done used two shop towels.

Do you have a link or remember where you saw this? I've read that 2 Tool Box shop towels only had a 50-60% effectiveness rate (Scott brand scored even lower) against actual viral particles. I'd love for that to be the lowball figure and am interested in what other tests showed. 50-60% is still a lot better than 0%, either way.

The reason I asked if you meant the stiff masks or the surgical ones is because I found out from my nuerologist that there is a hard to find type of N95 surgical mask, but he doesn't know what they're made with. I was hoping you'd seen that kind and could tell us what makes them different from the usual kind of surgical masks that stop outward droplet transmission, but don't filter what's inhaled.

Just a FYI to those of you buying masks online- there are substandard paper "surgical" masks that are being passed off as the other kind by unscrupulous sellers.

[quote]you could also use vacuum cleaner bags as filter, it has a better filtration than cotton.

Vacuum cleaner bags often have fiberglass in them.

Vacuum bags, like air filters, often have fiberglass. I also don't think they were rated as highly as the poly material or blue shop towels.

Yang Wang, an assistant professor of environmental engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, worked with his graduate students to study various combinations of layered materials — including both air filters and fabric. “You need something that is efficient for removing particles, but you also need to breathe,” said Dr. Wang, who last fall won an international award for aerosol research.

To test everyday materials, scientists are using methods similar to those used to test medical masks, which everybody agrees should be saved for medical workers who are exposed to high doses of virus from seeing infected patients. The best medical mask — called the N95 respirator — filters out at least 95 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns. By comparison, a typical surgical mask — made using a rectangular piece of pleated fabric with elastic ear loops — has a filtration efficiency ranging from 60 to 80 percent.

Dr. Wang’s group tested two types of air filters. An allergy-reduction HVAC filter worked the best, capturing 89 percent of particles with one layer and 94 percent with two layers. A furnace filter captured 75 percent with two layers, but required six layers to achieve 95 percent. To find a filter similar to those tested, look for a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) rating of 12 or higher or a microparticle performance rating of 1900 or higher.

The problem with air filters is that they potentially could shed small fibers that would be risky to inhale. So if you want to use a filter, you need to sandwich the filter between two layers of cotton fabric. Dr. Wang said one of his grad students made his own mask by following the instructions in the C.D.C. video, but adding several layers of filter material inside a bandanna.

Dr. Wang’s group also found that when certain common fabrics were used, two layers offered far less protection than four layers. A 600 thread count pillow case captured just 22 percent of particles when doubled, but four layers captured nearly 60 percent. A thick woolen yarn scarf filtered 21 percent of particles in two layers, and 48.8 percent in four layers. A 100 percent cotton bandanna did the worst, capturing only 18.2 percent when doubled, and just 19.5 percent in four layers.

The group also tested Brew Rite and Natural Brew basket-style coffee filters, which, when stacked in three layers, showed 40 to 50 percent filtration efficiency — but they were less breathable than other options.

If you are lucky enough to know a quilter, ask them to make you a mask. Tests performed at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., showed good results for homemade masks using quilting fabric. Dr. Segal, of Wake Forest Baptist Health, who led the study, noted that quilters tend to use high-quality, high-thread count cotton. The best homemade masks in his study were as good as surgical masks or slightly better, testing in the range of 70 to 79 percent filtration. Homemade masks that used flimsier fabric tested as low as 1 percent filtration, Dr. Segal said.

The best-performing designs were a mask constructed of two layers of high-quality, heavyweight “quilter’s cotton,” a two-layer mask made with thick batik fabric, and a double-layer mask with an inner layer of flannel and outer layer of cotton.

The 100% Cotton I've been using to make masks is Quilter's Cotton.

R30 this is the article that states the tests used 2 layers. It also states the towels can be washed and re-used 3 times and it will maintain 95% of its efficacy.

[quote]To find a filter similar to those tested, look for a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) rating of 12 or higher

The 1900 Filtrite furnace filter is MERV 12 rated.

That's a great post, r33. Do you have the link for the article? I'd like to share it with some friends.

Here you go R36

Thanks, r35.

The tests at your link weren't done with actual COVID19 particles yet, but seem promising.

"They're also raising money to get their mask tested with the actual COVID-19 pathogen to see whether their design could be validated as a safer solution during the mask shortage."

The ladies who set up the maskfaq Go Fund Me for independent lab testing said they had high percentage results in their private particle tests, until they sent them to an outside lab that used the actual virus in the tests. The filtration percentages dropped when live COVID19 was introduced. I'll post the link again so people don't have to scroll back up for it.

Thanks again to everyone who shared their test links and mask filter ideas. I love nerding out on this stuff!

It would be interesting to know what the actual percentage is that the blue towels tested at. Either way, that's one of the reasons I decided to add it along with all the other filter material.

It's right there in the maskfaqs link, r39. Zep, Tool Box, and Scott are all blue shop towels.

R30 It’s the middle of the night where I am, but the N95 mask I have resembles more of a surgical mask than it does the round N95 masks with a filter that you see celebs wearing. I’ll look tomorrow at the packaging and let you know what it’s made of. I know they are authentic because they came from my father who bought a pack before all of this “just in case there was some type of natural disaster.” I assumed these N95 masks were of inferior quality, but maybe not! I’ll update you later.

There are stories of meatpacking plants all over the country with CV19, in Wisconsin and Texas and Illinois. There have even been USDA inspectors who died of the disease.

Trump's order that meatpacking plants stay open will kill so many people.

5:30AM Eastern time and Walmart has toilet paper online for sale, Cottenelle and Scott mostly.

I don't get people saying they have no room in their apartments to store things.

It's a fucking pandemic, you are not having people over to entertain.

Stack the toilet paper against the wall in a corner if you have to or under your bed or a table.

No one is judging you.

I haven't been to Whole Foods in 2 m months I may go today or tomorrow to their Edgewater NJ store.

R44 I have a 25 lb bag of jasmine rice in the middle of my living room! It’s just part of my decor now.

Just want to say that I don't recommend Hy-Vee for grocery delivery, they've been padding my orders with things I didn't order, plus forgetting several items to the tune of $30 or more. Really feels scammy, to be honest.

Foolish r8! Buy the 24 and save yourself another quick trip to the store! Put the package on top of something: the toilet tank; the refrigerator; a chair you're not sitting in, and move the TP when you do sit. Do you have a car with a trunk?

r46, if you subscribe to @madhungry on instagram, Lucinda Scala Quinn uses either jasmine or basmati rice a lot, and her food is terrific. Here's her recipe for mujadara.

My apartment is so small I only buy toilet paper by the square.

[quote]For folks who frequent butcher shops rather than supermarkets/large retailers like Costco and Walmart, what's the skinny on the meat inventory there?

There's a small meat and produce shop in my neighborhood - I've only been twice since this all started, but both times they had the ground beef and chicken I was looking for and couldn't find at the supermarket. We have a couple of other indie butcher shops in town and both told our local newspaper recently that their inventory is good, they weren't in the same fix in terms of supply that the chain places were. I think it's probably well worth checking out if you're having trouble finding what you need at the big stores. Call and ask what's in first if you're unsure.

Last night at 10pm I managed to snag a Whole Foods deliver slot for this afternoon. I'm mainly stocking up on decent cheese since the selection at Costco is lame. They also had some steaks on sale, which I added to my order but don't expect there to be any left by the time my shopper starts shopping.

My napkin, paper towel, and Kleenex shrine is piled against a wall in my condo bedroom.

Who cares? R8 is a troll!

Sylvia, I started one last night, too, and between the time I started it and I was ready to pay, they'd run out of the sour cream that was my main reason for ordering. I didn't need most of the rest of it if I couldn't get sour cream. And so it goes...4/30/20.

Why don’t you guys buy P95 gas masks/ respirators? I bought two on Newegg for $50. They filter out just as much as the unavailable N95 masks. The ones I bought are even 3M. I’m not wearing a homemade mask.

Bump.

People are starting to panic buy meat.

You can't get meat here in town, it's true. I've been having to make do with those pre-cooked bags of Tyson chicken.

I just came back from the grocery here in Chicago, and the meat section was fully stocked. I had been afraid of shortages, but they certainly weren't happening this morning. Couldn't get hand soap refills, but most everything in the store was in stock.

Yep there’s a run on meat now! Want some TP?

Hey. Don't shop this weekend if yu can help it. Go shopping today or tomorrow. It's the 1st of the month. Pension checks arrive, people get paid, tec. It will be a madhouse for the next week or so. So go today or tomorrow but not this weekend for sure.

Just got back from Sam's Club. Got there right as they opened and I was genuinely surprised at how empty the shelves were.

They had napkins, which are apparently in stock now after not being in stock for over a month, and some toilet paper. I noticed that the TP is different now. They're selling them in smaller sizes. The previous packs were 30 count and the ones they were selling were half the number, maybe 12 or 15 count. I didn't see how much they were.

Water was completely wiped out as was soda, which I thought was weird.

No rice, beans, or flour.

Produce was reduced to what they keep outside of the refrigerators, so stuff like avocados, potatoes, cucumbers, lemons, etc., they had in stock. They didn't have lemon or limes. The refrigerated section which has lettuce, strawberries, etc. was empty except for mushrooms.

Meat was essentially wiped out. The only thing they had were a couple of big slabs of beef ribs, a couple of bags of chicken breasts. The seafood section was stocked, but let me tell you looking around at all the empty refrigerators was depressing.

No butter or cream, lots of eggs, although they've doubled in price. They sell the 2 packs of 18 eggs and they were $9.00. They're normally $4.

Freezer section was wiped out. No frozen chicken, hamburgers, or snacks. Again, the frozen seafood was completely stocked up.

As I was walking out I noticed they had a couple of 5 packs of hand soap back in stock. They were on the bottom shelf under a bunch of empty shelves, so they were hard to notice and most people probably didn't see them.

This is in Southern CA

There are farms here in So Cal that are beginning to sell their livestock for meat. Who has giant freezers to store all this meat

^Meant to say they had bananas, not lemons.

R62, I was surprised how expensive eggs had gotten as well. Dairy hasn't increased, but eggs are about 50% higher than normal.

R65 it's just weird because there is apparently a surplus of eggs but the prices haven't gone down. Also, at my local grocery store, the same pac of eggs are $5.

Online shopaholics, prepare for delays. Not that you care that Amazon workers are dying in droves and being treated like slaves.

I don't have a lot of storage space, so I made a toilet paper art installation on my wall.

People don’t like eating fish!!!

For the love of god, please post if you find Lysol or microban.

TIA.

I have meat, eggs & milk for 3 weeks, I can happily go lacto ovo vegetarian as long as I can get eggs & dairy. Wonder if those supply chains are next.

R70 I found Lysol in-store at a Walmart. I got their right when they opened. They had 3 scents available, none of them were the original.

Haven’t been in a store of any kind since all this started. Yesterday my son went shopping and forgot the one thing I really, really wanted. Cookies. Major cookie craving going on. So I decided to mask up and go to the market myself. Produce section was pretty well stocked. Pasta was gone except the high priced gourmet stuff. Dairy and meat seemed to be ok. The worst thing was the toilet paper aisle. Just a few lonely boxes of tissues limit two to a customer. The rest of the aisle was filled with charcoal briquettes, motor oil and fifty pound bags of rice. The atmosphere was gloomy. Everyone masked and hunched over their carriages. I’m in western Massachusetts.

I hope I don’t die because I wanted a lousy Chips Ahoy.

Everything is in stock in the stores except hand sanitizer, wipes and hand soap. 99 percent of people wears a mask but people are refusing to practice social distancing even in uncrowded stores.

R2 No chicken, or very few chicken breasts seems to be common from SF to Miami, to NY & NJ. (according to friends there). I have had only one WF order online where there was none, and a local Jewel order with N/A. It would appear beef, especially roasts and steaks are quite picked over in Chicago suburbs, and NW Indiana.

Forgot to mention what the people were doing when I ventured out to the Warehouse to shop.

People were not keeping any distance from each other. While everyone had masks on, the majority were not wearing gloves. I saw not just one, but several people, wearing their masks below their nose, so that it just covered their mouths.

I came across one woman who kept taking her mask off to ask questions of the people around her.

Another woman had taken her mask off to have a casual conversation with someone else on her phone (of course using speakerphone).

I needed to ask an employee a question. I stood more than 6 feet back from her. She didn't keep social distance from me but instead approached me and tried to stand next to me in order to answer. I backed away from her as she kept approaching.

R76 my partner keeps wanting to go to costco but i think it will be a debacle with a ton of idiots and nothing I need left on the shelves to buy! I’m going to try and hold him back until mid-may.

I'm still avoiding going into stores at all. So far, so good. When I have to go out (for grocery pickup), I'm using an improvised mask made from a cotton sock with a coffee filter inserted inside. For the minimal amount of human contact I'm experiencing, I hope that's good enough.

I was in a Whole Foods in NJ yesterday and had absolutely no problem getting meat - in my case, specifically 1¼ lbs boneless chicken thighs - from the butcher's section of the store. (It was local chicken.)

If I didn't know anything about the meat shortages, I wouldn't have noticed any difference in the way the area was stocked. But then I got to the store around 9AM, so maybe that had something to do with it.

I don't get why people are mocking R8 for what I thought is a normal reaction. I noticed the same thing at the Shop Rite earlier in the week in that the only toilet paper available were these packs of huge quantities. (I didn't need any myself, but it made me wonder when going down that aisle if those Mormon-family sized packs are going to be the only size available for a while.) That quantity purchase is totally ridiculous for a single apartment dweller.

If a person in a small apartment thinks they can't store a 24 pack of TP. You could always buy it, take out the number of rolls you want and then give the rest to your neighbors. Especially, if you know of any elderly people in your building that maybe can't go out right now.

Lingering shortages are predicted because of the stay at home orders and workshut downs. It doesn't hurt to have ( not hoard) a bit extra of these necessities. I assumed the cost of the larger quantity TP is a hindrance for some. Prices for many items are higher now.

It's extra toilet paper, not 18 wheelers. There has to be some place in even the smallest apartment to put it. It might offend you to look at it but really, so what.

I had an Instacart order delivered yesterday and the shopper didn't wear a mask or gloves. I'm really peeved about that. New York has an order where you must wear one to go inside to shop. Instacart says that it's "recommended" that they wear them, but not mandatory. They really need to make it mandatory for shoppers to wear them and to provide their workers masks and gloves if they don't already have them on hand. If Instacart doesn't impose this policy soon, they are going to face a major class action lawsuit. They are putting people's lives at risk; both shoppers and customers. Outrageous.

[quote]I had an Instacart order delivered yesterday and the shopper didn't wear a mask or gloves. I'm really peeved about that. New York has an order where you must wear one to go inside to shop.

How do you know they didn't wear them when they were shopping?

How do you know the shopper didn't wear masks and a glove inside the store, R83?

R77 Just order from Costco online. Anything you cannot get delivered fresh, get from somewhere else. In many areas, the Costcos, Walmarts, and Sam's Clubs are the places which are packed with shoppers, and out of stock on staples. The smaller supermarket chains it would seem are better options over big box stores.

[quote]How do you know the shopper didn't wear masks and a glove

Or, even better gloves and a mask.

instacart is planning to strike May 1, 2020 along with other delivery services.

My Whole Foods order (R52) arrived and had everything in it, even the steak and bacon! And in other news, the weird bamboo toilet paper that I ordered from Costco 21 days ago just shipped. It's a goddamned bonanza around here!

R82 Agreed. How about under the bed or sofa?

R87 Are you saying so as regards deliveries? I may have that poster blocked, or just failed to catch that comment earlier. I personally assume all the deliveries that come to my mate's farm are contaminated. I have no contact with the shopper, discard as much original packaging from everything I possibly can, even if it is rather messy, and thoroughly wash everything else with washing up liquid & HOT water. I'm always sure to wear MANY masks and a glove whilst I'm doing that!

I had to rearrange my closet and a storage chest in my bedroom. Then I discovered that of the two decorative storage chests in my living room, one is completely empty. So now toilet paper has a home.

[quote]Are you saying so as regards deliveries?

No, it was in regards to R83, who was upset that his Instacart shopper didn't wear a mask and gloves even though "New York has an order where you must wear one to go inside to shop." I wondered how he knew whether or not his shopper had gloves and a mask while shopping.

R83 may have meant that the shopper didn't wear a mask and gloves while delivering groceries to his door, but I'm with you -- whether the deliveryperson is wearing gloves and a mask or not, I assume everything is contaminated and needs to be disinfected in one way or another.

I just got my WFM order in Pittsburgh. There were a number of substitutions, but I ended up being glad, as I was able to get the sour cream I need for the Hungarian Chili I'm going to make tomorrow instead of the olive oil I won't need for another week or more.

The man who delivered was not wearing gloves or a mask. I was wearing a mask. I did not have a cow over it. I did not "wash" my groceries. I just put them away. I washed my hands before and after.

Apparently I am not capable of adopting the r83 r92 mindset. I'm old, though. If I die, I die. Better to go out relatively quickly than lying in a pool of my own filth for ten years in a nursing home.

Being a fatalist works until you are truly faced with your own mortality. If you got sick you'd be pissed off and you'd fight like hell to survive.

I ordered the olive oil I always buy at the store direct from Cobram Estates this time.

But they sent me two bottles of the 2018 harvest, and I was quite put out. I tossed those and told them to send me the 2019 harvest, which is the most recent.

They did, but it was irritating. If someone’s going to the trouble to order directly from the producer, you should send him your best stock, not your old stuff you do t even send to the grocery store any more.

[quote]Apparently I am not capable of adopting the [R83] [R92] mindset.

I just keep deliveries in my garage for at least three days (and often a week or more). I'm not ordering anything perishable, I stocked up on frozen fruits and vegetables before this all when to hell. Time is my disinfectant.

R94 I guess I don't believe spraying my food with Lysol is going to help me not get sick.

I'm surprised WFM has deliveries in Pittsburgh!

Why, r98? They've been here since 2000 or so.

Just because there aren't many, or weren't so many, R99. When I was there the 'Sliberty one was the only one. Guess they have expanded

S'liberty is the one I shop at, r100, and the one that delivered. There's also one in Wexford now, and one in Upper St. Clair.

The shade of r98!

Do you all take the packages directly from the delivery person?

Our service rings the bell, then we wait till we hear the truck drive away and unload everything outside.

I may have gone a little overboard now that stuff is kind of in stock again, but then, you never know.

People who say, "if I die, I die," are obviously not paying attention to those on the frontones who say this is definitely not the way anyone wants to go out.

And no one is suggesting they spray down their groceries with Lysol, that's moronic. Rinsing off the packaging under the sink is an entirely different thing.

But more power to you for doing whatever you want to do, I guess.

*front lines

For storage, a lot of it is moving other things around so you have space. For example, there’s a small useless cabinet above the stove. I wouldn’t put toilet paper there, but you could put pots and pans you don’t normally use, vases or serving pieces you rarely use. Then use the empty space in a cabinet below for extra storage. There’s another small cabinet above the fridge. Get a step stool and put dishes, pots or small appliances you don’t use and use the vacated space below for toilet paper. Or put a big pack of toilet paper on top of the fridge.

You can go to Home Depot and get one of their orange pails and a lid. Put a garbage bag inside the pail, take the toilet paper out of the package and stack it inside the pail. Put the lid on. Now you have an easy to move waterproof pail with a handle that will fit easily in a coat closet or in a cabinet. Measure the width of your cabinet door fronts. Some are 12” wide. Home Depot pails are 13” wide.

Get one of those cheap round tables that consist of a round wood table top and three screw-in legs. Put a tablecloth or sheet over the top and your toilet paper stack underneath. Or get a couple of Home Depot pails, fill them with toilet paper, throw a table cloth or sheet over it, and put a potted plant on top. Instant plant stand. Or get a big cylindrical ceramic plant pot and saucer, put a big garbage bag inside, fill it with toilet paper. Put the saucer on top. End table with storage. I have one of those in black metallic ceramic, and it looks nice.

Get bed lifters (they are wood blocks you put your bed legs on top of). Get the low clear plastic bins that are made to fit under the bed. Those will fit a ton of toilet paper and tuna cans. Depending on your bed you might be able to fit two of them under there. Or get plastic shoe boxes with lids for the odd extra spaces. measure the height under the bed before you buy, and allow for the frame that goes right under the middle of the bed, it’s a bit lower than the rest.

Go to Home Depot and look in the wire rack aisle. Get the biggest wire rack you can fit and put it in your bedroom. If looks matter, put a room divider in front of it or hang a curtain in front of it. They have one that’s 54” tall, which is short enough to be covered by a room divider, but my advice is get the tallest, biggest one you can fit, you’ll use the space. I’ve assembled a bunch of their HDX brand by myself, they’re not hard. To do the first shelf, lay it down sideways. Guide all four of the shelf corners carefully over the black plastic pieces that fit over the poles. Once the shelves are fitted over the black plastic pieces, put the unit upright and step on the corners. Then add the other shelves one at a time. The best way to tap the shelves down is use a mallet.

You can also buy wheels separately, but if you’re going to put heavy canned foods on it, don’t use the wheels! Without the wheels they hold a bunch of weight. The big ones hold about 800 lbs per each shelf.

If your bathroom is big enough, they have small ones, or there are metal over-the-toilet racks you can buy for bathrooms in places like Walmart or Target.

A lot of storage requires buying boxes, bins or pails to put your stuff in. If you have the right sized containers, you can do a lot more. I bought a lot of commercial grade food storage plastic containers for crackers and snack foods at Costco Business Center. They’re expensive, but they’re dishwasher safe and really thick. I took everything out of the cardboard boxes I could and put it in plastic. Less attractive to bugs.

Essentially, where there's a will, there's a way.

When people say they can't find a place for things it's usually because they don't want to.

If you have a dining room with a hutch, put the hutch in the living room or kitchen, and put a wire rack in its place. Lots of room for storage. Measure the walls. There’s probably room for two wide. Most wire racks are 5’ wide and most dining rooms are at least 10’ wide. Or put the dining table in the living room and you have a whole room you can work with. You can put it up to the back of the couch.

if your place is really small or you have roommates, there’s probably room underneath bookcases, dressers or cabinets on legs. Put toilet rolls in a plastic bag first and push to the back.

If you live in one of those places with a recessed “decorative niche” shelf built in, high up on a bedroom wall, there’s usually enough room for plastic bins. I have those above my bedroom closet.

R107 is a frau or on tina!

[quote]Rinsing off the packaging under the sink is an entirely different thing.

You know you're not supposed to do that for the same reason you're not supposed to rinse chicken in the sink, right? It just splashes whatever you are trying to wash off (virus/bacteria) all over the entire sink area and contaminates it.

R111 The main difference here being virus and bacteria. Salmonella may not ordinarily be killed by detergents, and unless one sanitises their sink, those bacterial colonies multiply over time. Viruses, or viral particles, cannot multiply outside a host. They require the cellular machinery inside you to hijack, -and reprogram those organelles in order to multiply. The virus has a lipid layer, which is easily dissolved by water and detergent or soap, to render it inactive. I hope this makes you feel more confident about washing virus down the drain.

Link R111?

[quote]If it somehow lessens your anxiety to wipe down every last jar of jelly, there's no harm in that, experts agree. But Graham warns that if you feel compelled to wipe, it might be wise to stick to soap and water. "A lot of the packaging that groceries come in is really not meant to be sprayed with disinfectant, and you [could] actually end up contaminating your food," she says. Schaffner adds that disinfecting sprays and wipes are meant to be used on hard surfaces, which would not include many of the kinds of plastics or cardboard used for food packaging.

And anyone who doesn't wash and disinfect their sink after washing anything is nasty!

How is it any different than washing your hands, which is obviously recommended?

R114 Refer to R112

Yes, R115, I was referring to R111.

Someone posted a link to this excellent article here a few days ago, and after reading it, I feel a lot better about just using normal common sense and not overreacting. There's a lot of good information about viruses in it.

For me--my major precaution is just avoiding other people. I rarely leave the house; have only been inside another building twice, and have had all groceries either delivered or picked up.

SORRY! Forgot the link.

My neighbor ordering meat from Omaha Steaks.

Organelle would be a good name for a perfume.

I love how gay this thread is getting with all sorts of helpful storage hints. We could make an HGTV show out of R107 and R109

Though you could stick the toilet paper under your bed or in a paper bag in the corner. You're not having guests over.

Hell, if someone were desperate enough, they could just keep TP in a bag and keep it in the tub/shower and remove as necessary.

R83 here. I don't know for sure that they weren't wearing them inside the store, but they didn't have them on when dropping off the groceries and I didn't see any when I peered into their car from my front door. More than likely, if they weren't wearing them to drop the groceries off, then they weren't wearing them inside the store either. Every other shopper I have dealt with (and I have documented a few of my experiences in these threads) wore gloves and a mask. This one didn't and it alarmed me. Maybe they didn't have any, but then it's the responsibility of Instacart to provide them. I know the Reichpublicans on capitol hill are trying to shield businesses like this from class action liability, but they can't shield them from individual suits if someone gets sick. If they continue to act this recklessly, then they will go out of business. I hope the next order for two weeks from now will be better handled than this.

R123 what state are you in? Is it not mandatory to wear at least a mask in stores where you are?

In New York, where it is mandatory. That's part of why I'm upset.

Also, I haven't been able to get clorox wipes in weeks. None from Peapod, none from Instacart, none from Costco. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to get some, besides ebay, where they are charging upwards of $100 for a three pack?

R125 if it's mandatory where you are, I would just assume that the delivery person did wear the gloves and mask while in the store and took them off when he delivered. He may have been between runs and they are technically supposed to swap them out each time, at least the gloves.

R116 Got it! I didn't know if that was a rhetorical or not.

R110, Frau "weighing in" here -- I underestimated some edibles a couple ago and I am fucked up but trying to play it off legit here on my couch at home by appearing to read "the news" on my phone. I was with R107 but when I got to the part about cramming the largest wire rack one could fit into their bedroom and putting a curtain on it, I had to laugh. By the time I got to bed risers I knew that bitch was on phentermine!

here's what I would do if I were you. If you have a garage or a basement or are close to someone who does, two or three people ought to get together and buy a freezer. Buy meat, beef, chicken, pork, and freeze it because the shortages are going to hit any minute. Get a large cupboard and get the canned tuna, and other stuff, toilet paper, etc. When this thing hits in the second wave we will have some real shit to deal with. Buy a few masks, the reusable washable masks every time you get a chance. Canned chili, frozen pot pies, etc. And gallons of water. Cleaning products, anti bacterial stuff. Bathing soap dishwashing liquid, etc. Stock up. But do it gradually when you find things don't be a fool and grab all the stuff in the store.

My understanding is that freestanding freezers are in short supply R130

R126, over the last couple weeks, I scored two 3-packs of Clorox wipes from Walmart.com. The trick is you just have to keep logging on during the day and night to try to catch when they have some available for delivery. And when you see them, jump on it right away -- add to cart, check out, and place order, boom. Don't just add to cart and then start shopping around for other items to add on because they'll be gone by the time you get ready to check out. Good luck!

Hell, just buy a deep-freeze.and keep your toilet paper in it.

I'm not sure any neighbors would agree to go in on a freezer. Who would house it? Who would pay the electricity costs? How would everyone have access to it when they wanted / needed?

I can see people fighting over shit like this and, "How do I know youre not going to eat my shit or steal it when shit really goes down!!!!"

But yeah, free standing freezers are also hard to find these days.

Florida Man Bites off Neighbor's Ear in Mutual Meat Mix-Up

Sexay!

R130, what she should do is make friends with someone with a basement or garage, buy a freezer, put it in New friend's basement garage, then put new friend in freezer, then stock the new basement with excess toilet paper and assume the identity of the neighbor.

[quote]here's what I would do if I were you. If you have a garage or a basement or are close to someone who does, two or three people ought to get together and buy a freezer.

Maybe your Uncle Oscar has one he can let you have!

You do realize if you put some Clorox on a rag that you have a "Clorox wipe."

I mentioned in an earlier thread that a lot of have become involuntary hoarders because of minimum purchase requirements for pickup or delivery orders. I keep filling my cart with stuff I don't really need in order to hit the threshold. I just counted and I now have 17 boxes of cereal. And probably at least 25 cans of soup.

R140 start adding oatmeal and beans!

There is no TP being delivered that I can find. I tried Target, Amazon, Riteaid,, CVS, Staples, Home Depot, Walgreens, even Walmart. Many claim to have it in the store but I can't go to the store as I'm at high risk. I fear Instacart. I tried them a few years back when they first started and the people that came were imbeciles. I had no substitution and they brought everything substituted. Customer service sent a second and then a third shopper to me and all three fucked up the order. I finally just got my money back and never used them since. In this pandemic I really don't trust the, especially with what the poster above said about them coming with no mask or gloves. Everyone else who delivers food to me, not places that would have toilet paper, are masked and gloved. And I wear a mask and gloves when I answer the door to keep them safe and myself even safer.

R140...start adding unassembled three-legged tables, planters, plants and saucers, Home Depot buckets, and heavy cream! That way when you need some room to store your stuff, you can just put all this shit together around your room and viola🎻, look at all the space you freed up!

I don't have space problems ... I have a 3BR house with a garage.

R142, if you're desperate and don't care about the brand, Walmart has their brand of TP available for shipping right now.

R145, But my precious and tender hole deserves the best.

[quote] Amazon workers are dying in droves and being treated like slaves.

His final thoughts would be of pride if he lasted long enough to ship the new soundcard I just ordered.

You can forget about getting delivery tomorrow.

Serves those hedge funds and techoles right!

Is it true Instacart shoppers are going on strike tomorrow? If so, will it only be the one day? I have a delivery scheduled for Saturday.

I can't wait for the first Architectural Digest spread to focus on people's new toilet paper based design schemes.

Someone asked upthread about how much money we've spent since the start of the pandemic. I've spent a lot -- about $800 worth -- but not only on the stuff we all need like TP, paper towels, etc. I've also been doing a bit of stress buying on new lamps, crystal ornaments, pictures for my living room wall, etc. But I think I will stop now, not only from a monetary standpoint but also because there's nowhere left to put anything in my apartment (I still have room to move around and want to keep it that way).

What about the rest of you? Has anyone else been stress-buying other, non-pandemic-related stuff?

Think about the way, that we live to today! Think about the way, think about way!!

I know many of you whores hate social media, but here's a tip: if you are thinking about ordering online from a retailer for shipping, particularly a sorta well knownish one, check their Twitter to see if people are getting their stuff.

Of course delays and/or shortages are to be expected, but I was just noodling around on the World Market site and was going to order some outdoor stuff, and it sounds like they are almost 2 months behind for some orders. Be informed!

[quote]There is no TP being delivered that I can find.

Office Depot/Office Max had some the other day.

What I absolutely CAN. NOT. FIND. for shipping are disinfectant wipes.

I have resigned myself to never finding them again, but I now have 4 bottles of a spray multipurpose disinfectant cleaner on the CDC's list, and a bottle of bleach, and will try to stretch those the fuck out for as long as I can.

If I could find just a wee bit of hydrogen peroxide and a few boxes of alcohol wipes I'd be good to go.

R151: I admit, I bought stuff for my home after watching too much HGTV. Since I am stuck here, I might as well make it as nice as possible! I would say a couple thousand on curtains, pots, pans, rugs etc. Then groceries - about $150/week (which is much less since I am doing take out only 1x/wk along with 1 bottle of wine (no happy more hour)).

*No more happy hour lol😉

Be careful where you buy your stuff!

900 bottles of diluted Clorox bleach seized by feds at southern border

Federal authorities at the southern border in Arizona have seized about 900 bottles of diluted Clorox bleach being imported from Mexico.

Multiple shipments of the product, determined through preliminary testing to be ineffective, were intercepted by authorities in April at a border crossing in Nogales, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Investigators with Homeland Security and US Customs Border Protection found that during the coronavirus pandemic several American businesses were importing Clorox, toilet paper and other materials from Mexico.

Federal authorities are working with the US Attorney’s Office to find out who tampered the popular disinfectant.

[quote]If I could find just a wee bit of hydrogen peroxide and a few boxes of alcohol wipes I'd be good to go.

What would you do with a wee bit of hydrogen peroxide?

[quote]If I could find just a wee bit of hydrogen peroxide and a few boxes of alcohol wipes I'd be good to go.

Walmart has had hydrogen peroxide available for awhile and wipes pop up frequently as well.

Good new /Bad News on using Amazon Fresh. They had some slots open for next day delivery, after checking the site for about 6 days, but half of the items I want are not available. The other bad news is that items that seem available when I'm shopping get booted out of my cart by the time I get around to trying to pay for them. I had about $70 worth of stuff in my cart, but when I went to pay, so many things were deemed not available that my total had dropped down to $40. I'm in Brooklyn.

R107 here. No, I am not on meth. My post was in response to R8, who claimed he didn’t have room for a 24 pack of toilet paper anywhere in his small apartment. I know people with small apartments or who rent rooms have very tight space, but no room for a 24 pack of toilet paper? I was suggesting things that person could do. Some people are just bad at organizing.

No, I have not done all of them for Coronavirus. I follow a prepper site and some time ago they had a thread about where you could put preps. Some of those people had tons of stuff and they were stuffing it under the couch. But some had good ideas.

I live in an old house myself with only three usable closets in the entire house. Everything you need to store has to be out in some open area because there’s no storage. So I can relate to people having no place to put anything, although I’m not in a tiny apartment. It’s frustrating on a regular day, let alone now. The present circumstances are really making it apparent how much this sucks. Whoever designed this place was an idiot.

R151 I understand. Right before this pandemic panic started I had downsized to a small condo and have an extra $3500 a month now. I should buy some stuff.

[quote]What about the rest of you? Has anyone else been stress-buying other, non-pandemic-related stuff?

I feel like I single-handedly keep etsy in business, because mask browsing led to other kinds of browsing and now I own more coffee mugs, hats, drawstring bags, and straw carriers than I ever expected to.

Central CA here, I read today the price of filet mignon is going down (soreee no reference post) and hope to get some soon at Costco. I buy their $35 pack and chop it up into small bits and freeze. It lasts quite awhile that way.

Did a small weekly shop today and things looked pretty normal except paper product aisle.

[quote]Water was completely wiped out as was soda, which I thought was weird.

We bought a distiller because we use it for nasal rinses (especially during allergy season) and couldn't find it in stores anymore, plus we use filtered water for a couple of our plants that were dying because of the tap water. It was expensive but it's nice to not have to rely on whether water will be back in stock.

R160, there hasn't been hydrogen peroxide on Walmart in weeks! I'm desperate for it and can't find it anywhere.

R126 I bought a 3 pack 4 weeks ago at Target since then I haven't seen them anywhere for any price.

Local Kroger and Hyvee supposedly have disinfectant wipes occasionally per my partner's coworkers, but I can't get them through grocery delivery and haven't seen them myself.

wholefoods had rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide and hand sanitizer for sale in store. everything is in stock including toilet paper, all the meats and flour but the prices are sky high.

R160, I owe you an apology, Walmart had a 3-pack of hydrogen peroxide for sale this morning about 7AM Eastern.

The other thing that I'm suddenly unable to find is Emergen-C in the Immune Plus formula with added D and Zinc. The regular Emergen-C is available. This has been freaking me out as I have an Amazon monthly subscription for it and it's been a helpful psychological crutch (and who knows? maybe it actually works!)

I just found some (and paper napkins which I can't find anywhere) on a random janitorial supply company site! I hope it's legit.

trader joes is striking too

[quote][R126], over the last couple weeks, I scored two 3-packs of Clorox wipes from Walmart.com. The trick is you just have to keep logging on during the day and night to try to catch when they have some available for delivery.

This also works for Lysol spray - Walmart seems to be practically the only online retailer that has been able to offer either one of these kinds of products for weeks. (Amazon sells out even faster than Walmart, it seems, or will only allow medical/first responder types to buy). I scored two cans of Lysol there last week and a three-pack of Clorox wipes the week before that. It helps to bookmark the search for each type of product (disinfectant sprays, disinfectant wipes) and then just get in the habit of checking the search results page several times a day when you have a minute.

I've found hydrogen peroxide at both Target and Walgreens, in store (I'm in CA). Haven't seen any rubbing alcohol on the shelves since this whole thing started, but hydrogen peroxide has been slightly easier to find, it does turn up from time to time.

R166 yes they did because I got some last week.

Glad you got some R170

R126 here. Really, Walmart? No one else is selling clorox wipes at this point? Ugh. I don't know if I can bring myself to buy it from them, but if no one else has it, then I may not have another choice. Thanks for the info.

R176, I hate Walmart too, but they're the only online retailer I've found that has come up with the goods - and I've looked everywhere (unless you want to get price gouged into infinity by the people still trying to sneak this stuff past the powers that be on eBay, after they banned the sale of them). Between the instant sellouts of all useful products and the refusal to sell most of it to non-medical people anyway, Amazon has proven largely useless during this crisis.

hydrogen peroxide, TP and paper towels at Vitacost.com

I don’t eat meat but tofu has been hard to find in the stores. I can only find it at local restaurants selling their stock. There are many restaurants in Los Angeles selling lots of grocery food items for pick up and delivery. Especially helpful for finding eggs, milk and flour. Is this not happening all over? At least in NYC? Check the instagrams and websites of your favorite local restaurants. I would think that even in small towns there are restaurants doing this.

And Ralphs/Kroeger allows you to place an order for pick up and you can edit your cart up until the night before pick up, earliest pick up day near me is only 3 days away. I just scheduled an order to pick up in a week. They will definitely be out of some items, note what they are and find a new source. Between ordering groceries from local restaurants, CSA boxes and pick up from Ralphs we haven’t been inside a store since the middle of March. I think this is the new way to effectively grocery shop without the crowds or putting staff at risk all day.

I hope this can help, some of you seem to be panicking about the “chain breaking down” and it is causing tunnel vision. Don’t listen to the fear mongers. Food is out there, you just might have to find a new way to get it other than just going to the same store you always go to on the way home from work. Support your local restaurants and farmer’s markets!

R178, I've been shopping at Vitacost for years, since before Kroger bought them out, and I love them, but they haven't had all the products you've been touting recently. The only TP is Seventh Generation with bad reviews, and there's no hydrogen peroxide, just a mouthwash with a lower percentage of peroxide than actual hydrogen peroxide has.

[quote]I would think that even in small towns there are restaurants doing this.

Speaking only for my mid-sized Norcal city, I'd love it if restaurants around here were doing this, but most of them don't keep their SM accounts, websites etc updated the way they should, the way restaurants in bigger cities do. I haven't seen a word about here.

My local store is still doing the seniors hour at opening but the crowds are no longer so I fear they will soon stop. So there are less people but they are not social distancing and neither is the staff. However there is TP, wipes and disinfectant.

I was ostracized here on DL for linking this, but I'm loving it. Basically you make your own hypochlorous acid/sodium hydroxide solution, but if breaks down in 2 weeks:

You can also buy pure hypochlorous acid to dilute and clean.

Interesting chart on disinfectants:

R120, I was going to say for a Drag Queen

R184 That's how I found out that the spray cleaner I found on store shelves was in fact good to work against the coronavirus.

However, you have to leave it on the surface for ten (!) minutes.

I've used seventh generation TP, it's OK, does the job.

Hand sanitizer has been easier to come by (in NYC)....more CVS and Duane Reade/Walgreens are selling them now and in bigger sizes. They used to only have the travel sizes in the past.

R184, where's the column for 'Injection'.

Today, I went to Ace Hardware (about 1 p.m.) to buy some litterbox deodorizer. (Chewy.com and my local supermarket stopped selling it.) Only five customers were allowed in the store at a time (It's a small store), so there was a short wait to get in the store. Right inside the entrance, there was a large display of hand sanitizer, bleach and some plastic bottles of disinfectant spray (all unknown brands). I walked over to the cleaning supplies in the back of the store and I found Lysol disinfectant spray. There were about 8 large cans and 10 smaller cans. That's the first time I've seen it in weeks.

If you live near an Ace Hardware, stop by. They have a wide variety of merchandise, including plants and pet supplies. They have much more charm and character than the large warehouses known as Home Depot and Lowes.

7*11 on Devonshire and Woodley (Granada Hills, CA) has small bottles of hand sanitizer today, made with 70% ethanol. When I left an hour ago, there were still 7 in the box by the lotions and allergy meds.

R190 are they 7-11 branded?

I know some 7-11's got in trouble for selling homemade shit that burned.

Came across some Lysol spray at Lowe's today. Work checking out. I went back a few hours later to return something and they were all gone.

My local gas station is selling hand sanitizer (like the purse sized bottles) for $3.99 a pop. Hope they were at least letting their employees use it.

Costco had tons of meat. I was surprised to find out Costco has their own meat processing plants, so that may be the reason.

you dumbfucks running around to find Lysol Wipes are increasing your chance of infection.

Are you...?

[quote]If you live near an Ace Hardware, stop by. They have a wide variety of merchandise, including plants and pet supplies. They have much more charm and character than the large warehouses known as Home Depot and Lowes.

I agree. Patronize Ace Hardware instead of Menards, Lowes, and Home Depot because they always seem to be struggling financially and this pandemic might be the thing that finally ends them. They are an old fashioned hardware store where the employees actually know how to fix things and use the products they sell.

This is hydrogen peroxide, available right now.

Just spray the Lysol on all of the meat. Problem solved.

R181 what about CSA boxes? Any local farmers markets still open or offering delivery? If I can access strawberries from Salinas why can’t you? I am not trying to be a scold or badger anyone. Just offering a view of food access outside your traditional super market. And it doesn’t have to be expensive. You just have to do a little looking around. If you have the next door app ask around to see what’s available locally, without going to a grocery store.

Yes, r190, but not the same green stuff they sold last month in the round bottles. Looks like real sanitizer this time, in the little square squeeze bottles. The other one also had aloe, but this just has vitamin E.

I shopped at Ace Hardware all through February and they were great. They had stuff the big box stores were already out of. They will also order stuff for you and they’re doing curbside pickup here.

If we lost them it would really be a loss. Time to patronize American small businesses, because Trump is giving most of the loans to the very rich companies with huge lines of credit already.

If you have chemist warehouses in your area they have been good sources for TP and hand sanitisers for me.

R195 says bleach to me.

A non-chlorine "bleach" isn't the same as Clorox.

I just googled to see the dilution percentage of the Seventh Gen product: "No, Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Bleach is not a registered disinfectant. This product is simply a 3-5% hydrogen peroxide solution that can be used as a laundry additive."

I have never in my life on this planet owned a can of Lysol spray. I don't feel the need to spray things. And I don't use "disinfecting wipes" either. Just wipe the counter down with hot soapy water, rinse, and dry. I don't understand why people are so obsessed with this junk.

R203 And, I have never been in a house without at least one can of Lysol spray. I also take them with me to hotels. My parents taught me, the first thing to do in your hotel room is to spray it down with Lysol.

Most of the time, with "soapy water" you are just moving the germs about rather than killing them. Especially, if you are using a sponge or dirty dish/tea towel.

After you spray Lysol, do you wipe it down? R203

R203

M A R Y !!!!!

I bought the filti fabric from the other thread (mentioned). I just pin a 4x5 inch strip inside my paper (?) surgical style mask instead of making a full mask from it. I don't worry about washing masks or liner because I have enough to just take off the mask and let it sit there for 2 weeks and reuse it if needed. I really like the fabric pinned in- much better than without because it prevents the mask from expanding up and down too much making me need to flex my face to get it back down below my eyes. it's not difficult to breathe or heavy although it is noticeable a bit when you breathe.

I make kissing and licking motions underneath my mask when hot guys walk by. Is that wrong?

[quote] chemist warehouses

what is that?

Walmart delivered my Lysol spray today! Yay!

R207 which fabric?

r211

R204 I use a clean rag that goes into the laundry room to dry and then gets laundered later. In the unlikely event anything lived through the washing machine, the heat of the dryer will kill it. I don't use sponges. And BTW, soap breaks the lipid envelope of the coronavirus and kills it. Then wipe it a away. Notice I also said rinse. People are hysterical about spraying everything. I grew up in a house with common sense not hysteria about chemical sprays all over the house.

R213

[quote] While you might think that cleaning the counter with warm water and soap was the last step you still haven’t killed the bacteria living on your kitchen counter. Soap and water will aid in the mechanical removal of some bacteria, to be sure, but it doesn’t actually kill the bacteria left behind. To do this, you need to use bleach or other sanitizers.

[quote]R181] what about CSA boxes? Any local farmers markets still open or offering delivery? If I can access strawberries from Salinas why can’t you? I am not trying to be a scold or badger anyone.

I'm not sure why you're addressing this to me? I'm not having a problem accessing produce here in my area, my comment was specifically about local restaurants offering pantry staples like flour along with takeout, and how it's proven difficult to learn which might be doing it in this area.

I made a post on one of the previous versions of this thread urging people to consider alternatives to the grocery store for the things they're having trouble finding, like local fruit & vegetable stands, ranch and feed stores for eggs, local dairy facility stores for milk, local butchers, etc. I'm familiar with thinking outside the supermarket box, but I appreciate your advice and trying to spread the word about these other options.

I never seem to have any luck with this but maybe you bitches will. There's something called Zoolert that gives you alerts if something is in stock.

That is hysteria R214. Learn some common sense.

The Lysol scolds need to fuck off. If you do things differently, then do it your way. You have no idea what other people's circumstances might be, so stop trying to browbeat others.

R217 No, it is common sense that a kitchen needs to be cleaned and then disinfected. You are the kind of person that makes me weary of pot lucks. If you don't believe me, maybe you will listen to the USDA.

Filthy people rarely know how disgustingly filthy they are!

Boxed has Germ-X, 32oz, for $8 right now. They also have paper towels. I recieved my toilet paper I ordered the other day-- it's out of stock right now but they'll get it back.

Sign up for their free month of "Boxed Up" to get cheaper prices and free shipping. If you sign up today and cancel it tomorrow, your membership trial won't end for 30 days, so if you're scared of forgetting to cancel, just sign up, order some stuff, cancel your membership, and keep getting the deals for 30 days. If you decide you like it anyway after a month, just sign up again and pay the fee. You can Google the promo code to get $15 off your first order, too. There's always one out there.

R218 stop trying to browbeat people into using Lysol and screeching about "OMIGAWD DISINFECT IT!!!!!

And yet I have NEVER had food poisoning from my kitchen, R219. If you want to be a germ-freak, go for it. I don't give a shit. But I'm not.

I learned how to take care of a kitchen from my grandmother, who lived to be 97. I trust her much more than some randos on the internet who are obsessed with Lysol spray and "wipes". She never used any of that shit and never did we contract some horrific disease from her kitchen. Just stop.

I eat piles of shit!!

Uh, ok scat troll @R225. You might want to get some professional psychological help dear.

So back on topic. Is it still ok to squeeze the melons before purchasing? Or does that spread disease?

If you have groceries delivered, is it safe to give the delivery guy a blowjob as long as he's wearing a mask?

So what became of the big May Day strike? I wondered how effective it was going to be when it didn't seem to be getting much traction or mention in the mainstream press. Does anyone have any personal knowledge of what happened in their areas? I didn't do any kind of shopping today so I didn't observe anything myself. I know that a Walmart order I placed yesterday was shipped today, so at least there were people working there.

I have Walmart grocery pickup order scheduled for tomorrow morning. I'll be curious to see if they end up cancelling it (like they have twice before.)

... interesting that someone's take away is that people are trying to force other people to use Lysol.

Sounds like a guilty conscience!

The Lysol! shriekers were probably Lysol! shriekers before covid-19. Didn't one say he never used to go anywhere without a can?

I knew a guy who used to LIVE at the local coffee shop. He would take this can of generic / off- label spray into the rest room every time he had to go. I assumed it was an air freshener and he was just trying to be what he thought was polite. The pandemic and DL's Lysol! shriekers have convinced me that what he most likely was was a Lysol! shrieker.

R230 sounds like an OCD bossy Mrs Kravitz.

You sound bothered!

R231 I go plenty of places without Lysol, I just said I take it to hotel rooms with me when traveling and sanitize the room. Anyone who has ever seen one of those CSI/Dateline episodes knows why.

A friend went to Walmart today and said there were huge lines. She was pissed off because the cashier kept coughing and asking her unnecessary questions about each item.

It's the little things that say so much.

I have never used a disinfectant in my kitchen and I've never gotten sick. Clorox wipes, etc. are too harsh on my granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Plus, I don't want unnecessary chemicals around my food or pets. Plain old water and soap are better than anything.

r234, I was referring to r204. This is what he said:

[quote]I have never been in a house without at least one can of Lysol spray. I also take them with me to hotels.

I think you can see how someone might interpret you to mean "I take it EVERYWHERE, bitches!"

[quote]I think you can see how someone might interpret you to mean "I take it EVERYWHERE, bitches!"

To me that reads, "I take lysol with me to hotels."

R239 Exactly, I'm not some whore who spends all my time in hotels.

Some people are trash.

Some people have jobs like essential jobs where they come into contact with who knows what kind of germs. They need to disinfect or they will die or infect others...

R237, I have never used a disinfectant in my kitchen and I've never gotten sick".

you don't use bleach to clean your kitchen floors? disgusting...

I don't have an aerosol spray of Lysol. I have Lysol cleaner cleaner in a squirt bottle. I bought it the first week in March, along with a similar bottle of Clorox. I haven't even used the Clorox, and the Lysol is 2/3 full. But I spray things. You stand a certain distance away, and you mist things lightly. No need to saturate. Then I use paper toweling to wipe my items off. I use this method on sealed cellophane packaging, cans, bottles, and heavy cardboard or plastic. I would never use it on produce or eggs, meat, etc. Ever. It's strictly for pantry items.

With produce like bags of carrots or oranges and apples or zucchini and bell peppers, I put them in the sink in a large basin of room temperature water with maybe one or two teensy drops of dishwashing detergent, swish them around for about 3-5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly, dry, and refrigerate. Yes it takes extra time, but it makes me feel safer. I've been very careful not to contaminate my food. I've only ordered take out once. I just felt uncomfortable with it.

To be honest, I have clothes I use when I go out for a walk or to the store. When I come home I take them off immediately and lightly mist them with lysol. I also spray my "outside" tennis shoes. Outer doorknobs, mailbox, etc. Steering wheel, car seats also get wiped down. Maybe I'm paranoid. I don't care. I intend to make it out of this alive. I'm over 55 with an underlying medical condition. COPD.

This virus is too unpredictable. people who are supposed to survive it don't. Some get it and have almost no symptoms, other people get knocked on their asses. Some people go into the hospital and die while others spend two weeks in a coma and go home again. They don't even know what to use to treat it. Every hospital seems to have its own rules. I can't afford the risk of having it get into my lungs.

Just moisten some paper toweling with anti bacterial cleaner, and wipe the outside of cartons and containers.

The only place I’ve gone is to take my trash to the building’s chute or go to the mail room - everything has been delivered. I wash my hands thoroughly.

I’ve still managed to get 2 terrible sore throats with enormous swollen glands 2 weeks apart. I had to do telemedicine and get doxycycline the first time and clindamycin the second time. Strep? I don’t know.

Very unusual.

[quote][R218] stop trying to browbeat people into using Lysol and screeching about "OMIGAWD DISINFECT IT!!!!!

I haven't tried to 'browbeat' anyone about anything on these threads, including Lysol. I've talked about my shopping experiences, offered advice about where to buy things, etc. You're the one who's melting down because everyone else doesn't do things the way you think they ought to be done. If people don't want to disinfect things that's their deal. I'm not trying to control other people via DL.

[quote]. If you want to be a germ-freak, go for it. I don't give a shit.

Apparently you do REALLY do give a shit, because you can't stop going on about it on this thread.

ACE’s are independent from one another and vary wildly from location to location. I doubt very much that their inventory would be consistent even in normal times.

[quote]I’ve still managed to get 2 terrible sore throats with enormous swollen glands 2 weeks apart.

Must be the blowjobs you're giving when you visit the mail room and the trash chute.

No R242. You cannot use bleach on marble floors.

Dang R246 you just can't stop it can you? Do try to get a grip honey.

No ribeye or filet the last 3 days.

Sporadic pork and chicken.

Ground beef up from 600 to 650.

Cattle on the hoof are at $3.30/lb, up from below $2 just 10 days ago.

I'm going to order meat from a wholesaler who supplies to restaurants. I was going to buy one of those "hide the body" freezers so I could stock up on various frozen stuff but everyone is sold out of freezers.

It's only a matter of time before one of you queens accidentally sprays Lysol into your eye and has to go the ER and contracts Coronavirus there. Sheesh.

I've made two posts about the whole Lysol debate, at R218 and R246. Meanwhile, the ragers who are angry that people use Lysol at all have made God knows how many at this point. Somebody needs to get a grip, but it's not me. Off to ignore with you now.

Yeah, that's a good approach. Put people with different opinions on ignore. Great approach to discussion on a message board. *smh*

WHET Mr Whipple ("please don't squeeze the Charmin")?? Did he die of Coronavirus?

Is it true that Scott TP is made from inferior ground up remnants of Charmin?

Mr. Whipple is still around. Major pussyhound, huge Trump supporter.

My local store is limiting meat purchases now, the way it limits paper products.

I was shopping for groceries on Thursday, the day before Labour Day which was yesterday. Anyways, I went late, like 6 pm, thinking there would be fewer people. Boy was I wrong. The first thing I see when I drive up to the parking lot is that it's full and I think this can't be a good sign. When I get in there's a ton of people there and NOBODY is following the social distancing rules. I'm so fucking pissed off. There was even a guy coughing! Of course I walked past him just as he coughed. If I get corona at least I know how I got it.

I went to Home Depot two days in a row in late morning and the parking lot was full so I didn't go in. Yesterday I went at 6:25am and only crossed paths with one other person shopping in the store. I went for flowers and vegetable plants and got everything I needed. I didn't look to see if they had any of the things stores keep running out of.

R245, I was like that last week and the week before. It was a crushing sinus infection. It even affected my teeth. The sore scratchy throat and swollen glands were concerning though. I had a headache and one night I was achy and sweating as I do when I have a fever. It was very slight. Of course I was a nervous mess, but I feel fine now, and the weather has a lot to do with it. Allergies, pollen, humidity, temperatures, etc. I took Sudafed and I varied that with Advil for about four or five nights. I do think it's important to go outside every day for at least an hour. Yes. Even if you just sit there. Because I believe that if we spend too much time indoors, our bodies are going to overreact to our environment when we finally do get out. We have to acclimatize.

R262 That's why I went for a walk yesterday and today. It feels so nice to just get out and get some fresh air.

It feels like the pandemic is over at my grocery store. Toilet paper, meat, hand sanitizer, no empty shelves anywhere. I even got my favorite toast that had been out for weeks. Still a bit weird to see all these people with face masks at a grocery store, but no shortages.

[quote]I grew up in a house with common sense not hysteria about chemical sprays all over the house.

I don't understand the point of getting sniffy on a thread like this. No one is talking about using massive, hysterical amounts of cleaners.

Not sure what some of you snotty bitches were thinking but the hydrogen peroxide I was looking for is for mouthwash, it has nothing to do with cleaning the house. Having some disinfectant wipes and some Lysol isn't "hysterical." Good lord, do you just go searching for things to bitch about?

We're short on a lot of meat in our stores because the nearby meatpacking plants are all closed after hundreds of cases of CV19. Tiny little towns of 25,000 people have 700 cases diagnosed with hundreds more expected. It's fantastic.

Seafood has been easy to get though because we import that, what with being a horrible landlocked hellhole of a state.

[quote]Didn't one say he never used to go anywhere without a can?

Enough people carry it with them that they make travel size cans.

Not really sure why someone is pitching a fit about it to the point of singling someone out and trying to disrupt the thread. Why bother? Who has that kind of time, even during lockdown?

Don't take Sudafed for sinus infections, it'll dry you out and make it worse. You need to keep moist. Moist, I tells ya!

Saline nasal sprays and rinses are great, take Advil and snort that good saline up into your sinus cavities and give it a few minutes, you'll be feeling better in no time. Also hydrate like you've never hydrated before (not too close to bedtime) and take some Mucinex if you really need.

[quote]I'm going to order meat from a wholesaler who supplies to restaurants.

Be careful about ordering from restaurant suppliers right now. This tweet went viral yesterday about somebody ordering carrots from a restaurant supplier.

Not really complaining, as we have enough to eat, (and could use to lose a stone or two) just an update of a WF order/Amazon Fresh...I had ordered two Ribeyes, and usually I receive an option to select something else, but they did not notify, nor did they substitute...I had also ordered some thinly sliced Roast Beast from the deli, that too was N/A, and no substitution was made. No radishes either sadly.

After ringing Amazon, no explanation other than, there probably were not any other steaks available. No info regarding the deli, and no reason as to why I received Radicchio instead of Radishes. I'm inclined to believe the substitutions are alphabetical, and non-sensical. (Not quite sure if non-sensical is a real word, so let 'er rip Grammar Queens)

$15 dollars was credited for my "trouble", which I thought was odd. So, instead of steaks, salad, and garlic bread, we had Cannellini Bean w/Ham soup, salad, and garlic bread. I'm glad I froze half the batch of my bean soup I made after Easter. From here on forward, I'm planning more meatless menus, and having lowered expectations any meat shall arrive. That's certainly one way to deal with disappointment!

^She got herself some nice dildos

r264, just because the toilet paper's back doesn't mean the virus has gone away. Keep wearing your mask.

r270, I live in an area with a lot of vegetarians and a lot of Asians who aren't used to eating a meat-centric American diet, so dried legumes were the first thing to disappear when the panic buying started in March. This week I was able to score some bags of beans and lentils but there doesn't seem to be a dry chickpea to be had in the whole city. (I don't go for the canned stuff.)

Carrots the size of your torso!

R273 Congrats on what you scored! I had lamented with another poster how I found dried beans to be scarce as well. I will eat beans from tins, but prefer to soak myself. Do you have any store which has Chick Peas soft, or soaked? When I was in the city, and not in the sticks, even Jewel had them in their produce section. Jewel is very average if you're not familiar.

If you haven't had them, I recommend either Eden, or La Preferida for tinned Chick Peas! I always rinse thoroughly.

What's up with these restaurant suppliers? This guy ordered 1 kg of sweet potatoes from a supplier and they sent him one single mutant sweet potato.

Have people lost the arcane, ancient knowledge of how to slice up a carrot? What's the big deal?

I've been informed that the goodies (napkins and Emergen-C Immune+) I thought I'd scored from a janitorial supply company are no longer available. Crap.

Instacart has raised its minimum purchase from $35 to $50 for all orders (not just for free delivery) - at least in Northern Virginia.

Now I can get a same day Wegman’s order again.

Most things in stock in NYC store I went to. Midtown.

R276 The sweet potato someone posted on that feed is even more disturbing. It is huge and has veins.

I think there should be a "That's okay, just cancel the whole damn thing" option for these grocery-shopping services. When your shopper keeps texting you every two minutes to say the item you requested is out of stock, then says the replacement option you selected is out of stock -- and this happens on item after item -- you should be able to push a button that says "Buyer no longer gives a shit, please put everything back and go home" and just call it a day. Granted, I know stores are running low on many things these days due to the whole pandemic situation but fuck, if all I'm getting back is a carton of milk and some oranges, what's the fucking point. Let the shopper keep the tip for his troubles but leave the rest there and go about your day.

mutant fucking vegetables grown in toxic sludge. What is that shite? GMOs? Horrible to look upon. Those roots doesn't look like food.

R281, you can tell them to cancel it while they're shopping.

If you look at their Reddit, they often love it when someone cancels once they've started shopping because they still get their IC payment anyway. If your tip isn't very motivating and they still get paid by Instacart as if they completed the order, it's like money for nothing.

Thanks, R283. I'm still new to these shopping services and did not realize such a cancel option existed. I will keep that in mind for the next time.

R281, I don't have that texting annoyance because I didn't give my cellphone number, only my landline.

And though last time I was given green cabbage instead of lettuce, and this week I got somebody else's butter, milk, cheese, and M&Ms, basically I am quite pleased with Insta-cart!

I just got a very rude Instacart shopper for the first time ever!

As soon as he drops off my groceries , I’m calling customer service and letting them have it. How dare he.

How was he rude?

He did not present whole...wheat.

After he started shopping I asked him to add two small items to the list. This is for Wegman’s, which prides itself on customer service.

He gave me attitude over the chat and said “Add additional items? That affects my pay” So I said nevermind and he said “I will get them, but it does.”

MOTHERFUCKER!!!! I have used Instacart for years and am an excellent tipper!

I hope his ass gets fired after I ream him through customer service. They are really going to hear about it in 20 minutes.

I even told him I tip on the total! WHAT A FUCKING DICKHEAD!

A friend of mine has been using Von's order service and she swears they not only randomly replace things with no rhyme or reason but that sometimes they do substitute as a joke.

In one order she requested mayo and they gave her ketchup. In another order she requested oranges and they gave her a container of Tang. She said the worst substitute, is when she requested buttermilk and they gave her a package of butter and a gallon of milk.

R290, he does know your address, though, so be careful.

I’m not telling him off to his face - I’m reporting his ass to customer service and letting them know in no uncertain terms that I am most seriously displeased!

Perhaps you could speak to his manager?

I plan to!

[quote]I even told him I tip on the total!

How else would you tip?

And you don't think he'll know it's you and remember your address?

Spoiler alert: The Manager won't care.

^And what will he do? Crap on his porch?

I had a very rude Amazon Prime delivery person once. I called and was nice to the operator, but clearly said how appalled I was. I never saw that delivery person again and I got a very nice email from the customer service manager a few days later.

I don’t play with rude service people - I will never be rude or condescending back, but I get on the phone and let their boss know immediately.

Fuck that and fuck them.

R299 if he's lucky.

I don’t care if he knows it was me - so what?

Sure r301. If every person who wanted to talk to a manager and complain about bad service was gunned down with a shotgun, there would be dead Karens everywhere.

It just takes one!

I’m not afraid of the grocery clerk.

We know, we know.

Walmart is usually pretty good about substitutions--I just make sure to mark things that I don't want substituted--especially ones they might get "creative" with.

I had what I thought was an unfair one today -- I ordered two pounds of butter (just regular butter) and they substituted two 8 oz. packages of premium butter, which came out to around the same price. So I paid the same amount and got half the product. Not worth complaining about, but they're usually much more fair about substitutions -- in fact you usually get a larger size or a better quality item.

Instacart at Aldi is good for substitutions because it lets you specify a particular product you'd like to substitute it with. Of course if that item is also out of stock, you won't get anything. And of course Aldi doesn't have nearly the breadth of products that traditional supermarkets have, so you're limited to start with. That said, I've had better luck getting things that are typically out of stock at Walmart and other places at Aldi. Yeast, flour, eggs, bacon, butter.

r305 You'd best not be showin' your ugly mug in Food Circus anytime soon, buster!

R307 Imagine you order Walnut Loaf and get a whole Octopus instead. That is a weird substitution.

You can find everything edible in Flavortown!

I called Instacart and had only a 1 minute wait. I let them know that I was not having it and asked that the gal escalate it to her manager (yeah, yeah) because I do not want this person handling any more of my orders or coming to my house!

She said she would escalate it and apologized.

I now feel a bit better.

What else did he do though besides not wanting to get your additional items?

He was cunty and said he didn’t want to do it because “it affects his pay.”

That’s bullshit, rude, aggressive, and an issue he can take up with Instacart. I always have great service with I sta art, so I was appalled .

The slugs they hire at Shipt I could imagine saying something cunty like this.

R290: ITA! About a month back, I had a rude experience with the cashier at local pizzeria and reported her ass to the manager. I was told (here of all places! lol) I was wrong for reporting her. Fuck that - if you are obnoxious and rude when I am paying money, I will be polite to you, but report your ass to your boss (who don't want to lose customers now). Pandemic or no pandemic! Now, I get delicious food from their competitor (who has customer service skills).

It to mention that Instacart has just raised their minimum to $50 - I’m not paying to get in a pissing match with a fucking grocery delivery person.

R311: the "gal" and her manager are still laughing at the bossy little fag who thinks he can control the system. Ha!

Four can play your game.

You brute, you brute, r316!!

R316 When I rang about my Amazon/WF order, I was actually asked what I would "like done about it"... I was rather taken aback. I said I don't want anyone to get in any sort of trouble or lose their gig over it. I just eanted to know the correct policy about receiving a notification. Seemed weird they would even ask. We spend a lot regularly with them, yet it seemed a bit capricious.

Even pre-Covid, when someone shopped for me, and made a mistake, I still tipped well to boot. I figure I'm delegating both selection and decisions by having someone else doing it for me; I'm bound to be disappointed somehow. Par for the course. I'm grateful these individuals are exposing themselves, and realise they need to earn a living.

Well I do want him to get in trouble.

I still tipped him 15% (lower than my usual) because he still did bring stuff to my house.

But the pandemic is not an excuse to go off on paying customers.

How much do you regularly tip instacart delivery people? Do you do flat rate or percentage? Do you think $20 is enough on a $150 order in the age of Covid?

I tip 20%.

R320 I'm usually doing 18 to 20 percent, sometimes more.

We have been averaging $85-100 orders, and I'm tipping $15-20.

R320 That sounds fine. If I spend more, I give more, but not exactly a percentage. I was giving Instacart more than Amazon/WF, because they received less, until somewhat recently. I always give good feedback when everything is perfect and fast. One Instacart gal has been to our olace several times. I still give her a bit extra.

How does one "rinse" a countertop? It's not like you can hose it off onto the floor or hose it down a drain.

Anyone else tired of the Vitacost troll?

[quote]I let them know that I was not having it and asked that the gal escalate it

I hope you said "gal" to her face.

Are you referring to R324? Oh not me, I have been waiting and waiting to see how long it would take for these people to get completely fed up with the quest to buy Lysol (which I have lived my entire life totally without). It was basically air freshener for little old ladies in the 1960's, and now we have herds of grown men acting like finding some to buy was as rare and fulfilling as sighting the Holy Grail. It's ridiculous.

Everyone is a little testy today.

Do the Instacart shoppers know how much you're tipping before they get started? Maybe if they see you're giving a good tip, they will give you better service and be more willing to go the extra mile?

But then, even if they don't know, it's still not wise for them to be rude because surely they know you can always go in after the delivery is done and reduce the tip if you feel they don't deserve the original amount.

They do know ahead of time how much you’re going to tip, at least approximately. And I always tip well, so there’s no excuse.

You can’t tip on Shipt until after your order is delivered.

R329 I think only the ones who have delivered to you before, and recognise the address... then they know how you tip. Even if they can see, there is, or at least was the possibility of cash tips. Before COVID I would give extra cash.

R292 provided a good laugh.

There was an article talking about Instacart and tipping and how there's been a practice of people putting a large tip amount upfront and then pulling it entirely once the item has been delivered.

No wonder some of them are pissed off.

Lysol is not a grocery item. It is simply an unnecessary item.

To the hideous cunts who keep going on and on and on and on about how much they hate or love or could care less about Lysol...

PLEASE SHOVE A CANISTER DEEP INTO YOUR DISEASED TWAT

WE

DO

NOT

WANT

TO

HEAR

ANOTHER

FUCKING

WORD

Mike from PS....he will probably lose his job because I am sure there are plenty out there looking for a job. Is that enough for you? Maybe he and his family will get the virus because of this horrid job he has and they will all die or be permanently damaged. Is that enough for you? you must not know what it is like to be on the bottom of the food chain or maybe you did and forgot.

I do a large tip on Instacart and I also leave $10 (or more) in cash in an envelope under the mat for when they deliver. I truly appreciate their service. And I usually use it with Aldi, so the low prices allow me to leave a larger tip. I did notice they raised their delivery fee to $7.99 from $5.99. My first three orders were free, but now that I'm going to start paying, I have to be more judicious about it. I might start switching to curbside pickup at mainstream supermarkets ... but their prices are so ridiculous it's usually not worth it.

My neighbor and I used to share a CSA box from Farm Fresh To You, but I stopped participating several years ago. She still does it, and I place the orders for her (she's techphobic). So I might start participating again -- even though it's overpriced organic stuff, at least it's a way to get fresh produce without having to deal with stores.

What were the two items you had a hissy fit over? A lot of these Instacart shoppers plan their trips down to the minute because their quickness leads to Instacart offering them bigger orders.

So I dropped off some groceries at my parents house. My mother immediately starting wiping down the canned items with Clorox wipes. I'm like ... OK, do what you want.

She then leaves the Clorox wipes on the counter open. I go to close the container. Probably a few years old and bone dry (alcohol evaporated). I was only so annoyed because I very luckily got them two bottles of hand sanatizer two weeks earlier and they had mixed one with hand soap to "make it last" (which makes it useless - it is literally now less effective as a sanitizer AND as soap).

I had to count to ten in an attempt to not scream at them. I was still kind of a jerk to them and I fell bad about it. I am sick of dealing with paranoid and misinformed people.

We will all get it at one point. I'm almost surprised there aren't Covid "parties" like there used to be chickenpox ones. If one is in poor health already I get it, but they aren't. They (and us all) just need to take care of ourselves in general.

[quote]We will all get it at one point. I'm almost surprised there aren't Covid "parties" like there used to be chickenpox ones. If one is in poor health already I get it, but they aren't. They (and us all) just need to take care of ourselves in general.

R339, don't look now but your apple didn't fall far from the tree.

How, R340, do you plan to avoid it long term?

It is incredibly infectious. If you plan to never leave the house again, then sure, you'll be fine. It isn't like those tens of thousands of New Yorkers were licking subway poles. They were just going on with their normal lives. It is really unavoidable.

If you plan is to wait out until there is a vaccine ....

That will be years. It won't be 18 months if ever. Where is the vaccine for HIV? Look at the below "pipeline vaccines". Some of these diseases have been around for decades. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but people need to be realistic.

My two extra items were a second jar of pasta sauce (I had ordered one so he had to go down that aisle anyway) and one bag of pressed pizza dough. By the time he finished arguing with me about it he couldn’t have gotten the items and been on his merry way.

R337, just get an Instacart Express subscription- $10 or $15 a month for unlimited deliveries, no service fee.

*one bag of premade pizza dough

Took a ride from the Hamptons to Port Jefferson on the LI Sound. The village was full of people. Almost all were wearing face masks, but still....small groups of 3 & 4 young people all over the place hanging out. I was kind of shocked.

I cover the lids of my disinfecting wipe canisters with plastic wrap to prevent evaporation. The top doesn’t seal that well.

Sorry my post got away from me. I went to a Stop N Shop to get some vegetables & frozen foods. They have a lot more food than stores farther east in the Hamptons. I walked past people with my cart because they were getting on my nerves, especially the ones who have their half-reading glasses pulled down their nose, squinting at every item. This isn’t a library, lady. Those are carrots. That’s lettuce. Move on.

Lots of cars in parking lots. Not full-capacity-Saturday parking lots. But nowhere near empty. This was the first warm day since March, when we had a few warm days. It’s been raining, cold, windy since then. People wanted to be out in the warm sun for the first time this year with all the tulips blooming. I

I walked past midtown home depot today in Manhattan, there was a small line...I saw a customer leave the store and she had lysol wipes in her shopping bag! I even think it's a 3 pack lysol wipes (yellow tube).

I called an ACE hardware and they laughed at me and said they haven’t had gloves, Lysol or masks for over a month. She acted like it was the most ridiculous thing to be asking at this stage.

R326: Had he done so, he'd be nursing a broken jaw today. Why don't *you* take your own advice? Go call a Black woman 'gal' to her face; we will wait right here 'til you get back.

(Elsewhere on this forum I tried to explain how the word "gal" is a pejorative applied to Black women [much like "nigger" and "faggot" in those cases], but the privileged racists among us turned their heads in contempt and now use the word in arrogant defiance.)

You sound quite insane, r350.

a reminder what works against the rona

I'm afraid I'm going to accidently spray it on food and then eat it and poison myself.

lol @ R292

I would never call anyone "gal," r350. I was making fun of him for using it.

R355 When did gal become racist? Have you never heard many white women called gal? If you look at the etymology there is no racial aspect to the word. It is nothing like "boy."

There is an urban dictionary entry, but it is the only one. Anyone can make an urban dictionary entry, just like wikipedia. It is not authoritative. It is just like some people have tried to make the word "picnic" racist, even though that etymology has been debunked many, many times.

r343 Thanks for that info. I wasn't aware of that option since I never signed up directly with Instacart ... I just accessed it through the Aldi website. I didn't even realize I had a login and password on Instacart. So now to decide if the annual membership would be worth it ... I actually kind of like to shop, but I don't plan on going into any stores until things improve in a major way -- so in might be a long time. I guess I could do the monthly option. Again, thanks for sharing.

R356: Prove me wrong. Go post a public comment at either The Washington Post or The New York Times and refer to a Black woman columnist, politician, celebrity, etc. as a "gal" therein.

How dare you question and then attempt to disprove our reality. This is why we hate us.

Take the test. Prove me wrong.

Obviously , racism has eaten your brain. You are now on ignore.

[quote] When did gal become racist?

You can't honestly be that fucking stupid, can you?

White people, especially white men, called grown black people "gal" or "boy", to indicate they were less than.

This happened for a hundred plus years; this is not anything that just happened or "became" a thing. Please crack open a history book before you crack open your mouth.

I'm not the previous poster but I didn't know gal was a racial pejorative, either. In my socioeconomic group gal just meant a woman, usually over age 30. Below age 30 was a girl. No matter the race. An older gal is 45-60.

R360 No, white people used the term boy, in a racist manner for talking about black men, that is documented and correct. There is NO historical record of the usage of the word gal in that manner. Like I said many black people have the belief that the word "Picnic" is racist and will tell you that unequivocally derives from white people holding lynching picnics where they would "pick-a-(n-word)." But, there is absolutely no backing to the etymology. It is a myth and conspiracy theory. Just because a bunch of people think it is true does not make it so. Just like many people still believe that Proctor and Gamble gives a portion of their profits to the Church of Satan, without any proof.

Other than Mammy, there wasn't a word that focused just on black women. There are a few instances of girl being used like boy, but it wasn't common. If you go back and read any of the racial literature or letters during Jim Crow, black women were, when referred to derogatorily, referred to using the same derogatory words as other women, usually the only difference was adding a racial qualifier. For example, instead of calling her a bitch, they would make it racist by calling her an (n-word) bitch.

Gal isn't even the equivalent of boy, that would be girl. Gal is the equivalent of guy.

R362: My God you are incredibly insufferable. Keep it up, you patronizing, pompous pile of paternalism.

Take it public, as I suggested @ R358. Go address a Black congregation or other gathering as "guys and gals." They will give you a pass on the innocuous "guys", but "gals?" Good luck with that.

Southern-born historian Jon Meacham (among countless others, Black and White) would laugh in your face after listening to your "proven, winning argument."

Can you just spare us all this outrage and make us a simple list of what terms are unacceptable to black people although they may be perfectly acceptable for white people to use when referring to each other?

PS: you're a troll.

I have always learned a lot from DL. I now know I won't use the word, "gal" around certain friends. I don't like to offend people, especially on accident.

I just found out that Ralphs (the CA version of Kroger) is offering free pickup. No minimum. And they seem to have some harder-to-find items. Gonna give it a try. Anything to avoid going inside stores.

R367, Ralph's has offered free pick up since pretty much the beginning of this all. However, be aware, while their site lists that they have hard to find items, they don't. You will usually be told that they don't have them by the time your order was picked. The truth is they just don't update their site. They claim to have yeast, but they haven't had it in over 8 weeks.

Also, if you do use it, make sure you click the, "no substitutes," option.

Thanks, r352. That was really useful. I had no idea that my scrubbing bubbles cleaner was effective against coronavirus. I’ll start using it on other surfaces, when I run out of Lysol.

Everything is racist or offensive now. If you say a black woman is "articulate" you better BACK UP or you will get hurt. Even if you meant it as a compliment and you honestly admired the amazing professional speech she just gave and wish you had that kind of talent yourself. It gets taken as an insult because surely you must have been implying that all black women are ignorant and stupid and it's rare that a black woman can speak clearly and intelligently. How did we get to this point? It's ridiculous. And no, I'm not some "privileged" or "elitist" person. I grew up in a very mixed environment and am sick of labels and stereotypes. We are all human beings and need to respect each other.

That said, people who think Lysol spray is in any way important are dumbass stupid fucktards.

R369, basic soap of any kind is effective against any virus with a lipid envelope. This includes coronavirus.

If you do the Kroger online shopping (and that includes Ralphs, Dillons, Harris Teeter, and other stores) then definitely listen to R368's advice.

My experience is that if you put in your substitutes on each item and then say something like "and if you don't have any of those, no substitutes please" you won't end up getting anything wacky like an octopus when you ordered granola. It takes extra time but it's worth it.

However, they always say they have Lysol, wipes, toilet paper, paper towels, rubbing alcohol, bleach, etc. and then rarely do. I've also been having trouble getting Asian foods like oyster sauce or rice wine vinegar lately.

Master do-it-yourselfer Connie Stevens always said Ace Hardware was the best place to find lysol.

R346 wouldn't it be easier to just place your container inside of a ziplock bag?

R341, I'm 70, and I've never had the flu. Why should I think I will necessarily get Covid-19?

You might ask if I intend to shun gatherings of human beings, and my answer is pretty much yes.

I can't get any lonelier.

R360, You are stupid. You are actually using the Urban Dictionary as an etymological source

And to follow your stupidity, I guess we shouldn't call small male children "boys"?

Gal isn't racist but it sounds really fucking stupid coming from anyone other than a 97 year old grandpa.

I had never heard of "gal" being racist prior to the other day in the cleaning lady thread, but given the context in which it is used there, I have no problem believing the poster who says it is racist. However...r377 gives my true lowdown on the word, which, prior to the cleaning lady thread, had not been uttered in polite society since WWII.

The usual complaint about "gal" is that it's condescending and sexist because it's a diminutive. It was originally a vulgar slang term in the 1700s per the etymology but by the late 1800s in the U.S. it was a term of endearment, "Me and My Gal" and "My Gal Friday" being examples.

By the 1960s, referring to your grown woman girlfriend or wife as "my gal" was incredibly outdated and somewhat offensive.

My gal is a real peach! I tell ya guys, she's real swell! Well, gotta go! 23 skidoo!

Interesting about the random replacements.

Whole Foods (at least pre-pandemic) will text you with the replacement item they are considering and you can accept or reject it. It's usually pretty close--same product, different brand--and you could specify which items you did not want substitutions for.

I just heard a freight train whistle for the first time in 7 weeks, at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, 5/2. So your worries are all over, soon the shelves will be groaning with loads of Lysol spray and Clorox wipes. The crisis is over.

[quote]Anyone else tired of the Vitacost troll?

He gave me a good tip about some spray cleaner once, so no. Now, the Instacart/grocery delivery queens with money to burn trying to get their shoppers in trouble with their bosses are another story. Throw in the anti-Lysol eldergay psychos and now the racist bickering, and the Vitacost guy doesn't even register on the annoying scale..

r383 = Lysolina

I love how R107 assumes we all live in big suburban homes with a Home Depot nearby.

Cabinets above the stove and fridge! Room to add tables and racks! I hate to say it, but if you have all that, you have storage space. You do not need advice on using it.

Do we really have to tell him, that modest apartments do not have any of that?

I bought some smoked turkey at the Deli section, and they had to slice it, and the man was wearing a face mask, but it was on wrong and his nose was exposed. Also he wore gloves and I didn't see him put them on but I watched earlier while in line and he was handling a lot of "stuff back there. Now I want a t urkey sandwich and I'm afraid to eat it. I hate being wasteful. If I heat the turkey up in the toaster oven will it be OK?

Eat dry cereal, r386.

I'm tired of dried cereal, asswipe. I wanted a deli sandwich. I was really looking forward to it.

Then eat it, you fucking pussy, instead of whining about the way some deli clerk is wearing his mask. Or spray it with Lysol before you eat it.

R389 why are you so hostile....did someone pee in your cornflakes?

Yes, r390. That's exactly what happened. Tomorrow, I'm FedExing it to r388. Maybe then he'll stop whining about deli clerks trying to poison him.

Yesterday I saw three people who didn't have their masks on at the grocery store, including a woman who worked there. I stared daggers at her before she finally put it on. She was coming back in from a break outside. Who the hell let her into the store without her mask on?

Every time I read a post like r392, I say a little prayer that a poster like r392 gets corona virus and dies. You fucking control queen. What was your big issue prior to sequestration?

r386 yes, just heat it up and it will be fine.

Every time I read a post like [R393], I say a little prayer that a poster like [R393] gets corona virus and dies. You fucking control queen. What was your big issue prior to sequestration?

^^But DO spritz it with a little of your precious Lysol first. Just in case...

instead of staring at people just ask them where their mask is. I asked a young girl who was waiting on me where her mask was and she said, oh I forgot, do you want me to put it on? I said yes and she did. no drama. No matter what there are going to be people out there that just don't abide by the rules or still believe this is a big hoax. Just avoid them or don't go out.

Yeah, r396. As if I'm Lysolina.

Read personal anecdotes...

This health crisis threw everything into disarray. I purchased a loaf of bread that began to grow mold in one week. At the same store, I purchased a food item that was missing it's safety seal. This is a store I normally shop at without issue. Shortages. Quality Control Issues. Higher Prices. Longer lines ( which increase your risk of catching this infection), everything is affected by this crisis. And yes, the workers who have worked all throughout this health crisis should receive hazard pay. When I stopped by the dollar store, the cashier who is an old school New Yorker with a thick New Yawk accent had to get on the intercom and bark at us to keep 6 feet away from each other. I don't understand why people are willfully defying the social distancing mandate. Do they want to pass on this infection or contact it?

Personally, I would stick with the cryovac-ed deli meat right now vs going to the deli counter. The less hands involved in your purchases the better. In high school I worked At the deli and it was iffy cleanliness-wise way before a pandemic.

Also, when did this thread become full of nastiness to each other? I just want to know how your shopping went this week!

[quote] I purchased a loaf of bread that began to grow mold in one week.

Conversely, I made some French toast this morning with some challah that has been in my refrigerator (NOT freezer) for over a year. (I'm excessively frugal and hate to waste food.) I figure as long as it doesn't have mold on it, it's OK. It tasted fine and I'm still here.

Instacart only gave me a $5 credit after the shopper was rude and hostile to me.

Not that I asked for anything, but that seems pretty chintzy.

[quote] Other than Mammy, there wasn't a word that focused just on black women.

That’s funny because in Ireland “mam” and “mammy” are what you call your mother. But with the Irish accent, it comes out sounding like a cross between “mom” and “mum.” My mother read an Irish book called The Mammy and adopted a stray cat who was pregnant, so she called it Mammy, with an American pronunciation. I was mortified. At least the cat wasn’t black - it was a tabby.

Due to "high demand," Instacart is now requiring you spend at least $75 before they'll take your order. Just last week it was $35. Is this price gouging of a sort? Could they get in trouble for this if someone was to make a complaint? Seems a bit excessive to me.

The turkey will dry out and become inedible in a toaster oven. If you have some chicken or turkey stock heat it in that. Bring it to a boil and let it boil for 60 seconds. Once you take it out you can even make gravy from the stock. In another pan equal parts butter and flour if you have any and whisk that for about a minute or two so you don't get a raw flour taste and then slowly whisk in the warm stock, add salt and pepper to taste. You can have a nice open turkey sandwich with fresh made gravy.

Gals, gals!

You’re both cunts!

Instacart minimum is $50 by me.

What's the issue with eating the turkey?

[quote]"there is no evidence to suggest that food produced in the United States can transmit COVID-19."

[quote]"While COVID-19 is new to us, coronaviruses are not, and with all the studies done on these viruses, there has never been any information to implicate food-borne transmission,"

mmmm.. hot turkey sangwishes.

mmmm.. hot turkey sangwishes.

r400 I think sometimes people just forget. My mailman handed me my mail the other day and I stood right in front of him, neither of us with a mask and didn't realize until he walked away what I had done.

r405 some people were probably ordering too little to make it worth anyone's time.

[quote]Also, when did this thread become full of nastiness to each other? I just want to know how your shopping went this week!

Seems to me it began when some posters got mad at another poster for talking about the elderly neighbor he'd been assisting with shopping, whose son was stealing her supplies. Then another poster(s) became infuriated that some people are using things like disinfectant wipes and sprays, and proceeded to get increasingly belligerent about it at every opportunity instead of just living and let live. Then an extended argument about racially pejorative terms shat on everything and clogged up the thread.

Agree though - I wish we could go back to the peaceful threads we had going prior to all the hostility. Blocking people helps.

DL has its very own Lysol Loon!

Poor thing just obviously needs some attention.

My Instacart minimum is still $35. I have a membership if that makes a difference. Big metropolitan area.

R415, do you find the membership is worth the cost?

A little nastiness gives a thread spice!

I got 4 whole chickens fo 59 cents a lb a couple of days ago.

do you have a freezer space for all that chicken?

I thought I had scored some hard-to-find stuff at Walmart (shipping, not grocery pickup.) Self-rising flour, bread flour, etc. I ordered eight items. They said the shipment would be broken up into two shipments, with two items arriving later this week, but the six items (which included the hardest-to-find stuff) arriving TOMORROW! Well, the first two items actually arrived early (Friday) but as of today I don't even have a shipping notification or tracking number for the others. Just got an email saying " We're very sorry, but due to high demand, one or more of your items is delayed. We're working hard to fulfill them as fast as we can.We'll let you know when your items ship or if we have to cancel."

Needless to say, I'm not optimistic. I understand these are difficult and unusual circumstances, but I thought one of Walmart's big accomplishments was the accuracy and precision of their inventory controls. I'm bothered less by the fact that they're out of stuff than I am by the fact that they can't fulfill the orders they take.

R420, in my experience with Walmart shipping, if they let your order go through, you'll eventually receive the product... it might just take an extra 3 weeks beyond when they originally said it would be delivered.

My dear old auntie pronounced it Sangwidge. As in "Lemme make youze a sangwidge."

Toilet paper in northern Illinois anyone? Collar counties or suburban Cook?

[Quote]I got 4 whole chickens fo 59 cents a lb a couple of days ago.

Those poor chickens must have had a fantastic life. 12 months crammed into a tiny cage with several other chickens and expected to produce a egg per day, no natural light, grass or fresh air, regular antibiotics so they don't die early during this torture and now their remains are sold for a whopping 59 cents. And the poster even thinks this is a great deal.

After seeing the shitshow at my local Ralph's on March 12th.....I went home & signed up for BUTCHER BOX. Seemed a little crazy (and expensive) at the time -- grass-fed, organic,free-range, heritage, yadda yadda yadda....now I'm patting myself on the back. A day or two later, BB stopped accepting new subscriptions (or offering "gift boxes"). I got in under the wire.

R385 does your refrigerator go all the way up to the ceiling? No? Then you either have a fucking cabinet above it or dead air space. In either case you can store stuff there. Stop being dense.

[quote]Those poor chickens must have had a fantastic life. 12 months crammed into a tiny cage with several other chickens and expected to produce a egg per day, no natural light, grass or fresh air, regular antibiotics so they don't die early during this torture and now their remains are sold for a whopping 59 cents

Yes 👍, that would be me. Could you please tell us a bit more about your expansive understanding of chicken consciousness?

If you know how chickens perceive and feel, it is incumbent on YOU to tell us a bit more about the fowl, their social impediments and how they feel upon being just more than a food source.

R416, the membership is worth it in the midst of all this. It's $10 a month-- the $3.99 fee per delivery is waived, & free delivery on orders over $35.

In other words, if you're going to use it more than twice a month, it will save you money. And I'm not sure whether there are mandatory minimums above $35 if you're a member, but I have never seen it.

Butcher Box is awesome R425

Been using it for years.

Only complaint is that even pre-pandemic, they can't give you an exact date your order will be shipped, just a range, though that's never been a real issue.

Target in Jersey City opened at 8 AM I scored a 3 pack of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes they only put out about a dozen packs which disappeared fast. Got the other items on my list and was out of the store by 8:30.

Dang bro

[quote][R389] why are you so hostile

Because he's a bored and stupid troll who discovered that being hostile in a helpful thread gets a lot of replies, and he's emotionally stunted so he's acting the exact same way he did when he was in the behavioral resource room in grade school: he doesn't care if he gets bad attention or good attention, he just wants attention, so he'll throw his own shit and call himself a genius for it.

FF him and put him on ignore, and when he shows up with a new login, put that one on ignore, too. Force the troubled little baby to get attention elsewhere.

[quote]If I heat the turkey up in the toaster oven will it be OK?

Yes, similar viruses die at 149F and it's assumed this one does, too. Make yourself a hot turkey sandwich and heat it up at a low temperature for a few minutes, or warm it up on a clean baking sheet for a while, take it out, cool it, and eat it then.

There's no reason to not ask questions like these, just put the trolls on ignore and keep asking. No one should be shrieking at people who are just asking for information, and you should be suspicious of anyone who is.

How come these threads are allowed and not the offical coronavirus ones?

R430 - Thanks for the tip! I will be there next Mon at 8am👍

NYCTechie here's another tip Morton Williams in Newport never has lines to get in during the day. They have higher quality fruits and veggies plus they carry a lot of interesting European and Asian packaged foods that you won't find in any of the mainstream grocery stores. You can park in the garage behind the store and they will validate your parking ticket giving you free parking.

Great - Thanks R436! I haven't been there since Newport Green closed.

Fucking assholes. To you any anti-viral precautions are "hysteria" and "browbeating" by "scolds".

Help us out here, r438. Over which “anti-viral precautions” are you perseverating?

Despite the death rate, I often wish that I lived in the UK, where people at least know how to form and stand in a goddamned line correctly.

This thread got weird for no reason.

Talking about shopping for groceries is like hell right now, too, r441.

Thank you to the kind people who responded to my turkey concerns..... BTW: My sister subscribes to one of those meal kits delivery services. She switches back and forth between Vegetarian and Paleo, and each meal comes with all the ingredients including seasonings, and all of them are guaranteed to take about 30 minutes to prepared. She works from home and loves it. She said it cut back on the amount she spends and the time she takes to go to the store. We're both well stocked for Toweling toilet paper, cleaning products and pantry items. But she was concerned about fresh produce and this really helps. She hasn't been inside a store in over a month.

There is no shortage of produce, I think a lot of it is going to waste because people stocked up on American fatassed persevered shelf stable foods. Fresh produce is an incredible luxury, there are parts of the world that do not have access to fresh produce. People are worried about ongoing shortages and starting their own little vegetable gardens where they can. If you can avoid visiting the stores, I would recommend staying away. In my last visits, I have encountered people who are refusing to social distance.

r434, from looking at the threads on coronavirus that aren't paywalled like "Coronavirus Freakout," they're dripping with stinky gross right wing troll posts. Highly unsanitary.

preserved foods, dammit Not persevered!

I went to whole foods in midtown today, they have a limit of 5 per customer for packaged chicken items like nuggets etc.

Also stopped by Home Depot, no line to get in, they have lysol spray, it's in a light blue spray bottle but it's with hydrogen peroxide not bleach. limit to 2 per person. They have Clorox bleach as well.

Are people ignoring the arrows on the supermarket aisles or are they just stupid?

My market does not have arrows, r448. What are you talking about?

R448, yes. For the most part, I don't think people have even noticed them. A lot of people don't bother to look down while they're walking.

They are stupid. I was in whole foods, their own employees don't even follow the arrows.

6 feet apart is the mandate. By now, most of us are aware of this suggestion but many are willfully defying the recommendation all the same. You have to ask them why they insist on refusing to stay 6 feet apart from strangers in public, I have no answer.

[quote]You have to ask them why they insist on refusing to stay 6 feet apart from strangers in public, I have no answer.

"Because you're not the boss of me!"

R449 stores have put arrows down on the floor of each aisle, directing which way you are to enter and exit. In effect, they're trying to make aisles one way.

I don't refuse to stay 6 feet away from people in public. I've actually become adept at it. But some people seem to refuse to stay 6 feet away from me. I can't get that upset about it, though. I'd have a heart attack, or get fat from all the cortisol I was creating. I have two friends I wish could be encased in 6-foot bubbles, they get so wrecked over this.

I am not going to stop anyone and ask them, r452. They'd get too close when they tried to answer.

Thanks, r454. I guess that would be helpful. But what if I forgot something? I'd have to repeat the line? Shit like that makes me think about death panels (I am old).

r421 Looks like you were right! I checked today and it looks like everything was shipped. Fingers crossed.

"You can't tell me what to do!" and "I won't tolerate mild inconvenience!" are two primary motivating factors for the people who refuse to wear masks or social distance.

Some of these people who refuse to social distance and/or wear a mask, definitely have defiance issues and are trying to provoke people in to an argument.

I saw two women get into it over the fact that one didn't have a mask on two weeks ago at WFM. I don't think they were mandatory yet on that day. It was...depressing. And kind of illogical. The one in the mask got so close to the one without the mask, and was so fucking shouty, I can't believe she completely kept all her cooties in (paper mask). SO "not social distancing." SO "ugh, is this what we've become?"

It's bad enough when customers don't keep their distance but worse when the security guards watching don't enforce it. This happened to me yesterday. A man appeared in front of me to enter the store so I kept 6 feet away as I followed him. He had his nose in his phone which should have clued me into what was going to happen. He entered the store then turned left away so I figured it was safe. I used the automatic hand sanitiser but when I turned around to enter the store he was standing behind me on my heels waiting to use the machine. And the security guard said nothing.

I have noticed more defiance and aggression among shoppers. I try to avoid it by not shopping during peak hours, and I also have been very careful when I see people without masks. I 'm the one who social distances. I wait and allow them to go in and out of doors ahead of me, I won't go down an aisle until they exit the aisle. But I say nothing. Because they know they are wrong. They are sometimes daring you to say something.

To survive a shopping trip it sometimes requires you to be the one who acts responsibly. Don't assume anything. As hard as it may be, say nothing. Now you can ask the store manager why their security guard isn't forcing people to wear masks. You can let the corporate office know you're upset, and threaten to stop shopping there, etc. But in person encounters with these defiant people is not worth the danger it presents.

Here in Virginia many people still don’t wear masks in stores, including employees. You would be scolding a third of stores if you rebuked people

Holly, Michigan: Police are looking for a shopper caught on camera wiping his nose on a clerk who reminded him about the store’s mandatory mask policy.

The Holly Police Department says the man wasn’t wearing a mask when he walked into the store on North Saginaw Street. When a worker advised him that in-store customers must wear a mask as stated in notices posted on the store doors, police say the man retaliated.

Surveillance video posted on the police department’s Facebook page shows the shopper walk up to the clerk and wipe his nose and face on her shirt. Police say he told her “Here, I will use this as a mask” as he did it.

My 57 year old cousin who did time for viewing child porn online says “sammich” and laughs every time at the funny he made.

[quote] And the security guard said nothing.

They’re getting their heads blown off in the Dollar Store. You think they’re going to risk their lives for minimum wage? Half of them are Trumpsters anyway.

[quote] And the security guard said nothing.

They’re getting their heads blown off in the Dollar Store. You think they’re going to risk their lives for minimum wage? Half of them are Trumpsters anyway.

r403, that is why workers are organizing and threatening strikes. This is why people who have jobs have to throw their hands up and say "Fuck it. I quit!"

These stores will face lawsuits for not providing adequate safety measures to prevent their staff from these types of incidents and contracting this virus. A low skilled, entry -level job is on the front lines of this health crisis, they deserve more respect not less. I doubt that person would have confronted another man in such a manner.

I'm very self conscious about wearing a mask in public. I do it, but I'm always afraid people will think I'm trying to rob them.

A town in OK, had to ban the wearing of them because of threats against workers, from people wearing masks who therefore couldn't be identified.

R461 you are right I also let people ahead rather than have them crawling up my butt. I would love to kick several people behaving badly each shopping visit I take. These shit stirring deplorables, because you KNOW they are trumpers, should just stay the fuck home and troll online.

Roughly 2 months into this quarantine, and they still don't have TP in most stores. WTF? I can see for the first couple of weeks, but after that, why? Everyone has 6-12 months of TP at home now.

Harris Teeter has TP

If we had a decent president he would have organized a series of town halls and PSAs on heavy TV repeat. Used social media to push the public safety message. He would have used those endless “press briefings” to educate. Inform the public as to why we need to social distance, wear masks, stay home. Would have framed it in terms of patriotism and morality. Instead we get both the shithead in chief and the VP not wearing masks because if they do the libs “win. If shithead and his minions explained why we have to stay 6’ apart in public places there would be way more compliance. The crappy example they’re setting just gives people an excuse to ignore common sense and decency.

THIS is why people are such a pain in the ass in grocery stores!

CNN just had a story that a model that Trump uses now says the projected death rate is expected to go to 135,000, with 3,000 deaths a day at the peak. A 9/11 every day.

Basically putting us back at March. This is because of all the states relaxing the restrictions. They seem to be saying everything we did was for nothing, thanks to some of these governors.

I spent the weekend re-arranging my storage space. Now I’m wondering if I should be stocking up even more for winter. How bad is it going to get? Because somehow I have a feeling that it’s not going to abruptly cut off like a lot of these models seem to assume. That 60,000 figure never made any sense. It’s over 68,000 right now.

^And that's up 18,000 from the previous Friday, 4/24, just 11 days ago. THAT is a rate of 600,000 deaths in a year.

I have OCD and have (mostly successfully - ish) fought against my hoarding tendencies. I can not imagine EVER not compulsively buying masks liners, gloves, rubbing alcohol and disinfecting wipes in the future.

I had a bit of most of those when this started but I will NEVER worry about not being able to find them again. I am going to allow myself one small closet for this inevitable hoard after this is all done.

I was forced to go out today. The stores are well stocked, the front line staffers are overworked and NO ONE is social distancing. If you can afford to stay in, do so. We are never going to get in front of this virus because of our blatant stupidity and cruelty.

Why don't most of you post where you live?

I suspect things are different from state to state, city to city

I recently did my first Target Drive-Up order and have scheduled a Kroger Pick-Up for the first time, too. When there is no joy in browsing, I have to say I'm glad to have these options.

The meat shortages are here: Costco and Kroger warn of limited supply

The meat shortages have come sooner than expected — likely thanks to the hoarders.

Costco on Monday said it will be limiting customers to just three packages of meat per shopper, while Kroger supermarkets posted an alert on the meat section of its website warning that it may have limited inventory “due to high demand.”

Grocers have been bracing for a run on meat in mid-May as major meat processing plants, including Tyson Foods, have been forced to shut down production. But the shortages appear to have come earlier than expected as consumers worried about the meat shortage have been stocking up, experts say.

Tyson Foods, which had closed a number of plants last month after employees had become ill with the coronavirus, said on Monday that the pandemic will disrupt the meat supply chain for many more months despite an executive order from President Trump to keep processing plants open.

“Operationally, we have and expect to continue to face slowdowns and temporary idling of production facilities from team member shortages or choices we make to ensure operational safety,” the company said.

Among its better known brands are Hillshire Farm and Jimmy Dean.

81 employees at one Massachusetts Walmart test positive for coronavirus

Eighty-one employees at a single Massachusetts Walmart have tested positive for the coronavirus — forcing the store to temporarily shutter, according to city officials and news reports.

The infected employees account for just under 20 percent of the 414 workers there, Worcester officials announced, according to NewsCenter5.

Worcester ordered the business, on Tobias Boland Way, to close Wednesday, issuing a cease-and-desist order after an initial round of testing found that 23 employees were positive for the disease, according to Southcoasttoday.com. Another round found 58 more.

City Manager Edward Augustus told the outlet a cluster of COVID-19 cases were reported among store employees over the past three weeks — the bulk of them occurring within the past week.

A Walmart spokesperson told the outlet most of the associates who tested positive had not been to work for several days.

During a Tuesday inspection, city officials found that not all employees were wearing face coverings while on duty, according to the report. The company told NewsCenter5 a mandatory mask policy has been in place for all employees, at least for the past week and a half.

A spokesman for the superstore told the Boston Herald Monday that those infected include both Walmart employees and workers from third-party businesses operating within the store.

Employees will continue to earn wages through the company’s COVID-19 paid leave policy “so they can take the time they need to get well,” the company said in a statement issued to the paper.

“We will continue working with local officials, taking the steps needed in addition to the extensive measures we have in place, to help ensure the safety and well-being of our associates and customers before we reopen the store,” the statement said.

Officials said the store will remain closed until the city inspects it — determining that it underwent a deep cleaning by a professional third-party company. The Walmart must also display proper signage and have proper sanitation supplies in the store before reopening, according to NewsCenter5.

Gosh. Think of how terrified you would be if you had been shopping at that Walmart.

R482 I have been there but years ago. It’s frightening but it’s where we are now. But hey, let’s open things up again without being able to buy a proper mask or get a test! I trust that Marty Walsh, our governor won’t rush into things.

Walmart’s were very late to do any type of extra cleaning etc... and even now, all the do is clean the cart handles.

No extra staff cleaning throughout the day.

To me, that’s the killer. Dirty stores.

I've decided. Based on the kind of POTUS we have, and R472, you're absolutely right. The aggression and the defiance, the insolence rudeness, all flows from Trump, I'm going accept that there will probably be two spikes. One in about three weeks, and another one in September or October. Now there's a chance cases will remain high, no spike just a lot of cases, but Trump is going to manipulate the numbers to make people feel safe. But it isn't safe.

The virus is still here. It's highly contagious. There's no vaccine and no cure. They can't even agree on symptoms or on how to treat it. People die before they'll get admitted to hospital. All of that is the same today, and a month from today, as it was a month ago. Masks in public, social distancing, and washing you hands is the only thing you can control.

So I'm going to start buying essentials. Not to hoard. Just whenever I see it I buy it. That goes for TP, cleaning products and personal hygiene. Canned and frozen stuff, powdered eggs, and canned evaporated milk. So what if I end up with a dozen Kraft Mac& cheese dinners. Or twenty cans of chili beans. I have a feeling things will get bad. And maybe Trump knows he is going to lose so he plans to leave a mess for Biden. He's the kind of guy who'd have a bowel movement on the desk in the oval office on Inauguration day.

[quote]Think of how terrified you would be if you had been shopping at that Walmart.

That's hardly the only Walmart -- or grocery store, period -- with multiple employees stricken by Covid-19. Where do you think most transmissions where happening when everything else was locked down?

Clorox v. Lysol: the Capulets and the Montagues of the toilet bowl (and your kitchen counters).

I bought two bottles of hand sanitizer and a 24-pack of Charmin at Ralph’s today. Jealous, bitches?

r479 Does your Target allow for pickup of things like bread, dairy, and frozen items? Mine doesn't. You can only canned and boxed stuff. No produce, meat, bread.

R485, I go out once a week and I don’t come back until I have a pack of toilet paper. A lot of the packs available are very small. But what are we going to do when it’s December or January and you absolutely cannot go out of the house because the virus is much worse than it is now?

[quote]You can only canned and boxed stuff. No produce, meat, bread.

You have to be willing to risk death for the good stuff.

No R489 no produce or frozen available for my area's Target Drive-up either. I had a list of dry goods that I figured was large enough to try this out. We'll see how my Kroger does with fresh and frozen items. The pick-up time is a 1 hour window.

'But what are we going to do when it’s December or January and you absolutely cannot go out of the house because the virus is much worse than it is now?'

It's not going to be much worse then. Italy, Spain and France are all in sharp decline now and the US death toll is hardly doubling every day. You're on the downwards curve too.

All the epidemiologists seem to agree, R493, that it's coming back in a big way once the weather gets chilly again. Look it up. Wear your sweaters!!

'All the epidemiologists seem to agree, [R493], that it's coming back in a big way once the weather gets chilly again. '

I thought the weather had no effect on it, doomsday troll. It's going and there's fuck all you can do about it. Millions didn't die and won't die.

No R488. I don't use hand sanitizer (I wash with soap and water) and hate Charmin. I'd rather use cheapo generic while I wait on availability of my preferred brand Scott. And that I already had. I only use 1 roll a week so my 16 pack will last me until Labor Day.

R426, do you really think that no one has ever thought of putting things on top of the fridge?

EVERYONE keeps food and/or appliances on top of their fridge. The point you are too dense to get, is that many people in cities live in apartments in which every spare inch of space is used for storage by people who are a lot smarter about space than you.

I don't put anything on top of my refrigerator. I like the space up there. It makes the room feel more roomy and less cluttered. R497 seems bitter about something.

Well! The meat man at Harris Teeter got very huffy with me over the phone when I asked about possible substitutions for country style pork ribs for a “Sunday gravy” type pasta sauce!

My Shipt shopper was there and put him on the phone , and the meat man practically shouted at me that they had “NO PORK, INCLUDING RIBS, AND I DONT KNOW WHEN WE’’RE GOING TO SEE IT AGAIN AND HAVENT YOU BEEN WATCHING THE NEWS???!!”

I didn’t know what to say so I asked very nicely if he could suggest a substitution to use in this particular dish and he practically shouted “I COULD EASILY SUGGEST A SUBSTITUTION , BUT WE DONT HAVE IT SO IM NOT GOING TO!!!”

What the devil?? I swear this is not an EST!

I’m letting it go, because he sounded so undone. My Shipt shopper was very nice, so I had him pick me up some extra packs of uncooked meatballs and some lamb shoulder to use instead.

But really!

You all do realize you are "Get off my lawn!" Marys.

R497, I used to live in a 500 square foot one room apartment with one other person. We both had storage spaces we paid for.

There are some people who are obsessed with having their living spaces look neat and orderly and clutter-free. This is not the time to do that. I’ve seen a lot of larger homes where people basically have a few pieces of furniture and wide open spaces and you could bowl down the middle of their living room. They buy all their furniture at one store and everything is the same color and matches.

You and I may not be that person, but some people are so anal retentive that they have a mental block about making a lot of clutter in their house. I have neighbors that would starve to death before they’d store supplies outside of their kitchen. Their house is showroom perfect at all times.

I don’t have closets and I have had to rip the house apart. Everyone can store more than they think, if they’re willing to sacrifice the looks of their house, but a lot of people have a mental block that says, this linen closet is for linens, this clothes closet is for clothes, and so on. If you are willing to put looks aside, you can build a wire rack right in the middle of the living room or in the hall and make more storage. But it won’t look great. Some people literally cannot picture that unless you tell them. Then they’re hemming and hawing between looks and functionality. Meanwhile, now they’re saying the death rate is going to double by June. People are going to have to make some hard choices. Having a showroom perfect house is not going to be as important as food, especially if no one can come in anyway.

People are going to realize that “I don’t have any more room” actually means, “I don’t have any more room in the cupboards and I’m going to have to put stuff in an area that’s not designated for storage.” I’d rather have a wire rack in my bedroom full of supplies than sit here with nothing to eat or wipe my butt with in the middle of a pandemic. There’s too much normality bias going on. People need to prioritize functionality over looks. And some people need to hear that because they’re not getting it.

I’m inclined to believe Mike in Palm Springs is a joke, but he sounds exactly like some eldergays I’ve encountered.

Walmart, Amazon , Target and dollartree will be liable for lawsuits from their employees if they do not do everything possible to provide as safe a work condition as possible for their employees. These stores made money while other types of stores are going out for business forever but management still cuts corners and is putting their employees at risk unnecessarily.'

R501, I think you have just described R426 perfectly. He really does not get how most people in cities live, and thinks that he can enlighten us all like a quarantine Martha Stewart because he thinks everyone lives in huge homes and shares his values.

I went and bought pot this weekend, the stress was getting to me (I live in a state where it is legal). The people there were all the friendliest I have ever seen.

R426 here. I live in a small apartment in a densely populated city. I hate huge homes. So your post fails on several counts. But nice try.

Ugh! Went to the store today and asshole zoomed by me on his bike hacking up a lung with his mouth uncovered!! He is lucky he was riding his bike super fast or I would've clocked his ass!

R426 again....I forgot to point out the most obvious failure in your post R504. I was advocating FOR storing stuff above the refrigerator. Perhaps you should RE READ my post with reading comprehension in mind.

Regards, R426

R507, the horror! Can you even imagine someone having their MOUTH near you?

Fuck you R509! I am not here for your stupid, bullshit tonight!

I imagine most people have shower stalls or baths they only use maybe once a day. Why not store stuff like TP in there on a matt?

I was wondering that too R502

And it is mind blowing that you'd need to actually point that out to someone but given some of these posts it seems warranted

I’m inclined to believe that what Mike from Palm Springs says happened at R499 said is just the truth.

Can you imagine the number of calls grocery stores are getting now, since people don’t want to go to the store unnecessarily now? They’re probably getting dozens of calls a day, especially regarding items that are short like meat and toilet paper. That poor guy has probably just answered questions about meat shortages all day and is probably tired of being interrupted. Also, a guy that works in the neat department with no meat available might be worried about his job.

Let’s face it, everything about this situation just sucks for so many people.

r507, I'm having the same experience techie. I don't know if people are feeling frisky because of the good weather or anxious because they received that little check or are stir crazy but social distancing is not being observed. It's rude to walk up on someone without a looming health crisis,but to deliberately walk on someone's heels at this time is unconscionable. We are supposed to be working together for the greater good to reduce the risk of infection and people are not doing this. This guy worked a security job at the dollar tree and when he told people to wear a mask to enter the store, he was shot to death.

EWWW no thanks R510, you may certainly NOT fuck me!!!!!

Since we’re past the five hundred mark I hope someone creates a Part Two for this thread. I’m thinking the search for food and supplies is going to continue to be compelling for quite awhile. I’d do it if I didn’t think I’d screw it up.

Mitch McConnell is making sure that workers who get Covid at work won't be able to sue their employers no matter likely it is that the way the place of business is run is 99% the likely source of employee illness. Isn't that nice. What a fucking piece of shit. If you live in Kentucky you have to vote against him. If you know anyone in Kentucky you have to try with all your might to get the people you know to vote against him and everyone needs to donate to Amy McGrath.

R508, you missed the point.

I was commenting on you ego in thinking that there was anyone who did not already do that. Most of your suggestions are insulting because you are suggesting the obvious as if it were some startling new idea. And it is insulting to assume people who say they have no storage really do have enough floor space and underutilized cabinets--but will not realize they do until you tell them.

It is the condescension that I find so annoying.

R516 you may have missed it but we're on part 5 of these threads.

Earlier today I went to do a curbside pick up at Joanns.

There were two people getting orders to customers. One of them was a young kid, probably late teens/early twenties.

He had his mask under his nose and each time he went up to a car window, he'd take his mask off to talk to the customer.

The other employee was standing about six feet from the car windows and shouting at customers but not this kid. At one point, I saw him lean in to one of the vehicles to talk to a customer, with his mask off.

it's part 5 of a discussion that went off the rails in part 5. parts 1 through 4 went on without any strange detours.

R518 perhaps DL is not a good place if you are annoyed by sarcastic remarks.

Yes, because someones' trying the most to get attention and doesn't realize he isn't nearly as funny as he thinks he is.

Strike that, he's actually not funny at all.

No pork for me.

For fresh pork, you're almost better off going to a local farmers market and ordering it, same for fresh poultry.

This is where the "Mike from Palm Springs" character entered Datalounge history.

And the one above clearly is not in Palm Springs since there are no Harris-Teeters on this side of the country.

That’s true, R525. Now is really the time to look up mom and pop stores for meat and other things, maybe bakeries and small ethnic markets.

Also, there are a few Mexican markets now that are large and really nice and I’ve heard they have supplies the American stores may not. A lot of non-Americans that patronize ethnic stores cook ethnic food from scratch. That means a good selection of produce, and you might be more likely to find bulk foods like flour or beans, or yeast.

It might be worth it to check them out. I’ve also found it’s worth it to look up places you’ve never been to on Yelp. There are usually a lot of photos of the inside of the store on Yelp and at least some comments, although they may not be current. You can get a good idea of whether they have what you need.

[quote]You have to be willing to risk death for the good stuff.

Or you can just go to Walmart, where they don't make you order through their stupid phone app and they have everything available for pickup. (A lot of regular supermarkets do this as well, and Instacart offers curbside pickup at Aldi.)

Fuck Target.

I wonder if any of you energetic DLers have gotten an antibody test yet? Any positives, which is a good thing? Anyone "recovered"? I plan to get an antibody test soon and hope this virus has sailed right through us. I would like to think all of you happy, energetic shoppers are antibody positive.

I'm lucky that I have a toilet paper/paper towel manufacturer called "Who Gives A Crap" that sends me 3 months worth of toilet paper quarterly, Imperfect Produce for fresh produce, some dairy bi-weekly, and Grove for household cleaning items every other month.

I'll venture out every 2 weeks or so for dairy and my main indulgence, freshly baked European style artisan bread.

I hadn't realized one could subscribe for tp.

I hadn't realized one could subscribe for tp.

(Sorry for double post.)

How many rolls of TP do some of you have stocked away?

Do you feel you're sufficiently stocked? If not, how many rolls would make you feel secure?

Seriously asking.

R534 I have about 20 rolls of our preferred brand, and maybe 15 of the cheap stuff(for backup). But, I live in a three person household.

I have about 600 rolls purchased online through companies that supply to office buildings.

I wanted to have enough toilet paper to last me well over a year, but I didn’t think it would be right to hoard from the regular stores. That’s why I went wholesale.

And those 600 rolls are individually wrapped with tissue paper, 2 ply, but commercial grade paper. It works for me.

Restaurant supply store.

I haven't bought any TP or paper towels since probably January, but I have plenty on hand. I just stock up and put it in the garage when it's on sale. I don't use that much TP since I have a bidet toilet seat. But I've been using a lot of paper towels when washing my hands in the kitchen.

R538, is it Marathon? And is it scratchy?

No, it’s Angel Soft and Scott 2 ply, r541.

It feels okay to me, and doesn’t clog my plumbing.

Oh, it’s also a Georgia Pacific no name commercial brand that feels like Angel Soft

The Georgia Pacific no name, commercial Angel Soft, and commercial Scott 2 ply came in boxes of 80 each. As mentioned, the works are individually wrapped.

I also bought 2 36-count GP Professional compact rolls that have over 1000 sheets per roll. They have a tiny hole in the middle, so if I use them I put them on a stool next to the commode. Not elegant, but better than going to the shops every other day.

Have you found any good brands that are new to you? My last grocery order included Cajun Rice, Dude Wipes, Fiora TP and Muir Glen diced tomatoes with peppers, all new brands to me.

Can we get more storage tips from that Kristopher Lowell poster who was all hopped up on Mini-Thins a few nights ago?

[quote]Surveillance video posted on the police department’s Facebook page shows the shopper walk up to the clerk and wipe his nose and face on her shirt. Police say he told her “Here, I will use this as a mask” as he did it.

Apparently, in addition to being a disgusting evil pig, he doesn't know the difference between a mask and a handkerchief.

Bought a couple boxes of the big rolls of TP off Amazon in the middle of the night. Set for now and the inevitable fucking Repug state based resurgence sure to hit starting next month. It won't go bad, so I bought what I found when I found it.

I have about 20 rolls of costco tp left from when I went corona shopping in late feb. If I see any on my next grocery shop to ALDI I will buy another 12 pack. Luckily I have a bidet if things get dire, but I hope to have 12-20 rolls in the house at all times from now on for two of us and to share with my elderly parents in town.

Just as many of you predicted, some stores are over-stocked on paper products now. I went to my local Shop Rite (Morris County, NJ) and they had TP EVERYWHERE! The end cap was nothing but TP. They have a lot of their own brand (Bowl and Basket) paper towels. I didn't buy any as I have quite a bit in my garage but may buy another multi-pack when I use up the current one. I use Scott Comfort Plus.

There was plenty of chicken, beef, pork, and veal as well but they did have limits on some packages.

As for the directional arrows, while its posted on the floor and as you enter/leave each aisle, I think the signs should be posted on the signs that tell you what is in each aisle. Nobody is looking down; everyone is looking up to see what's in the aisle before the walk down it.

I don’t really understand why we can’t get on top of the paper products shortage.

It’s one of the easier products to produce. (Meat, not so much.)

I haven’t seen toilet paper or paper towels at my local Vons since early March. They have also been completely out of dishwasher powder / gel and dishwashing liquid.

Are manufacturers not shipping? Since paper products are now limit 1, why do they sell out so quickly? It doesn’t make much sense unless manufacturers aren’t shipping.

Then again, our local Vons often ran out of things pre-virus. I’d go in for 10 basic items and 7 of them would be completely sold out of all variations of the product. It’s a weird store.

@R551 - Multiple articles I've seen explain the paper companies make much of their inventory for commercial use, since people are home all the time now, they're using more of everything and they need to retool to make less industrial, more home products.

Everyone, take a minute to check your Amazon account's "recent orders" file. My neighbor's account was hacked and the China-based thief ordered 18 items for a total of $2.00. The thief even attempted to write a customer review for two of the purchases. Of course my friend changed passwords, deleted payment info, etc., but insofar as Amazon accepting liability? They couldn't care less and so neighbor is closing the Amazon account.

[quote]A town in OK, had to ban the wearing of them because of threats against workers, from people wearing masks who therefore couldn't be identified.

You got the story wrong. They were banned because people were threatening workers who told them they had to wear a mask, and the Trumpsters refused to and started threatening workers who were trying to enforce the city's mask law.

[quote]Multiple articles I've seen explain the paper companies make much of their inventory for commercial use, since people are home all the time now, they're using more of everything and they need to retool to make less industrial, more home products.

I've read that, also, but it's been 2 months now. Why haven't manufacturers gotten residential contracts yet? Scott makes toilet paper for both commercial and residential use and could ramp up production, yet I haven't seen any since March.

[quote] freshly baked European style artisan bread.

How feminine.

CNBC: Nearly a fifth of Wendy's US restaurants are out of beef.

The shortages vary by state. Hundreds of Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and New York restaurants are out of beef, while other states’ menus do not indicate any supply chain issues.

Shake Shack, which also uses fresh beef in its burgers, said Monday that beef prices are significantly higher, but it has not experienced any shortages.

R557 This sounds like a job for Clara Peller!

Everything is affected by this health crisis, specifically this admin's response to the health crisis. Shake Shack is a successful brand, but their stores have limited profits because of the stay at home orders. When quarantine is lifted customers like me will be too paranoid to eat out or our incomes will be reduced in a significant way to make eating out an out of reach luxury. Now the kicker is restaurateurs will pay a lot more money for their supplies, reducing their profits further. and, and, and. the gig (economy) is up.

Just got back from a run to Walmart and I don't want to leave the house again for another few weeks.

I went to go pick up a prescription for one of my neighbors who can't get there himself.

I waited in a short line, about 10 people deep. As I was waiting, an old man, probably about 70, and 300 lbs, came waddling up and cut the line. I knew right away he was doing it to illicit some sort of confrontation. No one said anything.

He was wearing his stupid MAGA hat and had a mask.... but he wasn't wearing it. He had it around his neck. The woman at the door, was probably barely 20, told him he needed to put the mask on.

The asshole barked at her, "MY PRESIDENT SAYS I DON'T HAVE TO!!!!" and he went on to say that the store only says he has to have one not that he has to wear it (he's wrong).

Woman at the door obviously didn't want to get into it with him so just let him in.

I ran in to him in the store and it seemed as though he was going out of his way to invade people's space. I saw him twice go up to someone, stand right next to them, and then lean in to them and ask them what they were buying. The people I saw him do it to just quickly moved away from him without saying anything.

You really have to wonder about people who get off on doing shit like this.

As far as the stock, they seemed well stocked on most things.

They had bottles of hand sanitizer, two different brands. About 30 of them on the shelf.

They did not have any wipes or Lysol spray.

They were running low on eggs but had butter, which I haven't seen in awhile.

They had a lot of meat and pork, but the refrigerators with chicken were completely empty. An employee brought a cart out to unload some chicken and people were gathering around to get some.

Plenty of seafood.

Oh and the other people I saw in the store... I don't know what it is with older people. Id on't know if they don't get what's going on or if they're just willfully defiant but some of what I see just astounds me.

An older couple was shopping and the husband kept taking his mask off whenever he wanted to speak to his wife. He wasn't wearing gloves and touching everything. He had glasses on and each time he wanted to read something he would take off his glasses, rub his eyes, read, and then put his glasses back on.

This other woman, I saw, she had to be in her 80's. I felt bad for her, actually because I didn't know what her deal was. She didn't have a mask on but rather had taped some sort of paper towel over her mouth. I understand if she couldn't find a mask anywhere, but what the thing was, she had her nose completely exposed, not having bothered to cover it.

Also, employees in the store are starting to not care about wearing their own masks or keeping distance. Several of the people stocking had their masks under their chins. On more than one occasion and employee re-stocking shelves came up right in front of or behind me, reaching near me, to put things away, rather than wait for me to move along.

[quote]He wasn't wearing gloves and touching everything.

The thing about gloves: even if someone is wearing them, you have no idea whether he just touched some corona patient's face or even if he just went to the bathroom and didn't wash his gloves. Gloves in evidence do not give me a feeling of confidence. Quite the opposite, in fact.

wow, that sucks R553. I've been using Amazon gift cards to buy items. I linked a credit card in the past but it expired. I try not to buy anything on Amazon unless necessary. Bezos treats their employees like shit, I ain't supporting that.

If I buy online, I go directly to the store's website and there are so many fake things on Amazon. Be careful.

I don’t think the mask thing is working.

We may just have to let people die. I think the propaganda thus far has been to desensitize us to large numbers of people dying. And it’s working.

Oh well.

[quote] Gloves in evidence do not give me a feeling of confidence. Quite the opposite, in fact.

I agree, studies have shown people are less likely to practice good hygiene when wearing gloves.

Also, I wear a mask when out in public, but because I also wear glasses, it is difficult if not impossible to never touch my face. I have tried several different types and fits of masks and every one has fogged my glasses.

[quote]The thing about gloves: even if someone is wearing them, you have no idea whether he just touched some corona patient's face or even if he just went to the bathroom and didn't wash his gloves. Gloves in evidence do not give me a feeling of confidence. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Obviously one has to use precautions when wearing gloves as well... however the point was that he was clueless and kept not only touching his face, but rubbing his eyes.

[quote] I have tried several different types and fits of masks and every one has fogged my glasses.

Then you need to prepare your glasses so they won't fog.

^hit reply before I finished.

Prepare your glasses by washing them in soap and water and letting air dry. They won't fog up after that.

If elderly people, who are at the highest risk, keep acting like the ones at R562, they’re going to die. If someone that old gets a big dose of virus, which they will if they don’t wear a mask properly, they’ll die. I think in the end, a lot of these Trump worshippers, red staters and old people that can’t get with the program are going to die. It’s survival of the fittest as we open the restrictions.

R562, if you see someone like that old lady with no mask again, tell them to look for masks on Etsy or the Nextdoor app. A lot of my women neighbors are sewing and selling masks and they’re getting a lot of business. And people on Nextdoor live nearby so you can get them very quickly. Maybe an old lady like that just doesn’t know where to look and she’s only looking for N95 masks and can’t find any. A cloth mask would be much better than that.

R560 I guess compliance depends on where you live. In NJ there is state mandate that you have to wear a mask to enter a store everyone is complying. Store employees will not let you enter if you are not wearing one. I see many people wearing disposable gloves as well.

R568 I've tried that and they still fog. Do you have any other suggestions? Because it is really driving me nuts.

R570, it's a mandate here too. As I said, the person at the front of the store obviously didn't want to deal with him- probably for fear of being shot.

R571 did you use enough soap?

I've done it with the glasses I wear out and it's completely stopped. The other option that I know is a sure fire fix - spit on your lenses and rub it around. It's gross but it does work .

Otherwise, look in to buying some defogging spray.

Dish soap like Dawn worked for me on my glasses, but regular soap like Ivory didn't help with fogging at all.

I have 34 rolls. I bought them over time. When ever I go to the store and see it I buy one. Same with toweling and cleaning products. It occurred to me I probably ought to stock up on personal care stuff too. I'm talking about bath soap, deodorant, toothpaste, tylenol, cough medicine. Canned tomatoes, ready made tomato sauce, rice, beans, and pasta.I buy big boxes of old fashioned oatmeal. YOU can use it instead of flour Just put it in a blender and grind it into flour. Use baking powder with it and a pinch of salt. Makes great pancakes. I put a bit of cinnamon in the mix too.

R569 I was going to offer her one of the extras I keep in my car but I didn't see her again after I got out of the line.

R574 Ok, thanks. I didn't use dish soap, I'll give it a try.

If your glasses fog, you can tape the upper edge of your mask across your nose and under your eyes to prevent your breath from escaping there. Medical dressing tape works better than scotch tape if you have any.

R571, when my glasses fog it’s because my mask isn’t properly set. If it’s even a little bit too low, my glasses fog.

Try raising your mask up higher until it’s as close to the bridge of your nose across the eyes as you can get. If your mask has a nose wire, pinch it to your nose. Your mask should be as close to under your eyes as you can get. Your glasses should be resting on top of the mask. Look in the mirror when you set your mask.

If you wear heavier glasses, they work better to hold your mask down, so if you have heavy Ray Bans or plastic glasses, try them and see if it helps.

[quote]I don’t think the mask thing is working.

“Models show that if 80 percent of people wear masks that are 60 percent effective, easily achievable with cloth, we can get to an effective R0 of less than one. That’s enough to halt the spread of the disease.”

I switched my ringtone to Dont Fear The Reaper but I have to change it because I don’t want people to think I’m one of those MAGAts.

I’m a senior. Just turned 69. And I have to say I hate reading stories about seniors/elderly being so ignorant of how serious this is. The behavior of these people is truly infuriating. I take it as a direct threat to me and all my oldster brethren. So who are these people? The mind boggles. My friends and neighbors are concerned and following the guidelines. I know because we text. We shout across the fence. Even the people I saw in the market last week were all masked trying to self distance and that includes the grey hairs. The mood was downbeat but polite.

But that’s because I live in Massachusetts. We have the third highest infection rate in the nation. Just shy of 70,000 confirmed cases. We take this virus very seriously because we have to. And because we’re a blue state, let’s face it. Which is why I was physically sickened to see the idiot mob outside of our State House yesterday. But that’s another rant.

A friend is stuck in FLA because she’s afraid to fly home and she witnesses daily some amazingly ignorant behavior and talk from those who surely should know better. So I don’t deny there are some really horrible seniors out there. But I think it has less to do with age and everything to do with politics and geography. Thirty year olds can be giant assholes. Depends on where they live and who they vote for. My generation the same. Please don’t blame this on us as if we’re all doddering, self entitled jerks.

Blame the fucking Trump people!

I just took a gamble and ordered mayonnaise from Amazon, wish me luck.

shaving cream on glasses

and bathroom mirror

Just got the order I was able to place on Amazon Fresh. It was bad two weeks ago - days with no slots opening whatsoever. In the last week slots for next day delivery are pretty numerous. The downside is they have NO fresh meat available of any kind - no poultry, beef, pork or lamb. No franks, bacon, sausages either. They have some frozen stuff, like Tyson breaded tenders and suchlike but no meat. I'm in NYC, so curious if this is a local problem or if people in other states who use AF are affected by this shortage. I got a few cans of tuna to stand in for my usual proteins, but I'm going to miss roasted chicken on Sunday, pork chops, etc. while they sort this issue out.

I was lucky to snag a 6-roll package of Amazon brand toilet paper but I feel like they're price gouging -- it cost $6.95 and they're not even 1000 sheet rolls.

Pro Tip: Find a pair of women's pantyhose. Cut them into couple inch strips and slip that over your mask.

It not only adds an extra layer of protection, it helps keep the mask in place.

(Courtesy of an NPR piece I heard last week.)

Due to slim pickings in the store that I went to, I picked up a can of sardines, which I haven't eaten in years but empty shelves make you choose things you usually walk away from. I was thinking it could be a nice lunch or snack. As a heads up, I want to warn fellow scavengers to stay away from "Beach Cliff Sardines in mustard sauce". Nasty bitter taste, which I hope is not mercury, and the fish were like mush.

NBC: More than 700 employees at a Tyson Foods meat factory in Perry, Iowa, have tested positive for coronavirus as the nation braces for a possible meat shortage due to the pandemic.

An Iowa Department of Public Health report released Tuesday showed that 58 percent of the factory’s workforce had tested positive for the virus, according to NBC affiliate WHO. The news comes just days after nearly 900 workers were confirmed to have the virus at a Tyson Foods plant in Indiana.

Tyson Foods said in a statement that the pandemic has forced the company to slow production and close plants in Dakota City, Nebraska, and Pasco, Washington, and the Perry plant as well.

Link to new thread:

So what happens to the Tyson plant, since Trump is forcing them to stay open no matter what? And who in their right mind wants to eat live, refrigerated Coronavirus on the hoof? Can the Health Department shut them down or does Trump supersede that?

R587, Costco sells Seasons brand sardines. They are high quality, packed in olive oil, boneless, and not mushy. They are really good. They sell them in six packs and have easy to open foil lids. It’s about $10 for 6. The ones they’re selling now are good until at least 2023. They’re from the Mediterranean so they’re unaffected by American packing issues. Anything in a can has been heated. Canning requires heat.

They’re great on a piece of bread in the oven, slathered with tomato paste and some Italian seasoning, then with the sardines on top and pour the oil over it all. About 11 or 12 minutes at about 350 toasts the bread. It’s healthy and tastes great. Or put the sardines on pizza, or over green beans with tomato paste and the olive oil. You can do that in the microwave, just put a lid on it or it will make a mess. I just put a plate upside down on top of another plate if it’s not too tall.

You can also use frozen green beans in place of pasta if you’re doing a low carb diet. Just do a nice tomato sauce with onions, garlic and Italian seasoning. You throw it all in a pot with the green beans and cook it together, I do it in a wok. My aunt, who lived on a farm, grew green beans on the farm and brought some to my house and cooked them on the stovetop that way. They were terrific.

After trying Season’s sardines, I bought a can or two of another brand somewhere else. Couldn’t stand them and they were full of bones.

[quote]it's a mandate here too. As I said, the person at the front of the store obviously didn't want to deal with him- probably for fear of being shot.

Call the police.

r556, you say that like it's a bad thing.

Not to push an agenda, but it might be a good idea to stop buying meat and poultry.

R591, Or call the store manager, who has the authority to throw people out of the store.

I realize these Deplorables act like rabid animals, but they don’t want to be called out as rabid animals.

A few phrases like, “do you want to hurt people?” Or “are you trying to make this employee sick? She has a family,” in front of a crowd of interested bystanders might embarrass one of these narcissists into thinking it’s a good time to slink away. Put the ball back in their court. Instead of saying, what about my wellbeing (because they don’t give a shit about you), you have to make them realize they’re making a fool out of themselves in public. They care about that.

The problem with dealing with narcissists is that they’re bullies and they will always deny doing exactly what they’re doing, because they look like a piece of shit. So they’ll say, “who me? Of course I would never hurt her!” Right after breathing all over an employee.

Most people shrink from bullies and don’t want to make a scene, so the bullies know they can do anything they want, using anger as a shield against all criticism. They just stomp their feet and throw a tantrum, knowing people will get scared or give up. Even people in power are afraid of them. So you have to call them out for doing exactly what they’re doing, and look them right in the eye and say it calmly, while they’re flipping out all over like a fish out of water. It’s like puncturing a balloon full of hot air.

My stepmother was this type of person. Extreme narcissist. So is Trump. They say they’ll do something horrible and irresponsible, you call them out on it, and they say, “what? I would never do that!” Like it’s your idea. Which means you got them on record saying they won’t do it. Until next time at least.

They've arrested HIV-positive people for spitting on or deliberately infecting other people. I don't see this much different.

Target in CA has moved back to in-store returns and business as usual. Not to be Susan Collins about it but... this concerns me.

Link to new thread below:

r8, go with Dawn- it what rescue groups use to remove crude oil/tar that inadvertently covers animals.

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