Shopping For Groceries Is Like Hell Right Now (PT 8)

Previous thread:

Clorox said that disinfecting wipes would become available again in June. So where are they? Walmart hasn't offered any for sale in over 2 weeks.

The Lysol Report

I'm waiting for the Lysol X3. I don't have a Walmart anywhere near me and I can't drive anymore due to a spine disability. So I've been trying online since March and have never seen anything, for the Lysol or Clorox, that doesn't say, "Out of stock." I have gotten lucky with 70% isopropyl alcohol, toilet paper and Bounty paper towels with Walmart online, I've had to find some cheap shitty candy to buy when I'm a just 2 or 3 dollars away from free shipping but that's a small price to pay and hell, it was nice to have some sour Skittles after all these years.

Target is a lost cause and Amazon is filled with price gougers on paper goods and never has 70% isopropyl alcoholf or wipes. Forget sHome Depot, Walgreens, CVS and RiteAid for getting anything online. Why they encourage people to go out and come into their stores I can't imagine. Do they want to keep this virus going?

I found a Lysol Laundry Sanitizer at Target online, am supposed to get it Friday.

I've seen Lysol wipes in stock but in store only at Walmarts.

I think the laundry sanitizer only kills bacteria. I will buy something that kills both bacteria and viruses.

My area keeps doing nightly curfews and some stores are just completely closed. Sunday was protests and looting, so it was stay in the house. Mon curfew started at 1pm. On Tues, 6pm. Makes it impossible to go to the store at all after work. Good thing I had some stock from pandemic shopping, but I'm getting low. Tonight curfew is not until 9pm. I think it's total overkill at this point. There was only 1 day of looting last Sunday.

I'm getting most of my non-perishable things from Walmart.com or Boxed. One or the other always has paper towels, toilet paper, coffee, etc. The big cans of Folgers Colombian coffee are on Walmart.com for $9.96-- it's always in stock AFAIK.

I've been getting out recently to get my perishables. I was using Instacart since early March but between the membership, the mark-up, and the good tips, I'm ahead to get my own things while we're 'between waves'. I enjoy getting out again. However, I think the new habit of ordering my non-perishables will become a permanent one. It's much more convenient and Im saving money and clutter bypassing the impulse buys I'd see in a store.

Boxed? what's that?

The only thing that there's still a shortage of are Clorox and Lysol products. I have no problem finding anything else right now.

R10, it's a grocery delivery service.

Well, I don't know about Boxed perishable deliveries in the link at R12--it's not available in my city, but I use their regular service for toilet paper, soaps, cleaners, snacks, drinks, etc. with 2-day shipping.

I looked at Boxed and it looked like another Amazon Pantry to me, tbh.

I thought people in this thread were constantly bitching about Amazon Pantry; has that changed?

No, it still sucks. Try going in and doing a search for something and see what shows up. I did get a delivery from them today, but it was mostly stuff I didn't even really need that I just ordered to get to the $35 minimum. They did have coffee, chips, etc. But it's really slim pickings.

r9, I haven't bought non perishables off line in years. the only things I get in stores locally are last minute items (sour cream etc) and fresh fruits and vegetables and ice cream. everything else is delivered. weirdly, it saves me a bunch of money

The minimum on Boxed is $20. They don't have a huge selection, but they have the basics and sometimes they have bougie soaps and household cleaners.

Won't replace all your shopping but certainly worth a look.

Why aren't y'all going to the grocery store like everybody else? There's no need to use these troublesome delivery services anymore.

Probably because most people aren't wearing masks (or wearing them below their noses) or distancing, even though the numbers are still going up.

Today was my first trip to Costco since early February. I had been avoiding Costco, but it was really easy to shop there today. I can't believe it, but they lowered the prices, slightly, on some foods. It's bing cherry season, so I got lots of those. For some reason, it's something nice to have during summer and makes me happy.

They had those huge, huge packs of Marathon toilet paper, so I bought that. My usual TP is the Kirkland Signature, but they had none of that. If there's a second wave of the virus, I'll be ready.

[quote] Amazon is filled with price gougers on paper goods and never has 70% isopropyl alcoholf or wipes. Forget sHome Depot, Walgreens, CVS and RiteAid for getting anything online. Why they encourage people to go out and come into their stores I can't imagine. Do they want to keep this virus going?

Amazon has been utterly useless throughout this whole ordeal. On the rare occasion that they get an in-demand item in stock, it either goes out of stock within seconds or they'll only sell it to certain groups. Then they're also allowing all kinds of sketchy and knock-off stuff to be sold that shouldn't even be offered at a time like this (they're selling masks that were made in Wuhan - not a joke).

The 'only in stores' thing that so many retailers are pushing seems counterproductive. I can suit up and go to Walmart or Walgreens and HOPE they have something they claim is in stock there on their website, but it almost certainly won't be by the time I get there, and it's just not worth the effort and risk even for something I really need when it's just one item. Sell some of the stock online, FFS.

One thing that I have begun seeing creep back into the stores is hand sanitizer. I found two small travel bottles of Purell at Target last week, but they would only let me buy one (fuckers). I also saw numerous bottles of an off-brand kind at the grocery store, and then today my mother went to Walmart and they had Equate brand in stock (they let her buy two).

(For the person above wondering about the Lysol Laundry sanitizer and viruses - according to their website it will kill 99.9% of viruses as well if you pre-soak your clothes in a mixture of water and the sanitizer. They give the directions on their site).

Guys, I mixed up my first batch of homemade hand sanitizer. I used the Walgreens aloe vera gel and 91% isopropyl alcohol. I put the mixture it in a Ziploc bag, snipped off a corner, and poured it into my little Purell pump bottle that I already had before the pandemic. This is a semi-cheap and easy DIY.

I bought a package of TP from Aldi's yesterday. I was happy to see that the price hadn't changed but I thought the package felt light. Sure enough when I checked with a package I had bought before the pandemic there were 308 sheets per roll, Now there are 286 sheets per roll which makes the package almost an entire roll lighter in a 12 roll package.

Except, R23, it depends on being able to acquire rubbing alcohol, which is even scarcer than hand sanitizer these days.

Anyone in CT looking for sanitizer, masks, gloves, flour, yeast: Stew Leonards had mountains of it. I bought a bunch of sanitizer (liquid vs gel) and a 25lb bag of flour. Worth the trip for me.

expect a 2nd wave in about 2 weeks so things may be shut down again.

Gay fuckers shopping at Walmart and Costco. Lysol wipes. Tabulating sheets of toilet paper. Home-made sanitizer gel.

Maybe this series should have ended at PT. 7 (or PT. 4.) This is a new low for DL.

R28 Bitch, we wanna live.

Quarantine doesn't work in the US. Spike of infections or no spike,there will be no further shut downs. We are too childish and fractured as a society to think of the greater good.

[quote]This is a new low for DL.

Bitch, Luka Magnotta posted here. This was practically Milo's home base for the better part of a year. We have people routinely call for the enslavement of blacks and the extermination of Jews.

And THIS is a new low? Fuck you and anyone who ever loved or encouraged you.

I can't vouch for it but some local liquor stores by me (Morris County, NJ) are selling hand sanitizer. It's a pretty large bottle. If you need it, it might be worth checking out.

Harmon's Face Values had wipes, liquid soap, hydrogen peroxide, paper towels and tylenol in stock all during quarantine.

No hand sanitizer or toilet paper but they have everything else.

If anyone in Pittsburgh wants the rest of a 9-pack of a Koch brand of toilet paper, come to my window. I'll throw it down to you. You're responsible for Lysoling it your own damned self.

It's really shitty toilet paper. Hardly any on the roll, and lots of white dust / exudate. I want to go back to my Amazon! Presto!, which is the good shit, toilet paper-wise. But I hate to be wasteful. And it seems we're still short on toilet paper. I bought it at the height of the hysteria (SFGILHRN [PT 1 or 2]).

I only like to use Scott and havent seen the stuff sold since the panic began.

R34 I'm in Pittsburgh, but I don't want your crappy toilet paper. But I've found plenty of decent tp brands (I buy the Seventh generation recycled) in stock at Giant Eagle Waterworks plaza. Costco also has tp again.

[quote]I buy the Seventh generation recycled

Is it true that only works if you shit tofu?

[quote]Maybe this series should have ended at PT. 7 (or PT. 4.) This is a new low for DL.

Maybe you should stop following threads that no longer interest you.

If anyone is still looking for masks:

Masks:

Masks

Not a single one of those mask postings seem to be legit.

Interesting that someone above said they can't find Scott anywhere.

Scott is often the only brand available around me and it seems no one will take them. At Sam's, they'll be out of their Member's Mark, Cottonelle, and Charmin, but will have a huge wall of Scott and people just walk by, seemingly deciding they'll wait for the others to come back into stock.

I've never used Scott so I don't why people like/don't like them.

scott cleans better than those softer brands.

I would never in a million fucking years use Scott, because they are owned by the Koch Brothers.

These stores are back to being totally disgusting with spills on the floor for days and dirty finger prints and scum on the registers.

I just want to open my own grocery store at this point. What is so hard about spending the labor to CLEAN YOUR STORES??

R46 = Joan Crawford

I’m with Joan. All the grease and sludge around the end caps so so unappetizing. We’re talking FOOD here.

I will leave my cart full of groceries if I see a bunch of grime and dirt around the registers. Not dying for these greedy hedge funds.

r45 is typical of the ignorance and idiocy that is killing this country. Scott is owned by Kimberly-Clark, which has nothing to do with Koch.

Koch's paper products are made by Georgia-Pacific. Its TP brands are Quilted Northern and Angel Soft. Its paper towel brands are Brawny and Sparkle.

Educate yourself, and stop spreading misinformation.

Target seems to have Charmin in stock all the time. Charmin made the rolls less wide, though.

All the toilet companies changed their formulas recently. In 2018 and 2019. The generics were the last to change over for some reason.

I’m sure it was so they could squeeze another nickel from customers to pay for another yacht or 50m lot.

R49 Lick me where I shit.

Cottenelle (sp?) TP, the last one I was able to buy, covers just a little over half the toilet paper holder. I'm sure each roll is about half what it was maybe 5 years ago, they've all be slowly shrinking them over the years, and for more money. It's the same with shrinking OJ containers and Ice cream cartons and many other products. I believe bacon that used to be a pound is now only 12 ounces. They haven't gone after milk yet but I'm sure they will.

R43 Where are you located?

I like Scott Comfort Plus but am now having trouble finding it. Regular Scott TP is available just about everywhere. I've been buying Cottenelle since it's all I can find right now that has any weight to it. The regular Scott is just too, I don't know, slick?

R54 Southern California.

It's not totally impossible to get ANY but I cannot find a place that is shipping facial tissues, and most stores delivery have a limit of one or two.

Just so everybody knows who is really behind the violence

SoCA here. The Target near me started having Scott TP regularly again. Not large quantities, but still some left even 1/2 before close which is when I shop. But that store is now closed indefinitely as a precaution (looting).

Last night I was scurrying around grocery shopping between finishing work and start of curfew. Ralphs was starting to close 45 minutes before curfew so I had about 15 minutes to shop. No problem, I'm fast. As I was walking past the personal care aisle I almost fell over when I saw multiple bottles of 70% isopropyl alcohol. I have not seen it anywhere since early March. I bought 1.

Tonight, NO CURFEW!

Remember the looming meat shortage? Has it happened? I haven't shopped for meat in a while so don't know.

R60 There are still limits on purchases in many stores. I think it wasn't as bad as people predicted because there is less demand from restaurants. I've noticed some different brands of packaged meat showing up in the supermarket, that I suspect were from restaurant suppliers.

R60 & R61, Sam's Club currently only sells 80% lean ground beef; they stopped offering the 90% back in March.

Costco is still not sending SHIT out via shipping.

They said they would start shipping paper products as of June 1 but they pushed it back again.

Does Costco have Clorox wipes in store?

R64 supposedly yes, depends on store.

R23 isn't 91% alcohol too high of a concentration for hand sanitizer? Are you diluting it?

I have posted this before but many, many cleaning, sanitizing AND paper products can be found on on-line at janitorial websites. And you DO NOT often have to buy in bulk. Often they have available either your typical name brand products such as Clorox/Lysol or they have their own " in-house" brand of wipes, concentrated All-purpose disenfectant cleaners, or ready-made squirt bottles to purchase. There are literally multitudes of these companies on-line and one need only google "janitorial supplies" or "medical/ dental cleaning supplies". I have even found these products under restaurant/ beauty store supplies. I will acknowledge that even these sites have been quite ransacked by the Pandemic and you may have to search quite a few till you find one that has the products you are looking for in stock. Happy hunting!

Boxed has Scott and masks.

Is the person who bitches about everyone's helpful suggestions the same one who went on and on at peak pandemic time about not having BREAD FLOUR because only BREAD FOUR would do, when most people couldn't get any flour whatsoever, and the same one who wanted hand sanitizer but not the LIQUID sanitizer, it was too watery, only the gel hand sanitizer would do, when it was nearly impossible to get any hand sanitizer at all, except thanks to the distilleries who churned out the liquid hand sanitizer that most of us were grateful to get at all. Is that poster the same one who is bitching about Amazon Pantry but when I suggested Boxed they said it 'looked like Amazon Pantry, tbh'. The same one who can't find coffee, the same one who can't find Scott. Boxed had two different kinds of Scott in three different configurations last time I checked.

How do you survive? You sound like you need a home health aide.

I love Scott tp! I have old pipes and Scott usually breezes right through.

I really miss my 409 multi surface disinfectant spray. I cannot find it anywhere. I wouldn’t mind Purell at this point. Anyone find any near West Hollywood?

I prefer Scott TP also. It's just a nice basic common sense TP without all that fluff that flies all over the room when you unroll it.

Scotts fan too and my local Target shelves are full of it! I always grab 2 - 4 roll packs to stockpile during my weekly Target tun.

*run😉

[quote]I love Scott tp! I have old pipes and Scott usually breezes right through.

You're not supposed to swallow it, oldtimer!

I find it somewhat disconcerting that janitorial supply stores have lots of disinfecting materials -- I figured there'd be a huge demand from all the stores, restaurants, and offices that are reopening with supposedly much stricter sanitation guidelines.

R75 there was a whole thread on reddit about how restaurant workers laugh about the new "stricter sanitation guidelines". If a restaurant was filthy before the pandemic, chances are that it still is.

[quote] [R23] isn't 91% alcohol too high of a concentration for hand sanitizer? Are you diluting it?

R66, please do your own research, but the gel dilutes the alcohol. Also, my thinking is: so what if there's too much alcohol; the problem would be too little alcohol.

I can't believe there are so many people on here who like Scott TP. Why don't you just use sandpaper?

scott cleans better than those squishy brands that also leave lint and fibers behind.

NO, NO R77!

The Nothing's Ever Good Enough Troll will be here post-haste to tell you that too much alcohol may possibly cause the alcohol to evaporate faster than it can disinfect your hands, and therefore is theoretically completely fucking useless.

[quote]Also, my thinking is: so what if there's too much alcohol; the problem would be too little alcohol.

Please do your own research before telling others to. Your "thinking," is incorrect. Too high an alcohol content makes it ineffective as it evaporates too quickly.

So you don't like facts, R80?

And that isn't from the "Nothing's Ever Good Enough Troll."

This was a much nicer place before trolls started screaming trolls!

My Costco is selling large bottles of sanitizer, they didn't even put a limit on them. It was the watery kind and by some brand I had never heard of before.

I live in Michigan in a large Repug area where they have bitched so much about the quarantine and wearing masks so even if Covid spikes I don't think people are going to shut themselves in again so I am still shopping online. I am one of the few who likes Amazon Prime, I am using that along with my local grocery store delivery.

Also have had some luck with Target online too though they are frustrating when some of the stuff they will only sell in store.

R84 Were they glass bottles. Many distilleries are producing it. That sounds just like what they are selling at Ollies.

From what I read about DIY sanitizers, Medical experts don't even recommend using 91% alcohol because diluted with the aloe vera it barely meets the threshold of 60% alcohol needed to be effective. But something seems better than nothing.

The comment that 70% is more effective than 91% is correct in terms of it being used straight out of the bottle.

It might be better though to just spray 70% alcohol on to surfaces and wiping down before touching rather than using DIY sanitizer but again, something is better than nothing!

No R87 they were in plastic bottles. I didn't get any because I was able to score one of the big bottles from Walmart when the link was posted on the previous thread.

Wipes available on Walmart right now!

Walmart and Winco have some off brand bottles of hand sanitizer near me (Vegas). They’re the small bottles.

I've never looked so forward to pumpkin spice season before in my life. I feel like I can put this whole nightmare of a year behind me if I can just take a sip of that first pumpkin spice latte.

Please tell me there won't be a shortage of pumpkin spice this autumn.

r90 and now they are gone already...

I’m telling you shopping has never been easier! Liberal media is all lies.

[quote]I am one of the few who likes Amazon Prime, I am using that along with my local grocery store delivery.

Everyone loves Amazon PRIME. What we hate is Amazon PANTRY.

Still shows available for me, R93.

I was at my local CVS the other day and they had plenty of hand sanitizer. This is the first time they've had the stuff since March.

I haven't been in a grocery store since March, as I order everything online for curbside pickup at Giant Eagle. At the beginning they were pretty good at getting the order right, but they seem to be screwing up more and more. In my last order I got 4 whole bags brimming with junk food that weren't mine (they didn't charge me for them fortunately). I had already tried once in the past to return items mistakenly given to me but they told me they can't take anything back once it leaves the store, so I didn't even try this time. Included in my windfall were two large bags of Crunchy Cheetos (my favorites!), Red Oval Farms Oatmeal Cookies (yummm! I had never had them before), 48 oz pack of Giant Eagle Chocolate Ice Cream (I would have never thought to buy store-brand ice cream, but it was surprisingly good), 2 bars of Lindt Dark Chocolate, 2 bars of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate, 2 bottles of Giant Eagle Lemonade (I have never tasted a canned or bottled lemonade that I liked, as they generally taste too sweet and artificial, but these were tolerable after I cut them with water). Damn you Giant Eagle, I'm trying to get back in shape! Oh, and I got a big package of Charmin Toilet paper worth $11.99 which I don't even need, as I stocked up before everything went crazy.

oops r95 I actually meant Pantry. Although it's definitely a get it before it's gone mentality shopping there.

[quote] Is that poster the same one who is bitching about Amazon Pantry but when I suggested Boxed they said it 'looked like Amazon Pantry, tbh'.

That was me, bitch. The other stuff in your VERY LENGTHY missive, someone else posted all that.

What gets me, is that the store workers going around getting other people's pickup orders are the absolute worse at following the directional markers on the aisles. The other day me and an older lady had to both turn around and go the wrong way back down as aisle because the store's worker was coming in the wrong direction with that huge trolley they use.

R101 I've found those employees are also the ones who get close to you when they're trying to get something they need to fill an order and don't care about maintaining social distance. I've noticed that a lot of them also don't wear their masks.

Speaking of directional markers, I went the wrong in a store because I didn't even notice they had directional markers. They used white tape on white floor... didn't even see it.

Hell is other people...in these redundant threads.

R103 you don’t have to follow the thread.

Bye R103

They need to undo the tarrifs and bring down grocery prices. At least during the pandemic. Everything is outrageously priced.

Don’t get me started on the CVSs of the world.

People wonder why the stock market is through the roof. These hedge funds are gouging and making a FORTUNE!!

I was thrilled to finally see 6 packs of Scott at Rite Aid today... until I got the register and found out they had charged me $12.99 for it. The rolls aren't even as large as they used to be. I told the cashier to take it off my purchase and had my friend grab me 20 rolls of Kroger 1-ply for the same price (at Ralphs).

Wow that's about double the normal price elsewhere. Usually a 4-pack is somewhere around $4. This is why I don't shop at Rite Aid anymore. The only way to get acceptable prices is to buy multiples as part of their crazy pricing schemes to get people to buy 2 or more of everything. And their receipts are about a mile long.

CVS beats everyone else for having long reciepts. Just buy a candy bar and the receipt can be used in place of the overpriced toilet paper.

CVS is charging almost 11 dollars fo 25 pair pack of nitrate gloves.

It’s outrageous.

And 5 dollars for small hand sanitizer. I though gouging was illegal.

Rite aid got bought out last year. Walgreens owns them now I think.

Big Pharmacy is our to screw us all.

I’m done with Shoprite curbside, subbing grass fed organic meat $10.99 lb instead of regular ground chuck $3.99 all the time, not having what I need 60% of the time etc. also I peeked in and the store was filthy! No thanks biting the bullet suiting up and hitting ALDI every 2wks , then shopping local produce Stands and fish markets instead. I have had luck ordering coffee, paper towels & TP from Costco online.

If you're in L.A./San Fernando Valley and need gloves.....S.O.S Survival Products in Van Nuys. (can also order online) Box of 50 Nitrile gloves = $8.95. Box of 100 vinyl gloves = $5.95.

[quote]Costco is still not sending SHIT out via shipping.

I've been a Costco member for years, but had never bought anything from them online. I recently set up an account on their site and have tried at least a dozen times now to buy gloves, soap and/or wipes that they SAY are in stock, and continue to say are in stock even after I put them in my cart, even letting me go through the payment process - only to tell me one by one, at the very last minute, that they're not available. So why aren't they ever marked as out of stock, like all the other sold out stuff on the site, thus sparing me the hassle of having to repeatedly place an order that can't be completed? I mean, WTF? I am not impressed.

Went to Target last night here in NorCal. I would say that less than 20% of the people there - and it was quite busy, even in the last hour before closing - were wearing masks. No gloves anywhere, and not much social distancing except at the registers. They did have paper products in stock, and quite a bit of hand sanitizer - small bottles of Purell and an off-brand that comes in a glass spray bottle, as well as larger bottles of Puracy. Still limited to 1 per person on all of it. I even saw an empty Fleischmann's yeast box on the shelf, so at some point since I was last there, they actually had some yeast for sale.

The number of mask-wearers being so low was really troubling, especially in combination with the protests. Get ready for that second wave to hit sooner than expected, and hard.

The purpose of wearing face coverings is minimize he risk of infected people passing on this virus.

"an ounce of prevention", it takes almost no effort at all to wear a face covering indoors.

I have had great luck ordering paper towels/TP/Rice from Costco, those items are usually in stock in the early am. There were big delays in April but now no issues for me at all. I do the two day shelf stable stuff not same day grocery delivery.

R113 It is complicated. Walgreens bought around half of the Rite Aid locations. Those have now been converted into Walgreens. They couldn't buy the entire company because of anti-trust concerns. Therefore, if you shop at a location that is still branded as Rite Aid it is still Rite Aid, with no connection to Walgreens. One of the things that people like about Rite Aid, is that if you have a JC Penney credit card, it can used at Rite Aid.

I've noticed that Costco routinely underestimates their delivery times.

A product page will list the item as being available and have a "delivered by," date on it but they never actually deliver by that date. I've ordered several things that are said to have a delivery date by say Monday and once I order the item I'll receive a confirmation email that the item will be delivered by Friday.

It's like a bait and switch with delivery times.

Yes, for anything they are mailing to you add a week at least, R120. It took almost a month for my last shitment.

Yeah, I was kind of disappointed in my Costco shitment as well. I had run out of all my vitamins and supplements (Mary!), so I ordered 3 different kinds of stuff. Costco e-mailed me back saying that one of my items could not ship until _____ date. So, I'm thinking they'll mail me the other 2 bottles. They actually waited until the last item was available and shipped all 3 bottles. Not good customer service. Even Amazon used to ship things separately, depending on availability.

OMG LOL what is going ON with my autocorrect?

I was the one who typed "Shits Fired!" too.

I'm confused.

[quote]One of the things that people like about Rite Aid, is that if you have a JC Penney credit card, it can used at Rite Aid.

So very modern with his JC Penney charge plate!

Membership has its privileges...must be nice.

She used to use her JC Penney card at Thrift Drugs or Eckerd, one assumes.

Department store cards are very liberal in whom they approve for credit. I've known many lower income/working-class people who get the Penney's card specifically to purchase their prescriptions and OTC products at Rite Aid.

R127 You know some of The Poors personally?

R128 Yes. We don't all live in Beverly Hills.

Re Costco: yep, 2 day ship for $3 extra is really 7-8 days. I actually called and voiced “concern” that I hadn’t received my coffee order and she just sent another out no charge as compensation. Lucky me.

[quote]One of the things that people like about Rite Aid, is that if you have a JC Penney credit card, it can used at Rite Aid.

I say "fuck 'em" if they won't accept my Phipps-A-Plate!

Lol dead at “charge plate”.

Thanks for the SOS recommendation, r115.

Wasn't a Sears card notoriously difficult for people to get?

Sears shilled the Discover card and yes, it was difficult to get, for some odd reason. Maybe people didn't tend to pay off all the appliances and power tools they bought in the basement.

Some of you sound impoverished.

what is your point, r136

None. My post was pointless. Like much of DL.

Target's whole thing for most of its recent existence has been to hype that hype - have limited supplies on hand so that the customer feels like they MUST have something and comes back several times.

But that isn't working in the pandemic.

They are just weird. Something sells well and they will decide NOT to reorder, or pull it from the list of things you can pick up in Drive Up or Order pIckup.

Target has the absolute worst policies for people like me who don't want to go into the store. First, they only allow you to order for drive-up pick-up through their phone app -- not on their website. And you can't order anything perishable. Even if you go the in-store pickup route, you can't order perishables, because unlike Walmart, Instacart, and other grocers, they pick your order ahead of time and keep it at the front desk, unrefrigerated. So basically they're useless, unless you want to order a non-perishable item and use the phone app to do it. The only positive thing I can say is that at least there's no dollar minimum for the drive-up pick-up service. So you could just order one or two items.

I was a die-hard Target shopper before the pandemic, but now I find myself using Walmart far more.

From what I can see, every single food manufacturer has used this pandemic to massively shrink their packages. I know they've been slowly doing that for years but over the last few months every single thing has been miniaturized.

I think some of the lack of products during this time has been due to the manufacturers taking their products offline to switch over the line to the massively smaller products. They used the pandemic and people's desperation as cover while they put out their "we're all in this together" commercials. I hope they are investigated for corporate collusion or whatever else they can be investigated for. The assholes.

Oh my god with the shrinking. It’s outrageous. I got some rice krispy treats and they are the size of postage stamp.

Masks available. 50 for $13. Walmart was charging $30 for these a few weeks ago.

Thanks so much, R143!

R143 Dang, the prices have dropped. They charged me $30 at their Sam's Club last month.

Thanks R143. Just ordered them. I may start leaving my apt. next week and I think I'll wear at least 2 at a time and carry a couple of extras in a zip bag in case something happens to the ones on my face. I hope I'll be able to breathe through them on really hot humid days. I have asthma.

R146: It will be hard to breathe with 2-3ply masks.

Just ordered 3 packs of those masks. Thanks again, R143. Good to have that out of the way.

Here's the Amazon Pantry troll again, I looked at 3 am this morning and they had some goodies in stock I have never seen there before. I know they sell out fast so I was clicking on things like a maniac to check out before it was gone.

Took note of some in-demand items coming back to the shelves on a late Saturday afternoon here in Northern California.

After looking at the CVS website and seeing that it listed a couple of disinfectant sprays as being in stock - low stock, but still in stock - at a nearby location, I decided to drop by on my way to the grocery store. The inventory on stores' sites is more unreliable than ever and I figured it was probably inaccurate, but worth a shot since it was so close to the grocery store anyway. They were indeed out of all the 'low stock' ones - but as it turned out, I did end up scoring a can of Seventh Generation disinfectant spray. Not my favorite, but it's on the EPA's list, so I grabbed it. That's the first can of any brand of disinfectant spray I've seen on a store shelf since March. Then, up by the register, they had a display of hand sanitizer - not the tiny travel size bottles, but ones that were almost double the size of those. None were familiar name brands, but all were 70% alcohol content, and the cashier said there was no limit on them (I bought three).

Over at the grocery store (a regional chain), I saw another unicorn - the first bottle of rubbing alcohol I've seen on a shelf in months. Again, an off-brand, but it was the last one and I snatched it up. I was happily surprised to see plenty of yeast at last - Fleischmann's and Red Star - quick rise, as well as the pizza dough kind. Then at the registers, there was another large display of hand sanitizer - medium-sized bottles this time, yet another off-brand, but again 70% alcohol. They also had boxes of 10 disposable masks for $9.99.

The downside of all this was the scarily low number of people wearing masks or social distancing. I'm starting to get those looks again, the same ones I got when I first started wearing a mask and few other people were yet. Now the people wearing masks are starting to stick out again. Not good.

quarantine is ending in the us but the virus still exists and there is no cure.

I am wearing a face mask indefinitely, expect to see increase of infections after this week of massive protests.

I went on Shipt and was able to get the stuff delivered the same day so they definitely have slowed down. During lockdown you had to order a day out.

My suburban DC Whole Foods is, after almost 3 months, STILL poorly stocked, with many empty or almost empty shelves. And what is re-stocked is in smaller quantities for the same price or even higher. Example, "wild-caught" shrimp.

OTH, my local Kroger (Giant) is almost back to the way it was in February.

I shopped Whole Foods for years without complaint After Amazon purchased the brand? ` The shopping experience deteriorated with higher prices, poorer quality control and products that I could always find in store disappearing from their shelves. Is that the goal?

To crash the in store shopping experience so WF customers will choose to have "everything like, delivered from Amazon"?

I only shop from Amazon when I receive a gift card and I have an unused card from 2018.

I've been following this thread from back in March. According to those who do shop Amazon, Amazon couldn't keep up with the demand during quarantine, no online store could. Not Target, not Walmart, not CVS not Boxed.com, not InstaCart, no one.

Amazon has ongoing disputes with frontline workers who were not sufficiently protected against contracting this virus at work and offered no financial incentive to these workers who were there for our society keeping choas at bay.

r153 Giant is owned by Kroger now? Is it any different from Giant 20-30 years ago (when I lived in DC)?

I'm having delivery box issues. Because you SFGIHRN queens put the fear of god in me, I don't open boxes right away anymore. And some I don't want to open at all (some clothing: I ordered pants that need alterations, for example; can't get that done now). The problem is, I don't have a garage. I live in a small 1-BR apartment in a highrise. I'm not going to move. I'm too old to move.

I have most of my groceries delivered, and I've reached the point where I've had to throw shit out (apples, oranges, sweet potatoes or yams, yogurt: I AM SO SICK OF YOGURT NOW!). Life was so much easier when I went shopping every two or three days. I was not made for storage and freezing. It's just not me.

So yeah, SFGIHRN for me, too. And I don't even bother with Lysol and wipes.

Amazon Fresh had the option to choose one hour windows for delivery which cost $4.99. Today I was checking the site and they've raised the price of this to $9.99. Also, they put the "deliveries may be limited" banner back up, after removing it last week.

Masks are gone.

[quote][R153] Giant is owned by Kroger now? Is it any different from Giant 20-30 years ago (when I lived in DC)?

Giant is owned by Ahold Delhaize. The Kroger banner in DC is Harris-Teeter.

I checked out the weekly circular (online) for my local Shoprite and the only meat advertised was grass fed, but not organic, chopped meat from Australia. No other kind of meat or poultry. There was no paper products or cleaning products other than Tide advertised. This does not sound good. My guess is if I finally go there after not being there since early March when already shelves were empty, it will be the same thing.

How can anyone say the pandemic is anywhere near over when life is nothing like it was before and so many commonly used products still can't be gotten in person or online. Did anyone every see constant "Out of stock" messages for so many things at every store's online page before, no.

In addition I read that in LA positive cases are climbing quickly again since Memorial Day outings and the early days of protests. Selfish fuckers with no masks and no social distancing are going to keep this going forever and end up killing us all. When are the idiotic governors of states, even my idiot Cuomo, going to enforce distancing and masks with very high fines for a first offense and at least a year in jail for the second. Protestors protesting against distancing and masks should be treated like the protestors for BLM and fucking beaten and tear gassed and jailed.

I went to two different grocery stores this past week and everybody is still wearing masks, except for 3 people.

What percentage of people are still wearing masks at Target and Home Depot?

After all these protests numbers will probably spike again. I still am avoiding going in a store.

SFGIHRN

Decode this please.

r162 it's the title of this thread

R160, a lot of the people that go to Home Depot are Mexican construction workers and none of them wear masks or gloves. In fact most of the customers of Home Depot don’t wear them. It’s mostly entitled Deplorable men and a few frau wives that are making a statement. “I’m an idiot and I don’t want to live” seems to be the statement. The masked people are customers not in the construction business.

If you want to go to Home Depot, get up and arrive at 6am, when they open and there’s nobody there but construction workers and a few cautious masked people. At least you can social distance. By 8am, they are mobs of Deplorables blocking the aisles and they won’t move.

r162 Look at the title of the thread.

I was at a small indie grocery here in Denver yesterday (think a smaller Whole Foods). Most were wearing masks but the concept of staying 6 feet away was lost on most. Some of them were stampeding as if they were herds of cows.

The three people not wearing masks (or letting them hang under their chins) were, of course, the EMPLOYEES.

[quote]SFGIHRN

[quote]Decode this please.

[quote][R162] it's the title of this thread

[quote][R162] Look at the title of the thread.

Except...I left out the "L." I initialized "Shopping for Groceries Is Hell Right Now" instead of "Shopping for Groceries is [bold]Like[/bold] Hell Right Now."

Waiting now for a Whole Foods delivery. I keep running out of their Italian sparkling water. I live in a high-rise where it would be so much easier for the delivery person to deliver to the rear entrance to the building, but only half of them read that far down the page. Not only is it more work for me after they deliver and dash, they have to do more work to drop stuff off at the front door. First world problems, I realize.

Today's order:

- white cheddar cheese

- 365 brand white cheddar popcorn

- 365 brand unsalted butter

- 365 brand sour cream

- Whole Foods brand Italian sparkling water

- blueberries

- mushrooms

Thank you, R163 and R165.

I will say WFM has a really good system to show me where the delivery is.....how many stops are ahead of me. I have been able to time it to go to the lobby right before, put my little granny cart outside, and then they put the bags right inside when they arrive.

All minimizing contact and/or breathing their exhalations.

shopping

from

great

indoor

house

room

nursery?

disregard r170!

This...just...

I am in quarantine with my 90 year old mother. once a month she gets a taste for the spicy chicken tenders from or local Albertsons. I dread this place because it does not have self-serve check out. So I grab two pounds (for like a week between us) and the counter gal behind the deli is nice and distanced as she steps away as I pick up the bag on the elevated counter. On my way in to the store there was only one Karen without a mask. She was the only unmasked person in the store, and you bet, she is in front of me in the express checkout. She crowds the woman in front of her and open mouth coughs a few times. She is disgusting as I maintain a 10ft distance from her. Walk up, put some hand sanitizer on my hands and see that the key pad is covered in plastic. My card is finally accepted and ii RUN out of there. Ignorant Karen is still in the parking lot. I so wanted to drive over her. All to make my mom happy.

r169 Instacart does that as well.

R173, I used to be the caretaker for my elderly dad, so I know what you mean.

Call the deli counter at the store, explain to them you’re ordering the chicken for your ninety year old mom and ask them what’s the earliest you can pick them up. Then pick them up as early as you can. Maybe you could put in a standing weekly order.

I found out when you’re the primary caretaker or an elderly person, you can get the pneumonia vaccine even if you’re not 65 yourself. My dad had congestive heart failure and chronic bronchitis, and I got that vaccine, plus I would get the flu vaccine every year without fail. You’re the biggest opportunity for her to catch a disease.

I

r175, Thanks for the info. I agree that I am her greatest possible infector. Will followup on the vaccines.

Fabric face masks at Target if anyone needs them.

2 pack for $4.

Just got my delivery order and the store must have hired some illiterate idiots, because they had almost everything incorrect.

Well, r178, next time order everything they sent you this time and see what you get.

R179 It's King Soopers which I am trying to boycott anyway, but in a pinch I've had to use them b/c of available times.

But they can fuck themselves after this one.

Wendy’s said its beef supply “has returned to near normal levels” after a shortage left some restaurants without hamburgers.

Nearly one in five Wendy’s restaurants stopped selling beef products last month as coronavirus outbreaks shuttered some of the nation’s largest meat processing plants, according to an analysis from investment bank Stephens.

The fast-food chain managed the problem by allocating its signature “fresh, never frozen” beef to all restaurants with two or three weekly deliveries, according to a Monday press release. The Ohio-based company said it also focused its marketing efforts on chicken products to “alleviate pressure on beef demand.”

But Wendy’s said the snafu weighed on same-restaurant sales early last month. It also affected digital sales because items were temporarily yanked from online menus if individual restaurants were having supply problems, the company said.

Global same-restaurant sales posted a 3.3 percent drop in May despite turning positive in the last week of the month, driven by a 15.7 percent drop at international locations, Wendy’s said. The chain’s new breakfast menu was a bright spot in the US, where Wendy’s said it accounted for about 8 percent of sales last month.

Wendy’s only expected its beef shortage to last a few weeks, but industry figures say the nation’s meat supply could be strained through the summer despite the Trump administration’s efforts to keep plants up and running, as The Post reported in May.

r181, that's because when some sick meat cutter falls into the grinder they get to keep the meat.

have you noticed that they have stopped telling us how many meat plant workers are getting the virus?

They also stopped telling us how much a pound they get for meat plant workers...

R183: That Corona/Covid stuff is old news😷... Floyd/BLM is what's happening today! 📰

Coronavirus is SOOOO May. It's June people.

To those who have used Walmart.com pickup service....

I haven't used this service before but they currently have an item I have been unable to get else where.

Question: If, by the time they pull the items for my order, the requested items are no longer available - will they substitute something different? It's only the specific item I want and I definitely don't want anything else, even from the same vendor. I do not want anything but what I request.

What has been your experience?

Thanks.

Stopped by home depot in midtown Manhattan and they were selling masks but not cheap. $40 for a box of 50 single use mask.

They were selling some hand sanitizer but I am not familiar with the brand.

They had a stack of wipes at the checkout area, I picked up a pack. It's two in a pack and it's their in house brand HDX. 7 bucks, good deal. Only one per person

r187 You can specify NO SUBSTITUTIONS for any specific item (or all of them.) And if you get a substitution you don't like, you don't have to accept it.

I’m going to Costco for the first time since February- anything i should keep an eye out for? (Product-wise?) hopeful for paper towel, brie and brownie brittle!

R187 I have only used them for delivery but I assume the interface is the same. When you get to the checkout page you can indicate whether you want substitutions or not. You can set that item by item, or just mark all as yes on substitutions or no subs.

The DL wisdom about Wednesday being the slowest shopping day holds true. I ventured to Trader Joe's today just before 10am and there were only two people ahead of me in line! Usually the line stretches around the side of the building.

Everything appeared to be in stock.

Sylvia, is that the one near S'liberty?

(haven't been home in eons, can't remember if there are others in town or not)

[quote] I’m going to Costco for the first time since February- anything i should keep an eye out for? (Product-wise?) hopeful for paper towel, brie and brownie brittle!

R190, my Costco did not have the Kirkland TP, I got the Marathon brand, which is 2-ply, but not as fluffy. Also, for a while, my Costco had closed down the coffee grinder, so I didn't bother looking for it. I called Costco later and their coffee grinder is actually back open, due to customer request. Don't forget to get cherries!

I got a grocery delivery and the chip bag the whole top was open, wide open. WTF? I tossed them.

LOL r195, was your delivery guy Jeff Spicoli?

R193 Yes, but there are now others in the south hills and north hills.

WeHo Sprouts 6pm Wed. Maybe 8 people in the store, only one customer ahead of me in the check out line. Everything seemed to be in stock, but I don't check for paper or sanitizing products, because I get them through subscription services.

It was eerie seeing all the businesses boarded up on Santa Monica, with the exception of 24 Hour Fitness.

R187, what's with the coyness about what you are ordering? Extra small cherry flavored condoms or nothing at all, is it?

R190, toilet paper at Costco has been really intermittent. Sometimes they have Northern or Angel Soft or whatever their usual brand is and Kirkland, sometimes they have none. Last week I went and they had small packs of some brand I never heard of. I think about 12 rolls. If you see toilet paper, get it because they may not have it next week, even now. Same at Sams Club. They didn’t have tp this week either.

Last week an employee told me they had just gotten in thermometers so I got one. It’s the kind you put on your forehead. The employee said they would be gone by end of day.

They also had bleach wipes, not Clorox, but some in an enclosed box. Another employee told me they wouldn’t last past a day either.

I went to some grocery store and looked for vitamin D and C and they didn’t have any, so I went to Costco. They had it on sale. Now is a good time to get vitamins before the second wave comes. I got a multivitamin too.

My local Costco is run by a prepper, and he’s expanded the bulk foods aisle to two aisles. Flour, sugar, oil and nuts, and another aisle of mostly beans, rice and grains like quinoa and dry packaged foods like lentil soup and shelf stable riced cauliflower in a pack. I love that store. He’s very good at figuring out what people will need.

Costco lost my mail order shipment, so I am not very happy with them at the moment.

Are we still to avoid pork?

When were we avoiding pork? Do you think the virus is living on a dead pork chop that you've cooked? Because, it's not. Or is it a moral stance in solidarity with the workers?

Where have you been R203? This discussion was in the earlier thread which came about because of Covid cases and the prior deregulation of the Pork industry.

My store seems to have the Charmin Essentials, I like the regular Charmin better but it beats Scott brand

Now all the brands claim they are double rolls or more. I saw one brand that claimed 18 rolls were the same as 72 rolls, but they didn’t look as big as the regular Costco double rolls.

Oink.

Chicago, near northwest suburbs.

Target.

Last night I checked their website and they showed "Limited Stock" for Clorox wipes, while other nearby Targets showed none.

Store opens at 8AM. I was there. About 6 people ahead of me.

When I got to the aisle for Clorox, a woman was exiting the aisle with a shrink wrapped set of 3 Clorox Wipes canisters. I said "Oh, Wow!" and she said with a grin "Yes".

Although most of the shelves in the aisle were empty, there was 2-3 similar packages of 3 canisters. I grabbed one, put it in my cart and hurried away.

I put a couple other things in my cart and covered up the wipes to discourage cart pilfering.

Sadly, I had gone to the store today to get a copy of the 75th Anniversary Version of GWTW which is currently on sale for $5.00. (I don't have a copy and copies are getting harder and harder to find.) After searching unsuccessfully, a clerk checked and said that it was on order, but the shipment had not yet arrived. I should call back to check in a day or so.

I placed an InstaCart order at 9:30 this morning and just got a text at 11:00 that shopping has started. It might actually happen!

[quote]Chicago, near northwest suburbs.

You have my sympathies, gurl.

I placed a Shipt Order at 6:30 AM and got it delivered at 9. Everything was correct and I got TP and Paper Towel. So things are slowing down now the quarantine is over, though I am still avoiding stores.

R209 here. I got my order delivered at noon. I got toilet paper and, believe it not, flour and yeast.

You have to stay in touch with the shopper, tho. She did a great job overall but tried to change legal sized mailing envelopes with plastic freezer bags. lol. I told her to look in the stationary aisle and she found them but a good job.

[quote]I told her to look in the stationary aisle and she found them but a good job.

I hope all of the aisles are stationary. Except in an earthquake.

The Qurantine is not over.

If you are able to stay home, stay home.

Business openings are just that.

[quote]The Qurantine is not over.

Oh, dear.

Are you a Muslim?

Yes, thank you for coming to my eid.

I hate to give up my secret, but clorox wipes, clorox, Lysol, and other cleaning products as well as BOunty paper towels can often be found at Home Depot and Lowes. The last time I bought any was there.

At this point, I've been stocking up on non perishables. So when the spike comes all I'll need is chicken, vegetables and fruit. Eggs bread and milk.

Get your eggs now and freeze them, R218.

r219 Why? My biological clock still has plenty of time left!

Right now I have 4 dozen eggs in the fridge. I use about one dozen a week and I can stretch that out if I have to. I have used eggs that were a month or even two at most past expiration date and they were fine. I think I'm going to buy a bag of good quality powdered eggs for an emergency.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet R221.

A hundred eggs....a THOUSAND EGGS!

LOL R222

I ordered eggs and the ones I got are brown. I know this is dumb but will they taste different?

They taste browner, r224.

White eggs and brown eggs are the same on the inside. A small percentage of either color can be nasty and horrible on the inside. If you find a white egg that is rotten on the inside, don't let that cause you to think all white eggs are rotten. Same with brown eggs.

R224 They taste the same!

"When it comes to hue of the egg, the key lies in the breed of chicken. In general, white-feathered chickens with white earlobes lay white eggs, and reddish-brown-feathered chickens with red earlobes lay brown eggs. There are also breeds that lay less commonly found blue eggs and speckled eggs."

I love eating eggs, so versatile a protein. During the height of quarantine, eggs were sold out or price gouged.

And now Aldi has them for .99 a dozen. Looks like the price gouging may be easing. I am stocking up for the second wave. Staples and cleaning supplies that will last into 2021. Can’t hurt.

Aldi had flour for sale 1.50 when other stores were sold out or price gouging the fuck out of the stuff. Stuck up on flour too.

I was at Ralphs last night at 11pm and they were well stocked on most everything. All the hot topic items were there, except isopropyl alcohol and "wipes" (which I don't buy). I haven't seen flour there in months but that aisle was normal. The TP aisle was fully stocked but all with some odd brand. Plenty of meat despite the horrific shortage that was supposedly coming. I think there were maybe 5 other customers in the entire store. It was great.

#BrownEggsMatter

Harris Teeter is overflowing

I like brown eggs for hard boiling. It's much easier to see the shell to peel it than with white eggs. Other than that they're exactly the same. I like the Pete & Gerry organic eggs, the extra large ones. If I can get jumbo I'll sometimes buy them but I don't see them in brown. With jumbo once in a blue moon your surprised with a double yolk. I love when that happens.

R220 that's exactly when you would freeze your eggs.

[quote]Harris Teeter is overflowing

Who's she?

There is a company that sells a lovely combo of blue and brown eggs at Sprouts. Seeing the blue eggs makes me happy for some reason.

I think they're supposed to make you blue, r238.

Do blue eggs make blue poo?

I had to venture out to the store the other day... Walked in to a store where absolutely no one, seriously, not a single person other than myself had their mask on over their nose. I don't know why I was shocked by that after all the fuckery I've seen, but I was.

The average IQ in America is like 97-101. That's why people aren't wearing masks. Hopefully, from this point on, stupidity will become the main risk factor for dying from Covid and we can inch that average up a bit.

R242 IQ tests are designed to have an average of 100.

And the average American with that IQ is stupid. They just don't want them to feel bad, like giving everyone a trophy.

99.9 PERCENT of people wear masks in the street and in the stores.

and 80% social distance.

Social distancing is a harder concept to grasp.

I still can not find lysol disinfectant spray in stores or online.

Yeah, this is starting to get super ridiculous.

Lysol kept saying they'd have spray and wipes in stock in a few months, but they aren't ever going to have enough to meet demand.

Is the Lysol/Clorox wipes and cleanser thing a world-wide thing? If not, I'd bet they are just selling their stock to the highest bidders in other countries and Trump's cabal is profiting off it so they don't care.

I found knock off chlorox wipes at Harmon's home goods, they had these in stock for almost all of quarantine= 75 sheets for 4 dollars.

Just can not find that spray anywhere.

Either that or they’re selling it all to the government or hospitals and doctors’ offices. If that’s the case, hire some more factory workers. Hospitals will need extra supplies for years.

R245, I’ve gone to Walmart at opening time (7:00am here) and Winco near opening time and I’ve found Lysol spray and Lysol aerosol. I was shocked. But the only time I’ve found bleach wipes was off brand at Costco (once) and at Winco.

I’ve also found your best bet is going to the most remote store you can find, in a residential neighborhood or industrial neighborhood. Crowded strip malls in the main drag never have anything. Go to the one at the edge of town.

If you don’t go at opening, forget it.

How much are you guys tipping Instacart delivery people? Originally I was tipping around $20 on a $100-$200 total delivery but that kind of seems like a lot at this point.

[quote]99.9 PERCENT of people wear masks in the street and in the stores.

Where is this?

[quote]How much are you guys tipping Instacart delivery people? Originally I was tipping around $20 on a $100-$200 total delivery but that kind of seems like a lot at this point.

I usually tip 15% in the app, then put another $10 in an envelope under the doormat for the delivery person to pick up when he/she makes the delivery. But then I only use Instacart when I have a coupon for free delivery, and I only use it with Aldi, where I'm saving so much money that I don't mind leaving a decent tip.

Large bottles of Hand Sanitizers are available if anyone needs it.

Non-grocery related question. During the middle of the pandemic, insurance companies were saying that they were going to refund customers on their auto insurance because no one was driving. That quickly turned from a refund in to that they were going to lower rates instead... I've seen nothing on either front. Has anyone else?

I've been getting a small refund from Allstate applied to my credit card balance every month.

R254 Same as Sylvia at R255. We have Progressive and they gave us a 20 percent refund in April and May.

My dental insurance is not charging for July. Car insurance, no refunds / no credit.

R254 I got a pretty big discount on my Geico auto insurance when it renewed last month.

Shoprite in Jersey City is stocked with Lysol and Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, looks like the shortage of these items is over for now.

Interesting, thanks for the info re: Auto Insurance. I'm going to have to contact my insurance company then.

Also, just got back in from a necessary run to CVS. Half the people had their masks under their noses. Cashiers were not wearing masks and one customer, a, big, fat (over 350 lbs), white guy, in his 40s, kept taking his mask off whenever he crossed paths with someone who was a minority. It was odd.

Yes, one city in Jersey (!) has wipes so the shortage for EVERYONE is over!

R260: So, either he wants to give it to a minority or catch it from a minority. Mental either way.

My car insurance company, Ameriprise through Costco, sent me a refund check in May in the amount of 10% of the premium. A nice surprise. Until I saw my six-month renewal rate to start June 1. Higher than it's ever been.

I ordered more, r253.

Thanks.

[quote]Shoprite in Jersey City is stocked with Lysol and Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, looks like the shortage of these items is over for now.

Jersey City = the entire country now. Got it.

R265 It makes sense that Jersey City would get Lysol sooner than the rest of us. The factory that makes Lysol is in New Jersey.

Yes, R266, but do you see how the city where the factory is located getting some stock does not automatically translate into plenty of stock for the rest of the country? R259's proclamation is a bit premature.

r267 missed the more salient point, that r259's proclamation was a comma splice.

I have a Whole Foods via Amazon delivery coming any time now. I ordered a 48oz bag of Gala apples, which were out of stock, so the shopper replaced it with ONE Gala apple. ONE.

R258 I got that discount from GEICO too

R254, I received a discount from GEICO as well. It amounted to a monthly payment so I didn't pay that month. I think it was my May payment that was skipped.

I received two rebate checks from my auto insurance company -- for a whopping total of $20.36.

AAA auto insurance refund: $7.67 check. Why bother. Just give me a credit at renewal. Geeze. And ONE apple..... now that’s funny!!!!!

People when you're having a tough time finding cleaning products, paper toweling, and other things in that category get creative. We can't shop the way we used to. Try Office Depot, Home Depot, Lowes, trying paint stores like Sherwin Williams, and Ace Hardware, and yeah, Target, Because if you expect to find stuff at Kroger, Public, Vons, Ralphs, etc.etc. you won't. I have become a "shopper." I give myself 15 minutes to wander around in stores off my beaten path, and more often than not I get lucky.

Made a trip to Walmart and Sam's Club this morning.

Walmart had several shelves of Wipes available in varying sizes from large containers to multi-packs. No disinfectant spray.

They had a lot of hand sanitizer, large refill bottles, as well as 8 oz bottles from Germ-X, as well as an end cap stocked full of that Art Naturals brand that seemed to pop up once all the other manufacturers were out. Interestingly enough they took away the sign limiting the hand sanitizer and soap.

There was absolutely no fresh meat available in the store.

Sam's Club was re-stocked with the large 25 lb bags of rice, a ton of Scott's TP (for those who like it) as well as Charmin. They had Nitrile gloves and masks as well. They did not have any fresh red meat or chicken available, but plenty of pork.

This is in Los Angeles.

R267 My point was that if Lysol is showing up in New Jersey where the factory is located, it could be a signal that the rest of the country will shortly follow. There is a Pepperidge Farms factory in my area, and we often receive new flavors of their products in our stores around two weeks before they go national.

I just got another three pack of wipes from Walmart online - Clorox wipes. Also got one of the big hand sanitizer thingies shared above.

Quality control issues continue.

Items are sitting in the warehouse and on shelves longer than usual and are expiring sooner.

I tried to return a spoiled beverage from a purchase I made the day before and was told by management (with an attitude!!)  that "because of the pandemic we don't accept returns".

I don't need any more aggravation in my life so I dropped the argument but I won't spend another nickel in that shop.

R278 Whether they "accept" the physical item or not, it shouldn't stop them from giving you a credit.

[quote]There is a company that sells a lovely combo of blue and brown eggs at Sprouts. Seeing the blue eggs makes me happy for some reason.

The different color shells supposedly indicate different amino acid ratios in the eggs.

R275, where in Los Angeles is there a Sam's Club?

R278, you’ve come to the right place.

If you still have the receipt, you march right back up there and you tell them that they absolutely will give you your money back. It’s there choice if they want the product back but if demand a refund. And many grocery stores offer double money back on unsatisfied purchases. Make sure to ask about that too.

I had to do this the other day when I was refused a refund. I told them they could throw the product in the trash or I would but that was completely irrelevant to whether or not I was getting my money back. Then he tried to just give me my money back but I insisted on the guarantee and I got double my money back on both items.

These hedge funds have too much money as it is and are not getting another red cent out of me for rotten products.

R42, The eyes give the game away.

R281 = Karen.

I think Crystal Gayle had a song called "Don't It Make My Brown Eggs Blue".

More like KAREN, r283.

Doormat @r285

I posted at R277 - this is maybe my third or fourth order from WM thanks to fellow posters, who have been so kind to post when things are available.

One thing I noticed is that WM seems to be sourcing their items not from a central shipping warehouse but from individual store locations. I ordered seven items total in this latest order and they are sending me, like, five different packages, because they seem to be pulling from whatever store has it. Interesting way to do it, I guess it gets the job done, but unusual.

R287, I had that experience last week with Dick's Sporting Goods. I placed it as one order but they shipped it as three and attempted to charge me shipping on all three.

I called them right up and got the shipping charge removed from the other two orders. It's ONE order.

Standing up for your rights is not a Karen move. It's what an adult with a brain and sense of pride does. Learn the difference.

[quote] If you still have the receipt, you march right back up there and you tell them that they absolutely will give you your money back. It’s there choice if they want the product back but if demand a refund.

R289, depends what you think your "rights" are and also depends on the approach taken. When I hear the word "march," I do think of a Karen-type person. What about just asking for a refund, presenting your receipt, and explaining how the item is defective? That usually works.

I think it has more to do with the way certain people go about it, R289. There's standing up for what's right, and there's "being a Karen" which typically involves obnoxious egotistical behavior. I personally hate that there's a name attached to it. I liked it better when they were referred to as "Speak to the Manager" people and it was more about the stupid haircut combined with the nasty tude. You know the haircut........

Where are the Charmin and Bounty? The supermarkets in my area (southeast Pennsylvania) all have plenty of toilet paper and at least some paper towels now - including name brands like Cottonelle and Brawny - but never so much as a single roll of Charmin or Bounty.

What the hell is wrong with P&G? How can we be THREE MONTHS into the epidemic and one of the largest consumer products corporations in the world can't keep its most popular products on supermarket shelves?

I was at the grocery store last night and the TP aisle was crammed full of inventory. All was some rando brand I've never heard of. I didn't need any but was just curious.

I went to a Kroger in a part of town I'm not usually in this afternoon. Shitty. Tons of empty shelf space everywhere. Selling only the basics of most items. Still don't have corn meal or chlorine bleach or my favorite canned soups. They are trying to spread out what inventory they have, and things are ending up in the wrong places, making it all very confusing. I wonder if Kroger isn't shitifying this location in order to create justification to close it. It's a pretty bad neighborhood and I noticed they have 2 armed security officers working there.

R292, try Target for Charmin.

Boxed.com has bulk Charmin, and their own brand (Prince & Spring) which is just as good.

R292 My Sam's Club has been having large packs of Bounty the last few weeks.

[quote] where in Los Angeles is there a Sam's Club?

They're all over -- I have two near me (in the San Gabriel Valley.) Not sure where you are, but the closest ones to LA proper would be Torrance, Long Beach, Gardena, and South Gate.

[quote] I personally hate that there's a name attached to it. I liked it better when they were referred to as "Speak to the Manager" people

Then stop using the name. It's annoying and meaningless. Not worthy of the DL lexicon.

I’m using Instacart and it’s a fucking godsend.

Costco in Pittsburgh had both Clorox and Kirkland sanitizing wipes in stock!

I don't, cunt @R299. So fuck off and stop being so nasty.

[quote]They're all over -- I have two near me (in the San Gabriel Valley.) Not sure where you are, but the closest ones to LA proper would be Torrance, Long Beach, Gardena, and South Gate.

Thanks, r298. I'm in the San Fernando Valley and also go into downtown L.A. and have never seen a Sam's Club, so I didn't realize we had some out here. I associate that warehouse store with Ohio, because my mother used to talk about it.

A place I get delivery from is relaxing the standards. They're very responsible and wear a mask but they'll come in the house now and leave it on the table in the living instead of just leaving it outside. He did this because it was raining out.

Target sucks, and is run by fat, stupid cunts.

Target does suck and Costco sucks even worse, at least online. Amazon isn't much better. I hate to say it but the only place that came through during this is Walmart.

R306 yeah, Walmart has been consistent for sure

Ditto, R306. And Walmart is actually getting better. The last three grocery pickups I've done have been almost perfect--today was the best. No substitutions, and only two minor items out of stock (on a >$100 order.) And they brought the stuff out to my car less than two minutes after I arrived.

R287 & R288

I'm not sure if Dicks allows 3rd party sellers on their web site, but Walmart and Amazon in particular do. That could very well be why the items are being shipped separately and may include additional shipping charges. If you order 5 items at once, it's possible some of those items may not be getting shipped directly from Walmart or Amazon's warehouses, some may be shipped directly to you from the 3rd party seller.

Local Giant in suburban DC Saturday AM (June 20): mostly empty shelves where canned soup, kitchen detergent, and frozen pizza should be. More than 3 months after the virus hit, stll many problems in manufacturing plants and supply chains.

I'm noticing the problem with canned soup as well. I'm ordering stuff for a friend and soup is really hit-and-miss for some reason.

the infection rate is rising ,people know this shit is going anywhere and are stocking up.

Well, if the virus spread gets worse again, as it seems it is, a lot of governors claim they will not shut down. But my worry is the supply chain. Because if agriculture workers and food processing plants are affected, then we will have shortages of all kinds of stuff. So I have my own personal inventory. I can hold out for months. I have canned tuna, rice, dried beans, pasta and canned milk, and my freezer is full. My canned goods are fine too.

The shortage of products lasted about 2 weeks here in the UK, you've been able to buy anything you like since the beginning of April.

Most grocery stores aren't very busy now either.

Yes, but the UK has to face the future with Brexit and that has not been settled yet and there will be shortages if Brexit isn't done in an orderly organized fashion. Y'all will be eating cheese, root vegetables, and tough mutton for months.

stock up now, as much as you are able, things look grim.

[quote] I'm noticing the problem with canned soup as well. I'm ordering stuff for a friend and soup is really hit-and-miss for some reason.

IMO, Target has the best prices & selection on Progresso. Stock would depend on your area.

I got another perfect delivery from Whole Foods this morning. Perfect, except for the fact that I forgot to order two things, cherry tomatoes and sour cream, and sour cream was the thing running out of which made me place the order in the first place. I do this ALL THE TIME.

R318 do you have milk? Heavy cream? White vinegar? Make your own if you do!

I'm just going to buy some tomorrow, r319. But thank you.

I just stopped into Gabe's today and noticed they had a lot of bulk size bottles of hand sanitizer for around $10-$15 each. They also had a lot of 3 ply disposable masks, but they were rather overpriced at $49 for a box of 50.

R317, Big Lots often has good deals on Progresso Soup and Healthy Choice Soup as well. Limited selection but definitely cheaper than I would pay at the big chain stores.

Picked up some scripts and tried to stockpile some TP at the local CVS a few blocks from me. Unfortunately, they are selling a ton of comfort plus Scott’s TP. I don’t like cp because it clogs up the pipes (similar to Charmin/Cottonelle). I guess I am still off to Target tomorrow to get my regular Scott’s TP.

CNN)The US Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers not to use hand sanitizer products manufactured by Eskbiochem SA due to the potential presence of a toxic chemical.

The FDA has discovered methanol, a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through skin or ingested, in samples of Lavar Gel and CleanCare No Germ hand sanitizers, both produced by the Mexican company. Eskbiochem did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN. The FDA recommends that consumers avoid the following brands of hand sanitizers produced by Eskbiochem: All-Clean Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-002-01)

Esk Biochem Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-007-01)

CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-008-04)

Lavar 70 Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-006-01)

The Good Gel Antibacterial Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-010-10)

CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-005-03)

CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-009-01)

CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-003-01)

Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-001-01)

R321 here, I wonder if that's why R324, thanks for sharing.

Amazon Pantry seems to be a bit better stocked this week. They have a lot of canned soup, chili, etc., and even Coke, which was unavailable for at least the past month. Still not much in the baking department -- no flours of any kind.

Instacart keeps sending me discount coupons and offers if I don't use them for a few weeks. Just got one for $10 off. So I've been doing three weeks at Walmart (pickup) and one at Aldi (delivery.) I noticed that Aldi is now offering curbside pickup (through Instacart) and the "delivery' fee is only $1.99, so I may have to try that soon. There are still some things that are difficult to find. Neither store ever seems to have lamb. Walmart has a very limited meat selection in general (at least for online ordering.) I haven't been able to get buttermilk the past two weeks. And although I couldn't find the kind of canned soup I was ordering for a friend, Walmart had it for delivery (free shipping); the only downside was that you had buy some of them in four-packs. Target has canned stuff for shipping as well.

well,damn! i guess we are better off making our own sanitizer!

I almost bought a bunch of that CleanCare from Sam's last week.

All stocked up, finally! Several trips to different stores and websites to get everything I needed for storage. I feel much better now that it is out of the way!

I have a half dozen canisters of wipes now.

Caught up on almost everything but still NO Lysol, anywhere.

Well the numbers are definitely going up. and this is the end of June. I'm thinking by October we'll see supply chain disruptions.

FYI, online tattoo supply companies are a good source for gloves and disinfecting materials. Some even have masks.

I read today that cleaning our keyboards with vinegar and water, using a toothbrush, is effective.

If you've ever seen the results of a keyboard swab you'd use lysol. They have more coliforms than toilets.

I hate lysol, though. It makes my head ache.

[quote]Caught up on almost everything but still NO Lysol, anywhere.

I was at CVS over the weekend, and they had plenty of their Total Home brand disinfecting spray, which is on the EPA list. It was a store in a somewhat less busy area than the one where I usually shop, and I was surprised at how much in-demand stuff they had in stock compared to my store. They had big bottles of Purell, rubbing alcohol and masks behind the counter, and lots of bottles of 70% hand sanitizer spray in bowls all over the place. It can pay off to go to stores in less-traveled areas.

my motto right now is If you see something buy it. Don't hoard or grab all the product, but buy things when you see them. I just bought one 6 pack of toilet paper. Last week, I bought one spray bottle of Clorox disinfectant. I have 16 reusable cloth masks, I have about 25 of those blue disposable masks. I have two N95 respirator masks. I feel like I need to get a few more N95 masks for special occasions, when you need more protection.

R337 I've given up trying to find N95 masks and have been buying Korean-made K94 masks. They're very comfortable.

I keep stockpiling cloths masks even though we have more than enough. I think I'm slipping into the hoarder mindset there: "if I can just buy enough masks, we'll be safe!"

I was able to score a couple of bottles of Lysol all purpose cleaner in the bulk refill sizes at Wal-Mart. No aerosol spray though.

I have a lot of pantry stuff and cleaning products. But I worry about the meat and poultry. I think we're going to have problems with that in the late Fall.

R338, I'm right there with you! I find that I'm now hoarding masks instead of toilet paper.

I ordered 50 from Amazon back in April. I never received them and reached out to the seller. They were coming from overseas (I didn't realize this when I ordered them). I emailed the seller on June 12 and gave them until June 26th to either receive them or request a refund. They provided a refund. I can now buy masks at Dollar Tree (and have - 5 for $3) and purchased a 10 pack from Target. I also bought 2 fashionable reusable masks from Target.

I'm still buying toilet paper but not hoarding. I prefer Scott Comfort Plus. It's been hard to find in Morris County, NJ so I've been buying Cottonelle. Cottonelle seems to have fewer sheets per roll than SCP. Whenever I use a package, I buy another.

I haven't been buying soup as its hot as hell right now. I haven't needed any anti-bacterial wipes either. I have a huge selection of anti-bacterial sprahs already from shopping before COVID-19. I'm always trying something new. I actually found some Lysol anti-bacterial spray specifically for kitchens in my under-sink cabinet. Most of the stores I shop at are pretty well stocked.

My dealer delivers. Jealous, much?

I wouldn't know where to start with finding a mask. The only ones I have seen were all for foreign websites and looked like scams

Just received my car insurance bill (every 6 months). Total amount due is about $100 lower than normal. I haven't yet compared this time with last time, so $100 is a ballpark figure. (Approx. $600 to $500.)

Holy crap. I'm watching Brianna showing a clip from Palm Beach county. Their stoopid knows no bounds.

Just got a Walmart Grocery order in which 70 percent of the items were sold out. It begins again, folks.

R346: Yep! People are home - watching the news, stats etc - and see the numbers going up! The smart ones are doing the same as us. So glad I am done.

you can buy non medical 3-layer disposable masks on shophq. I think qvc has them too.

R341, buy canned soup now. Last winter the shelves were bare of soup in some grocery stores near me. For weeks. The minute it turns cold and people don’t want to leave the house, soup and chili will be gone. Both were impossible to find last March and April.

A lot of canned foods were not available. Anything with no salt added was the first to go, like canned beans or vegetables. Low sodium canned goods were the next to go. Then no sugar added canned fruit.

Some of the things that were out at Sams Club, which has more junk food than Costco, were prepared meals in a can or box, like Mac and cheese, canned ravioli and spaghettios, Dinty Moore, etc. That’s the same reason soup has been out, it’s a meal in a can.

Costco still hasn’t brought back canned beef which has been out since about February. They finally quit rationing canned tuna and chicken, after about four months of one package per customer. I went to buy vitamin C this at Costco last weekend and the clerk told me I could buy only one.

Garlic supplements are supposed to help your immune system. Buy vitamins while you can, a lot of store shelves were scarce or empty even a few weeks ago.

About convenience foods, there’s been studies done about this in countries where they have wars and social unrest. Anything that’s a one serving meal in a can goes first. Ingredients you need to prepare to cook ordinarily go last.

When we started seeing flour and yeast shortages, that’s because people were afraid they couldn’t go out to get bread. It wasn’t their first choice. It was their last choice.

Another thing we’ve discussed on here before is cornbread mixes. Jiffy makes blueberry muffin mix, pizza crust mix, banana bread mix and yellow cake mix. The mix makes the size of a loaf pan or a one layer cake mix, and they’re easy to add dried or fresh fruit and nuts.

Cases are going up because cities opened up. And it’s the dead of summer. Just wait until the temperature drops, you’re going to want to nail the front door shut.

I wouldn't buy masks on Amazon, lots of fake and poor quality goods from who knows where...

Costco is selling cotton masks and what looks like surgical masks, but they look low quality. One box says something about “okay for walking the dog,” in other words, not for a high exposure area.

Crap, I thought we were going to have a couple of months breathing room on the shopping front. I better get an extra paper towel/TP jumbo pack at costco.

I have a few drinks I shouldn't drink but do (Snapple and the occasional diet soda) and none of the stores near me have had either of them for a month now.

In what order would you rate how the big places have handled things during the new normal, from best to worst and I'm talking online only, not stores that make it impossible to shelter in place by selling in store only?

Walmart

Amazon (only for food through Amazon Fresh and Whole foods but not bad for everything else)

Walgreens (not great but but too bad)

Target (pretty bad but not the worst)

CVS (terrible but still not the worst)

Costco (terrible, close to the worst)

Fresh Direct (the worst)

I've not been to my large nationally known supermarkets so I don't know but if you have been to yours feel free to include them

1. Walmart.com (Decent - if you’re lucky with timing).

2. Amazon.com (Missed bag - great for PPE/home goods minus wipes. I even found my favorite chicken rice which is not available anywhere else).

3. Target.com (Terrible - I must go to the store for everything I want).

I haven’t tried the other stores online (I like CVS in person though).

I can get practically everything I need from Costco through their Instacart delivery, but every item costs at least $4 more than it would if I dragged my ass to the store.

Oh yeah — Fresh Direct - Horrible! I gave up on them after none of the items I wanted were available.

Anyone here use Borax? I haven't been able to find it recently here in the Northeast US.

Target is for sure the most exasperating.

Look. If you can buy canned tuna do it. But avoid using it right now. And yes, buy soups. My hope is that I can just worry about milk and eggs by October. This is the spike we thought we'd get in the Fall but it's happening now, and we'll probably get another one in the Fall.

I just got word that we are even running out of disinfecting wipes at work and I work at a very high prioritized place. that is extremely worrying to me if even we can't get them.

1. Walmart (pickup)

2. Aldi (Instacart delivery)

3. Target and Walmart shipping (non-perishables only)

4. Amazon shipping (non-perishables only)

5. Ralphs (pickup)

6. Target (pickup) - stupid because you have to use the phone app in order to pickup outside, and they only have non-perishables.

7. Amazon Pantry

I don't have Amazon Fresh in my area, and I haven't tried Whole Foods delivery/pickup, although it is available.

I always get wipes from Harmon's.

There is no limit to purchase now and I have 7 canisters at work and 4 at home,

It's their brand of wipes not Clorox.

I work in an open office with tons of greasy computer stations and putrid counter spaces.

Harmons' had a few germ x hand sanitizers and I picked up two bottles, the prices are good. The hand sanitizer was only 3 dollars and the wipes are only 4 dollars for a 75 count, plus sales tax.

I'll likely change my plans going into fall with regards to what I keep in the freezer. Back in March I stocked up on meats as well as frozen vegetable blends. In hindsight I should have just stocked up on meats for the freezer.

Bags of frozen vegetables just take up way too much space. There wasn't a scarcity of fresh vegetables during this first lockdown. I can handle going out once a week for a few fresh items like vegetables and eggs.

[quote]It's their brand of wipes not Clorox.

Unless it's on the CDC's list, it's not guaranteed to be effective against fighting coronavirus.

Has anyone done an Amazon Fresh order?

It looks similar to Whole Foods' interface (obviously also on the Amazon web site) but I don't see anywhere where it tells you to pick substitutions yes/no. I want to try Fresh but am worried they will substitute things.

Also wondering if anyone here has ever done a delivery from a Safeway store?

R364 I totally agree, just started dehydrating veggies (onion, celery, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini ,spinach, scallions) and strawberries/peaches keeping them in jars so I can leave the freezer space for meat/chicken

The stores in the UK now aren't that busy and have everything in stock (same in Italy so my friend says). They're even starting to put stuff on sale prices to attract customers, don't understand why the US is having such terrible problems?

There are plenty of shady wipes manufacturers who are pushing their "kills 99.9% of bacteria" and not addressing THE VIRUS efficacy.

Viruses are NOT Bacteria.

Any spray that is mold (mould) remover will kill bacteria and viruses.

Same basic ingredients.

R368, I think they’re probably sending PPE and foodstuffs to hospitals and government facilities first. Including the military.

Second, Trump may be diverting some stuff and selling it to China. There have been rumors about that. You’re right, there’s just no legitimate reason why manufacturers can’t step up a lot of this by now.

What’s really suspicious to me is I used to work in the food business here, and I know very big retailers like Walmart, Costco and Sam’s Club have contracts with food manufacturers that are ironclad, and if there was ever the slightest bit of extra production anywhere, they would get first dibs. The reason is, even though their contract prices are fixed a year in advance (including promotional sale prices one month a year), due to volume, every manufacturer wants to keep them happy. Most companies would go broke if they lost Walmart for example. So there’s a big incentive to bend over backwards to get them what they want.

There’s been talk in the U.S. about Trump activating an emergency order mechanism to get manufacturers to produce more of certain items. For the most part, he hasn’t used his power to do that. The only reason would be his rich friends don’t want him to. He’s not savvy enough to understand if he asked for it, they would do it and make money. He just hears grumbling and thinks he should do whatever they want. Which is nothing, because that’s the easiest for them. If Obama was there, I’m pretty sure there would be very few shortages. Because he would be up their asses asking why. Trump doesn’t care.

I think there’s also got to be a black market somewhere, because smart companies see an opportunity to make money. But it’s not a black market for consumers. It’s got to be for commercial interests and resale, probably overseas.

Watch, when Biden gets in, these shortages will miraculously disappear. Because he’s going to ask why.

R371 I think it's called 'The Gray (Grey) Market', stuff destined for US stores is ending up elsewhere.

R366, with Amazon Fresh you have a chance to write sort of a note to them and you can edit it as you like. In mine the first thing I say is no substitution on anything I've ordered and and only once did they mistakenly send a substitute (and I order from them a lot) I went to live chat as they no longer have phone service and the customer service person immediately took it off my credit card and told me I could keep the item or dispose of it, whatever I wanted. I didn't have to return it. I gave it to a neighbor as I don't use what they sent me.

I really like Amazon Fresh.. Back in late March and April and early May it was very difficult to get a slot now they're back to being easy to get, at least in my zip code. That might change if the virus comes back bad in NYC. They're pretty good about having everything I order too, but sometimes since I don't take substitutes things are left out.

Oh and Amazon Fresh accepts food stamps, Whole Foods ordered through Amazon does not for some strange reason because my friend told me they accept it if you go directly to Whole Foods stores.

thanks R373

I don't know why Amazon Fresh won't come to my area. I live in LA County, in a densely populated area. But it's not a high income area, so maybe that's why? I can get Whole Foods delivery, but no Amazon Fresh.

Yeehaw! I finally found my Scott TP today!

R376 Can Now Shit Freely!

Yay R376!🧻

I am very picky about TP, Dish Detergent (Dawn), and Laundry Detergent (Tide).

You're very welcome R366.

Are those of you seeing so many shortages still in parts of the country where cases are skyrocketing? I'm in Illinois and we seem to just be moving along at a steady pace of things reopening and stock starting to show up in stores on a regular basis. Just got some spray cleaner for the first time in a long time.

Is it just me or have the prices of meat and dairy gone up EXTRAORDINARILY? My partner and I would normally trim pur diet to exclude these items, but we've got two kids and feel compelled to make full nutritious meals for them. Thank god we've been able to keep our jobs and work at home, but still, I'd say the items I've mentioned have easily gone up by a third and growing kids eat A LOT. And oh, we're in the Southwest if it matters.

Why disinfectant is still hard to find months into the pandemic

Why disinfectant is still hard to find months into the pandemic

I just made a run to Sam's Club and the local grocery store, which I haven't been to in months.

Sam's Club no longer has lines to get in and the store wasn't that crowded. They seemed fully stocked with most things except disinfectant wipes.

One thing I noticed is that they now have a lot of Clorox Bleach, 3 per box, however, the bottles are now smaller than they were when I purchased from them two months ago.

Local grocery store, also had everything in stock, but was packed with families and no one had masks over their nose and no one was obeying social distancing rules.

[quote]One thing I noticed is that they now have a lot of Clorox Bleach, 3 per box, however, the bottles are now smaller than they were when I purchased from them two months ago.

While corporate America was busy putting out maudlin ads about how we are all in this together and they are there for us, they were actually busy shrinking all their products while raising the prices because we would be less likely to notice. They used the pandemic to cover the speeding up of their screwing of the American public. The American corporate oligarchy is alive and well. Absolute scum.

I was at Target In Jersey City this morning they were stocked with Clorox Disinfecting Wipes 75 count containers the sign on the shelf said one to a customer but everyone was taking two. I took 2 and did the rest of my shopping. 5 minutes later when I went by the aisle with the wipes those shelves were bare.

I feel so bad. I ran to the pharmacy to pick up my zoloft prescription after I was at the office this morning. the pharmacy had just put out a large display of hand sanitizer and antibacterial had wipes. I was so excited, I loaded up my basket with 6 packages of the wipes.

I told the cashier I totally understood if there were quantity limits but I work for *high priority organization that is almost out of wipes and definitely needs them* and if she had time to and wanted to I would appreciate if she would ask for an override.

I showed her my work id, she did the override and I got the wipes, one package for her, five for work.

get home and they are not on the approved list for work. they will do fabulous for me out and about with a glove on to protect my hand from the wipe but they're not perfect. so, i basically accidentally conned my way into 6 packages.

Have posted before but these are the ones approved for use to prevent Coronavirus.

Anything else is not guaranteed to be effective.

Only in Trump's America do we have to make how we clean up after taking a shit a "life management priority."

r385

So that is the REAL reason for the shortages. Products sizes were reconfigured ( made smaller) to take advantage of panic buying and increase profits.

Hoarding is a part of the shortages too.

That wapo video explains nothing.

I thank you for the video R388. I appreciate that you took the time to post it, but I don't understand what they think the average person is supposed to do. Do we take that list with us and if we find a disinfecting wipe spend two hours looking for those chemicals on the label or just buy one and when we get it home check the ingredients against that list and if it's not a good one the stores won't take it back anyway. Why can't they just list the brand names of which are the good ones?

R391 Because it's a government agency making the list? LOL

It is hard to read but it *does* list brand names.

It's kinda confusing because it lists a column that explains what directions you have to look at. For example the Windex disinfecting cleaner I bought says "rotavirus" in one column. It took me a bit to realize it meant follow the directions on the label for rotavirus (in this case, spray and leave on for ten minutes).

I just went out to grab a bottle of wine from the local liquor store. People were dining outside at local restaurants like a regular summer day... Large groups, no social distancing or face masks. This is in downtown Jersey City...I hope these people don‘t make our numbers go back up (NJ looks really good now)! At least they are outside🙏

I give it one month before NYC, maybe upstate too, NJ, & Connecticut are back to where we were in April, with thousands dying every day. Thanks to the maskless fucks who are not socially distancing in the tri state area and those who will come from the red states by car, bus and train to NYC, many purposely just to infect, probably paid to come by the right. We are never going to be free of this. Things are already getting harder to get online again.

too depressing, r394

When you consult the EPA list of products, it's important to search by the EPA register number (which should be on the packaging somewhere, and which the EPA site explains how to use in the search engine) and not by the product's brand name. This is because a lot of those brand names have been registered with the EPA by their manufacturer under the manufacturer's name, which isn't necessarily the brand name under whose label they are sold. For example, a Spic and Span brand spray cleaner I use is on the list, but not as Spic and Span - it's under the manufacturer's name for it: Lonza Formulation DC-103. The EPA regularly updates their list, and you can download it for offline searching.

The online troll networks who are feeding the anti- masking crowd and helping to politicize this with a huge assist from religious nuts, and ignorant MAGAts, lead by Trump, Pence and the others, are weakening us. Our economy will be in the shitter, our basic necessities harder to find, and our fragile healthcare system is going to collapse. We have no leadership.

There’s a troll on my Nextdoor that says her father is a doctor and he’s brilliant, Coronavirus has been around for decades, It’s no worse than the flu, masks are evil, don’t listen to the CDC and WHO, every cliche of ignorant MAGATs you can think of. She’s using so many ignorant cliches, telling people to do nothing to protect themselves, that I wonder if she’s Russian.

If she isn’t, she’s swallowed every ridiculous Alex Jones conspiracy theory whole. There’s no reaching people like that.

Things aren't looking up in this country.

So many opportunities to quell infection rates were deliberately and continue to be undermined.

Things aren't looking up in this country.

So many opportunities to quell infection rates were deliberately and continue to be undermined.

[quote]There’s a troll on my Nextdoor

Nextdoor is frau central. How can you tell trolls apart from the regulars loons on that app?

If you are shopping at Walmart and Lysol products are not on the shelf, head to customer service and ask. The Walmart I go to has started keeping these items behind the counter because too many were trying to buy in bulk, and it caused way too many problems for the managers. Now they just keep their supply at Customer Service and hand them out one per shopper.

R401, Actually, the most vile trolls on my Nextdoor are entitled white men that worship Trump.

There’s three or four loudly proclaiming that “wearing masks takes away mah rahgts,” and trying to start fights with people. Very anti-mask and very anti-social isolation, but they tell everyone they’re stupid for wearing masks, anyone who does is brainwashed, and ridicule anyone who believes in science or the CDC or WHO. There’s one woman and numerous men.

I used to think they were just random morons, but it’s obvious now that the comments are very targeted. They never talk about how wonderful Trump is, but they’re obvious Trumpers. It’s all about, anyone who tries to make me wear a mask or do anything to protect others is evil, and if you wear a mask you’re an dumb sucker who will believe anything. People are lying to you, you don’t need a mask, quit wearing them. And they keep emphasizing that Coronavirus is nothing and no one should be afraid to get it. It’s like they’re encouraging people to spread the virus. That sounds Russian to me. Putin must want everyone in America to get sick and die.

[quote]Putin must want everyone in America to get sick and die.

There can be no question that Putin wants Americans to die, R403.

Coronaviruses have been around for, well, forever. We know this.

But this is the NOVEL coronavirus, a new strain, that is far more deadly than existing ones.

[quote]But this is the NOVEL coronavirus, a new strain, that is far more deadly than existing ones.

There's an article that talks about just how novel it is. It seems to grow viral spike covered tentacles once it infects a cell and then those tentacles reach out and grab healthy cells and infect them like zombie octopi. Maybe if they come up with some visuals of that in action these dumb fuckers will pay attention because it will look like a horror movie.

I really like the meme about face masks not being a political statement but an IQ test. So completely fucking accurate. I'll be using that one! Stupid fuckers.

I know disinfecting wipes are hard to find, but crashing your car into a distribution center is going too far.

[quote]Two dead, four injured in Walmart distribution center shooting

Recently at "the Pig"....

Where are you guys buying face shields? Can you post some links? TIA!

R409 Do you have an Ollie's Bargain Outlet near you? They got a big shipment in last week. My local one still have them in stock.

I love Ollie's, none near me though.

For R409.......(they also have all types of disposable gloves)

Oh wait...did you mean face shields, or masks, R409? If you're looking for disposable masks, I ordered mine here:

R412 R413 is Cabeau a reputable site?

I don't see ANY info on where they are located.....makes me wary of ordering from them.

Hadn’t been out for supplies in 4 weeks. Surprised how empty the Wally World shelves were. So I bought TP, wipes and hand sanitizer even though I have plenty. No soup, soy sauce, tissues, yoghurt, cereal, olives.....things like that. Very strange. Riverside County California.

Everything is becoming harder to get again, at least online.

The CDC announced that there is no longer anyway to control the virus in the United States, that's it gotten too far out of control.

Trump and the GOP will end up killing us all.

R414, Cabeau is legit. They're located in Woodland Hills, CA (although manufacturing is in Asia, naturally). They manufacture neck pillows designed specifically for travel & gaming, as well as some other travel accessories. When the pandemic hit & air travel shut down, they jumped into the mask-business.

I ordered two boxes back in April (when they were first made available) and received them in 3-4 days. Two of my friends also ordered from them, and received their masks in 5-7 days.

Somebody tell that Bread Flour Bitch she better get her order in now. Walmart.com has two 5-lb bags of King Arthur for $8.

Buy it now or forever hold your peace, for fuck's sake!

R416: Fuck!!😲

Thank you R417.

Just back from ALDI in CT and tons of TP and flour, not a single napkin or canned tomatoes in sight. No wipes but they had face masks and bleach and plenty of rice.

I’m picking up extra stuff every other week because these mah freedom fuckers are going to cause a SERIOUS monthlong shut down by end of August with their no mask wearing BS. Mark my words.

416 where did you see that?

Not R416, but here you go:

The coronavirus is spreading too rapidly and too broadly for the U.S. to bring it under control, Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday.

The CDC article from Daily Kos

Ooops!! Sorry R423. I didn't see your post.

I walk by target all the time in Manhattan but I never go in. but today I decided to check out their cleaning products. They had Clorox brand wipes! and Germ X 32oz hand sanitizer! Can only buy 1. I'm gonna go back again later tonight, hopefully it won't be sold out!

[quote]Somebody tell that Bread Flour Bitch she better get her order in now. Walmart.com has two 5-lb bags of King Arthur for $8.

Thanks, but I've already ordered (and received) it twice (i.e., four 5-lb. bags.) I've made four loaves of bread so far, and the rest is vacuum-sealed in 1/2-gallon Mason jars. I've also been able to get self-rising, whole wheat, and all-purpose flours. (And masa.)

Now I'm having a hard time finding rye flour.

Someone asked about face shields. Sam's Club sells 4-packs of them for $5.

Costco is absolutely fucking useless.

I just got a case of Kleenex delivered from Costco (.com), and TP is coming tomorrow. (Also batteries, dishwasher detergent, vitamins, and CoQ10. )

Well, they were out of Kleenex, wipes, Flonase and literally every other thing on my list.

Pittsburgh Costco still has Clorox wipes, but is out of hand sanitizer. Trader Joe's has plenty of paper products.

I'm hoping that our Wal-mart magician will find some wipes again today. Have a cart ready to go!

Tried to do an online shipment Costco cart and they seem to be unable still to have toilet paper, paper towels or wipes in stock.

Nowadays, you buy what you can get, not what you want. Only variety of frozen California Pizza Kitchen today was "Chicken Fajita." A huge stack of that one flavah. No other in the freezer compartment.

Such is life in Trump's America.

r433 My toilet paper order from Costco (placed on 6/26, with 2-day delivery) shows that it was shipped (UPS) on 6/27, but UPS tracking says "shipment ready for UPS" implying that they haven't even received it yet. (They also show a scheduled delivery date of yesterday.) I'm not desperate for TP, but I wonder what's happening.

R435 many businesses are doing that, where it shows as shipped so their internal systems show they are meeting their turnaround times.

But it only means they created a label for it, and who the hell knows when it will ship.

Costco and Home Depot took 3-4 weeks on some orders for me. A few places, I've had to cancel the order after 6-8 weeks and no receipt of items.

Riverside (California) Wally World was fully stocked today after yesterday’s empty shelves visit. Batteries, wipes (Clorox and house brand) Lysol spray, anti acid pills, TP, tissues, olives etc. like magic. No reason for empty one day and fully stocked the next. Per all your posts, I stocked up for Aug and Sept just in case.

I'm in ATL. Went to Kroger this morning at 7:15. The had four or five different varieties of toilet paper, they had paper toweling, they had Clorox disinfectant cleaner but not in a spray bottle just a large jug. We were limited on how much, but I got exactly what I needed. They were pretty well stocked. Left there and stopped a a nearby Publix for produce. They had all the eggs and bacon, sausage, chicken, pork, beef you wanted. Very well stocked. Look. I know there are shortages in some places but I was pleasantly surprised. I imagine with the holiday weekend and this being First of the month, it will be more crowded. I'm glad I went today.

Going to venture out this evening (or tomorrow morning) to get 4th of July food. I figured we can watch Independence Day movies and I cook BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, potato salad, cake etc. I hope it is not crowded/lines around the corner or we will have to eat ice cream and frozen white castle instead. JCGuy if you're here/know - how is SR looking today?

Reminder to everyone that today is the first and the Holiday is in a few days so stores are going to be that much more crowded starting today.

Just made it back from a Costco run. It wasn't as crowded as it was during the start of Pandemic, but there were still a lot of people there. There was a line to get in but by the time I left, it looked like people were able to just walk in (This is in S. California).

I was one of the first people in the store when they opened and they barely had any meat. A couple of packages of pork ribs (less than 6), a dozen or so of Ground Beef packages, and that was it. They had no chicken, no steak, no other pork products. They did have plenty of seafood.

I didn't check to see if they had wipes or disinfectant spray or hand sanitizer as I didn't need those items. They seemed in stock with pretty much everything else.

I don't go to Costco often, maybe only twice since the pandemic but I'd have to say the customers seem much more civilized there than they are at Walmart or Sam's Club. Everyone in this store followed social distancing and aisle directions and I didn't encounter a single person not wearing their mask properly... unlike at the other two stores where I rarely find anyone else wearing their masks over their nose.

Yeah R440, I may have to venture out tonight...I don't feel like it, but concerned about lines/crowds starting tomorrow.

Also would suggest that those who can get to the stores before the big rush stock up on as much as they can so you don't have to be out next week with all the people who couldn't not go to a BBQ or party and end up spreading whatever they catch in the next two weeks.

Los Angeles reports more than 2,000 new cases for fourth straight day From CNN's Cheri Mossburg

More than 2,000 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Los Angeles County for the fourth straight day.

Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer noted that “immediate action is necessary” in Los Angeles after reporting the county's 2,002 new cases.

Ferrer will reissue health orders to comply with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s directive to close dining inside restaurants, museums, zoos and other activities.

She advised the public to steer clear crowds, confined spaces and close contact with other people.

By the numbers: Health care workers and first responders account for well over 7,000 of Los Angeles County’s 105,000 Covid-19 cases.

Roughly 45% of those work in nursing homes and 25% work in hospitals. More than 50 health care workers have died of Covid-19 in Los Angeles to date, Ferrer said.

Testing locations throughout Los Angeles are at capacity and will not be accommodating new appointments, according to Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly.

More tests will be available next week, she promised. Ghaly said there is no shortage of test kits, but holiday closures and increased demand are the reason for limited appointments.

CNN-Texas reports highest single-day increase in coronavirus cases

Texas continues to break its own record for highest cases of Covid-19 in a single day, with 8,076 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday.

This is the state's highest number of cases in a single day, bringing the statewide total to 168,062, with 2,481 deaths.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has paused reopening of the state and signed an executive order to close all bars in the hopes that the effort will decrease the spread of Covid-19.

CNN-North Carolina records highest single-day increase in Covid-19 cases

North Carolina has reported the state’s highest single-day increase in cases since the pandemic began, said Mandy Cohen, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, during a news conference on Wednesday.

The department reported 66,513 cases of coronavirus and 1,373 deaths. There were 17,660 tests completed and 901 people are hospitalized.

That’s an increase of 1,843 new cases and 30 deaths in one day, according to the department.

And you know Florida has insane daily numbers (probably over 10K by now), but they're underreporting so even more poeple can get sick this weekend.

CNN is a giant drama queen sometimes. They're reporting that CA is going on "near lockdown" again. Not true at all.

The beaches are being closed for the holiday weekend, to avoid large crowds. Indoor dining in restaurants, bars, museums, and other indoor entertainment venues are ordered to close for 3 weeks.

This is NOTHING like the lockdown in March, where everyone was ordered to stay in the house and only leave for essential business (food, medicine/personal care items, health care) and ALL non-essential businesses were ordered closed. Still open this time: restaurants with outdoor seating, parks and walking trails, all retail, barber/beauty/personal care salons, etc etc etc.

People. You can make your own desserts, you can make your own potato salad. I've got a bunch of Betty Crocker cake mixes, and canned frosting. I'm going to buy some strawberries and whipping creme to go with it. my recipe for potato salad requires some chopped celery, a couple hard boiled eggs, an onion, and just a dab of mustard and sweet pickle relish. And Mayo.

Went to The Big Box at 7:15 this morning. I like the app where I can find the location of stuff by aisle. Like my carburetor cleaner and Gorilla Glue sticks for my home projects besides the secret location of un-refrigerated Velveeta. I go early because it is easy to keep 10 ft distancing while I shop for food. Soooo...

This morning, under a MANDATORY No Mask-No Enter order from the Nevada Governor, an older woman WITHOUT A MASK came up close to me (holding artificial flowers?) and started talking to me like it was 2019. I freaked, I told her to leave the store or wear a mask. She said her mask was over there in her cart(!). I told her in no certain terms to take her GERMS and get away from me. She said she didn't have germs and THEN she said IN THE NAME OF JESUS I REBUKE YOU! I said- You, Jesus and your demons need to leave the store. By this time we were surrounded by masked employees. She was still blathering as I left her with them.

I turned the corner on the aisle and ran into a guy, with his mask around his neck, on a cell phone.

I fucking hate people.

[quote] This morning, under a MANDATORY No Mask-No Enter order from the Nevada Governor, an older woman WITHOUT A MASK came up close to me (holding artificial flowers?) and started talking to me like it was 2019. I freaked, I told her to leave the store or wear a mask. She said her mask was over there in her cart(!). I told her in no certain terms to take her GERMS and get away from me.

You, seem EXTRA. I wear my mask, in public, at all times. I try to keep my distance. But, I'm not going to freak out like that. Plus it reminds me of people shunning my cousin when he was dying of AIDS.

r450, I go early once a week to shop. I do not expect strangers, let alone strangers without masks, to approach me while a mandatory mask policy is in effect.

I never fucked your cousin, I would have no reason to shun him.

I am the caretaker for my mother.

But we do know about CV-19 transmissibility. The old woman put my mother at risk. Unless I fucked your cousin, there was nothing to fear.

Facts and science matter.

R398 I'm a Nextdoor neighborhood lead, and other leads and I have found fake profiles on ND even in our own neighborhoods. It's fairly easy for me to verify my neighbors, so I do occasionally, and report fakes to ND for account termination.

R452 do you have the power to give out 30-day suspensions also? There's this 1 cuntwad in my neighborhood who has had at least three 30-day suspensions in the last year, and this time all her posts also got removed. I think that means shit got real and she's completely banned? I hope so. She is a nasty troll and takes over every single thread spewing her self righteous nastiness. I started reporting her posts as being uncivil and argumentative so hopefully that helped.

R451 If you were wearing a mask, I doubt you would have caught anything from her. Especially if you followed correct procedures for sanitizing after the encounter. And the stigma wasn't about fucking, it was people who thought they could get it from touching him or even being around him.

We have almost reached the point where everybody has been exposed to Covid-19. Unless you completely locked yourself in your home and received no deliveries you have probably been exposed, as has your mother.

I will continue to take precautions, mask, hand sanitizer, etc. but I'm getting to the point where I'm getting fed up with it. If large groups of people are allowed to protest and riot without any condemnation by health officials, as if the virus won't infect people depending on the righteousness of their cause, then I'm not going to fear an old woman wanting to talk to me in Walmart. I'm not going to lock myself away forever and become fearful of other people.

Also, lets not forget that the CDC and the WHO spent weeks telling us not to wear masks, before all of a sudden changing course. Now they are being mandated. I honestly don't think many of them know what they are doing, and I'm losing my faith in the professionals. People can blame Trump because he has handled the situation horribly. But, there have been major screwups up and down the political and public health ladder in the US and globally.

I'm the primary caretaker for my grandparents but my grandmother is getting sick of all this. She wants to be able to go back to restaurants and stores, and interact with other people. I told her that at her age it isn't wise. She looked me straight in the eye and said what good is there in living to be old, if she has to spend it locked away in her house. I don't care if a vaccine has been found or not, if she makes it to her birthday I'm taking her out to her favorite restaurant.

R453, the only thing neighborhood leads can do is vote to remove controversial messages (they get auto deleted if enough leads vote to do so), and contact Nextdoor about people acting badly, or having fake names, or not living in the neighborhood.

Nextdoor does all the account freezing, deleting, etc.

I don't believe a word of R454.

[quote]If you were wearing a mask, I doubt you would have caught anything from her

You can catch it through the mucus mebranes in your eyes, and very few people are wearing N95s, so their masks are not 100% virus-proof.

I’m team r449/r451 if that old chick came at me unmasked i would have backed up from her and then bitched her out. The lack of social distancing in the stores has been shameful. A woman and I were commiserating about the rudeness and she suggested we wear a wide hoop on suspenders to claim our space.

I'm placing my Instacart order now. 7/2, Thursday 6:50 am approx. -- in Western Massachusetts.

I'll give you an update. I'm ordering BBQ stuff and ass wipes.

My order arrived at my house at 10:15 and was perfect.

Got a good supply of toilet paper, flour, yeast, BBQ stuff -- so if you want to come over, just let me know.

[quote]And the stigma wasn't about fucking, it was people who thought they could get it from touching him or even being around him.

I was being fact based. The only people who would have had reason to fear your cousin, were his sexual partners. Stigma is social voodoo.

as I predicted, USA made dog food prices have risen and the raw freeze dried brand I get has dramatically increased. I doubled my order in case they continue to rise.

Just found out that Newport Mall in downtown Jersey City is open. A bunch of people shopping for clothes and shoes they don't need, as cases rise. Not smart.

I figure you made your own, rescue chick. That's one thing I don't have to worry about with my old gal. Every day or two, I peel and dice apples or zucchini and cook them in a little butter over low heat, then I add chicken or salmon, then add cooked jasmine rice and a pinch of sugar, mix well and cook until heated through. I know no one is going to approve of this recipe, and maybe no one should, but she's 17-1/2 years old!

NYCTechie I rarely went near that place pre pandemic, during my walks down the waterfront I've noticed people eating lunch with food from the foodcourt (Chic fil a).

[quote]People. You can make your own desserts, you can make your own potato salad. I've got a bunch of Betty Crocker cake mixes, and canned frosting.

I just made brownies (from a mix) and decided to frost them. I don't like canned frosting, and the basic butter-powdered sugar stuff is boring, so I tried a different way: you boil sugar, milk, and butter for 45 seconds, then stir in chocolate chips and vanilla. It's thin and runny and you pour it over your cake or brownies right away, but it sets very quickly. Seems much better than the other alternatives.

r464, I may now that I am down to one dog who doesn't have stomach issues. the other 2 had stomach issues (different issues each) and I would have fed them m solid gold bars if it would tamp those down. grandma lucy's freeze dried was literally the only thing that my old girl could eat without constant slime ass. it prolonged her life by a few years. and I am absolutely not judging what you feed your dog! kiss his old little nose from me

Trader Joe's was a cluster today. Less stuff in the store so they could widen the aisles. Can't really social distance because everything is crammed into the space they have, and people spend 5 minutes staring at the vinegar, then walk away without buying anything; or, they're on their phone while standing in front of the frozen fried rice bags.

Arrows everywhere that make no sense like a junior high gym class dance lesson. Impossible to follow anyway because you have to go back and get cheese. Prices higher across the board. Wasn't really feeling it. I wonder if the sheer unpleasantness and cost of shopping is going to turn many people away from anything more than the necessities.

Went to Target - OTC meds, frozen foods, meats (chicken) were scarce. Extremes - sad/thin paper towels called Bounty Essentials (1/2 the size of regular rolls) vs. 16 roll TP packs (smallest size). I left.

Went to Shoprite. I was a little concerned because I got a late start, but I was able to find everything I wanted! 2 people asked me if I was able to breathe because I had a paper mask, cloth mask and a face screen lol, but it was fine. It started getting annoying/more crowded around 3pm. I started seeing people with 3/4 kids without masks and masks under their noses/chins. I left just in time. So glad we can have a decent 4th of July meal (although I am not feeling very patriotic this year). I bought extra to avoid going out next week!

JCGuy: I go to Newport Mall for movies and shopping, but not now! My neighbor went to the mall and said it was empty with 1/2 the stores closed. He said the food court had kids serving food with the masks under their noses😵. Nope!

I just saw a news blurb that said five employees in my local Trader Joe's have tested positive for Covid. Coincidentally, it's in the same city as TJ's headquarters.

For months Walmart has had a 2-32 ounce 70% isopropyl alcohol pack available, one to an order. But if you're willing to pay $5,99 shipping on a $3.92 order they let you order as many times as you want. Now they have not had any available in days. They've had bounty paper towels in large packs available for delivery for weeks. Now there is none.

Things are going back to the way they were at the height of the Pandemic in NY. I can feel it in my bones. I have an appointment with my cardiologist who just started back at his practice on the 27th. His office is in a hospital. I'm betting the virus will be so bad again in NYC by then the appointment won't happen. Either I'll be afraid again to go into my elevator, into a car service and worst of all into the hospital. Too many pieces of shit here in NYC aren't wearing masks or socially distancing and people from the very infected states are coming here by car and the governor says their is no way to stop them.

I hope I'm wrong, very wrong, but I know I'm right. Every instinct in me feels it.

Any fellow NY'ers feel this too? Is everything around you screaming to your guts it's coming back and coming back worse than before?

R471: You are right. I feel the same. Stock up and lay low. The next few weeks/months are going to be bad.

R471 not in NYC but I also feel like it's happening all over again.

The wipes were hard to come by on WM's website but if you were persistent and kept checking one would pop up every once in a while. But I haven't seen any all week, just none.

R472 and R473. I thought it wasn't just me. It's a very bad feeling. Even the CDC has said things have gone too far to contain it. Here in NYC the mayor refuses to enforce wearing a mask and social distancing. The governor has said compliance in NYC has become very bad but he is leaving it up to the mayor. WTF is wrong with these people. Do they think it won't be on their heads if things get worse than they were in March, April and early May, if 1000 a day die again. I'm back to were I'm afraid to leave my apartment, even with a mask because so few out there are wearing one and the mask is more to protect others from you, not you from others unless it's an N95 and I don't think those will ever be available to the public again. I don't get why the 3M company isn't willing to make billions more by manufacturing those masks 24/7. I have heard a rumor that Trump and the GOP have basically stolen all of them that are being made to profit on by selling them overseas. I have no idea if that's true or not but it wouldn't surprise me. No point in trying Target. They've been a failure since the middle of March. Costco too, at least online. Direct Food too really sucks and has for months. Walmart was my only hope of getting anything. I was one of the idiots willing to pay $5.99 to buy something that cost $3,92. At first I added things to my cart for free shipping but there really is nothing left to add that I will have any use for for years. Hell, I was down to ordering lollipops which I haven't eaten in decades.

I think a lot about my grandmother who lost her little girl, my aunt in the 1918 pandemic. I have a small idea of how frightened she and my grandfather must have been for themselves and their kids, the baby being my father, who thankfully survived and lived to be 87.

I'll bet soon slots on Amazon Fresh and WF will be impossible to get again.

Walmart has a set of Clorox Wipes in stock but is back to only allowing in person purchases.

I ‘m in CT and we are being swarmed by out of staters behaving badly on the shoreline. I definitely agree shit is going to get bad in about 3 weeks everywhere! Hit costco in person today because I was getting angsty about paper products and just topping off some things like gin, vodka, frozen chicken, olive oil etc. it was pretty busy but folks were wearing masks and gloves and being respectful of space. This will be my last big box in person visit for at least 6 weeks, I may hit the farm stand/ local dairy farm/ egg seller but that’s it. Good luck to us all.

Did everyone stop shopping?

Yes, no shopping for me. I am eating dirt and gravel out of the back yard.

Couldn’t find Cosmo’s cat food and I went to one pet food and two food stores. Gave up and ordered from Chewy. I’m wondering if this is because so many people adopted/are fostering cats. Anyone else having problems finding food for their pets? I’m in northern NJ.

Sadly, what I knew would happen with all the pet adopting is happening. As soon as people felt okay about leaving their homes many are dumping their pets for human companionship and shopping. Humans are just no damn good for the most part.

it's partly what I predicted (and have found to be true since), US isn't importing pet food and people are buying US made food which is driving up demand and prices.

r477: All stocked-up. Laying low for now.

[quote] As soon as people felt okay about leaving their homes many are dumping their pets for human companionship and shopping.

R480, can you specify what you meant? TIA.

Me too, R482. At this point I intend to avoid people and stay away from stores. Delivery only. I can last for a month with what I have on hand in my refrigerator. But after that I may order Chicken & eggs and some pork from the Farmers directly, and pic it up.

One of my stores has seemingly stopped giving any fucks. The customers all wear their masks below their noses. Employees aren't wearing masks either and when stocking shelves or filling online orders they're not bothering following the aisle's directional signs nor are they social distancing. If you're in their way they have no problem getting in your space or reaching around you.

I also noticed that the self checkouts have gone back to how they were pre-pandemic meaning they were all open where a few weeks ago they closed every other one to help with social distancing.

Chris Meloni

^ oops, wrong thread, sorry!

R477 Same as NYCTechie I'm stocked up with disposable gloves, masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes to last into the middle of next year. I only go to the market every 1-1/2 to 2 weeks now.

Wow. R478 gets GRAVEL. Lucky bitch.

Did a Walmart pickup order again yesterday and they seem to be slipping. They were out of a lot of items: whipping cream, mangoes, diet Coke, lamb.

R478 needs the roughage.

Hunny, don't be buying lamb and other meat products from Walmart or Target. Them's not good places for that. You don't get the grass fed, free range, no antibiotics, organic, heirloom stuff that way. You get stuff shot up with drugs and chemicals. Salmonella and e coli love Walmart, Target, Aldi, and the rest.

Walmart+, the company's answer to Amazon Prime, will launch this month, according to a report by Vox's Recode. The service will reportedly cost $98 per year and include same-day delivery of groceries and other items and fuel discounts at Walmart gas stations.

I don't know that I'd buy groceries from Walmart, but their online selection and shipping has been far superior to Amazon's during the pandemic. The only hand sanitizer, wipes and disinfectant sprays I've gotten shipped are from Walmart -- though availability continues to spotty.

R477....I haven't set foot inside of a grocery store since March 12th, thanks to Butcher Box & Farm Fresh (and because I stocked-up well).

Last week, I placed an order (delivery) from WalMart for the first time. I needed pantry items -- chicken broth, canned goods, coffee, spices, condiments, almond milk, etc. And my stash of t.p. (Charmin) & paper towels was starting to run a bit low, so I ordered a package of each. Lysol spray & disinfectant wipes weren't available (in-store only), but I expected that. My order was delivered two days later & everything was there. I'll order non-perishables from them again.

This afternoon, I did curbside/contactless pickup from Pet Food Express for my dogs. First time I've bought dog food since mid-March. I bought twice as much as I normally do....just so I don't have to think/worry about til for awhile....like Jan 2021. And I got a sweet 20% discount for my first online order! Today was a good day. (LOL, how sad, this is what I get excited about now).

[quote]Did everyone stop shopping?

I'm still shopping, but the bigger the threads get, the harder they are to work with on my phone. So posting less.

[quote]I don't know that I'd buy groceries from Walmart, but their online selection and shipping has been far superior to Amazon's during the pandemic. The only hand sanitizer, wipes and disinfectant sprays I've gotten shipped are from Walmart -- though availability continues to spotty.

I've had luck just recently with sanitizer and disinfectant spray from local stores, but for sure Walmart has vastly outperformed Amazon throughout this whole ordeal. They had Lysol, wipes, and other things available when it seemed like no one else online did. Amazon rarely has anything useful in stock, and when they do they'll only sell it to medical/institutional customers. Target has also stepped things up recently. But Amazon is a fail.

Can anyone explain the "only available in store" stuff so many stores are doing with certain items, mostly disinfectants and sanitzers? Is it just greed because you'll buy other stuff or is there actually some reason for it?

We've talked about it before, R496, and I think the general consensus was greed, but no one knows for sure. I think there's also a possibility that with limited stock they're trying to hit a balance with its availability between in-person customers and online ones - otherwise online customers would probably buy it all up.

There seems to be some sort of supply shock on paper towels recently. The last week or two, every store in my area has either been 100% out of stock, or they only have a few individual rolls of generic brand on the shelves. All the online stores (Amazon, Walmart, target, Instacart) are either completely out of stock, only “available in store”, or price gouging ($60 for 8 rolls).

It’s hard to understand why this is happening now/again, considering we’re nearly five months into this pandemic bullshit. Surely hoarders already hoarded months ago.

Heading to Aldi to top off a few things for the rest of the month. Hoping for a disposable mask 10 pk, napkins, disinfectant wipes and canned tomatoes. There have not been canned tomatoes for weeks so crossing fingers for those too.

I have cases of Cento whole peeled tomatoes delivered by Amazon. The regular price right now is $23.64, but I paid $20.09 as a Subscribe & Save member. Even at full price, that's just under $2 a can vs. $3.49 @ my local chain.

Off to the big box for the once a week one stop shopping.

[quote] Can anyone explain the "only available in store" stuff so many stores are doing with certain items, mostly disinfectants and sanitzers? Is it just greed because you'll buy other stuff or is there actually some reason for it?

I never thought it was greed, I assumed at the worst of it that because the supply was so low, turning off one channel of ordering (online) was the only way to manage it at all.

I've been going to target a lot. there is a limit of 1 for in demand items so I've been going a lot to buy...to stock up.

EPA approves first surface disinfectant products tested on the SARS-CoV-2 virus

WASHINGTON (July 6, 2020) — Throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has worked to provide the American public with information about how to safely and effectively kill the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, on surfaces. Last week, EPA approved two products, Lysol Disinfectant Spray (EPA Reg No. 777-99) and Lysol Disinfectant Max Cover Mist (EPA Reg No. 777-127), based on laboratory testing that shows the products are effective against SARS-CoV-2.

“EPA is committed to identifying new tools and providing accurate and up-to-date information to help the American public protect themselves and their families from the novel coronavirus,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “EPA's review of products tested against this virus marks an important milestone in President Trump’s all of government approach to fighting the spread of COVID-19."

Before pesticide products can legally make claims that they can kill a particular pathogen such as SARS-CoV-2, the claim must be authorized by EPA based on a review of data. Because novel viruses are typically not immediately available for laboratory testing, EPA established guidance for Emerging Viral Pathogens.

In January 2020, the agency activated the guidance for the first time in response to the SARS-CoV-2 public health emergency. The guidance allows product manufacturers to provide EPA with data, even in advance of an outbreak, that shows their products are effective against harder-to-kill viruses than SARS-CoV-2. Through this guidance and the agency’s review of newly registered products, EPA’s list of products that meet the agency’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2 (known as List N) includes more than 420 products. In many cases, the agency was able to approve claims in as little as 14 days.

This week, EPA updated the entries for two products on List N to show they have now been tested directly against SARS-CoV-2. These are the first List N products for which the agency has reviewed laboratory testing data and approved label claims against SARS-CoV-2. EPA expects to approve such claims for additional List N products in the coming weeks.

All products on EPA’s List N meet the agency’s criteria for effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2. When using an EPA-registered disinfectant, follow the label directions for safe, effective use. Make sure to follow the contact time, which is the amount of time the surface should be visibly wet. Read the agency’s infographic on how to use these products.

Now, if either of those products were able to be found anywhere.

I believe the rumor that Trump is stock piling and selling to other countries most of the disinfecting wipes, alcohol, N95 masks and other things that are nearly impossible to get even after all these months. There's no way it's going to regular people since these products are limited everywhere they're sold, usually to one, online and in person. Sure a person can make a few trips to the stores but so what, they get 2 or 3 or even 4, not everyone can or will do that and everything is sold out, at least online, things that had become fairly easy to get, in a limited amount, just a couple of weeks ago.

My local grocery stores are fully stocked with hand sanitizers now. They may not be "brand name" like Purell, but they've got them. Initially they were selling tiny bottles of hand sanitizers for like $4.99. I don't think they were doing it out of greed per se, but rather to deter individuals from buying them all out. But I'm starting to see the smaller bottles drop down to $2.99, and really large hand pump bottles selling for $7.99.

I've just been buying rubbing alcohol (70%) which is still cheaper and also becoming more available, and putting it in a small spray bottle to bring with me. It's the alcohol that kills the virus, the added glycerin in hand gels is pointless really, imo.

I will never see a Lysol product again in my lifetime.

No more of that Springtime freshness, r508!

R508 I've mentioned it on other SFGILHRN threads, but if you really want or need Lysol the best thing to do is download the Walmart app or go to their website and click store availability. If it shows as being in stock at your local store rush there immediately. Make sure to look on the very top shelf of the section and behind other products. Another tip is to figure out when your local store tends to restock. If a person is restocking on that aisle look at the boxes on their stock cart. Follow the workers if you have to.

I was in home depot midtown. They have lysol all purpose cleaner spray...the yellow bottle.

I still don't understand the supply problems in The US? Here in the UK you've been able to buy everything since April.

Seems strange.

What did we all do before they invented Lysol wipes? They've only been around since 2000.

R512 Lucky you.

We have no disinfectants, no sanitizing wipes, and lots of other shortages, too.

R512 Geography and population. The UK is only 2.48% the size and has only around a fifth of the population of the US. It is easier to organize supplies in a relatively dense area. It is harder in a large country where the population is spread out. If you took just our three largest states, by population, California, Texas, and Florida they would roughly equal the population of the UK. But unlike the UK they are in completely different areas of the country. In terms of size California is almost double the size of the UK and Texas is three times as large. Then you have the other 47 states.

There is also the fact that, even with devolution, the UK is still a very centralized country both by government and business. The US isn't.

I have a question. When I go to a Walmart, Amazon, Target, etc. page for items is the page I'm seeing on their websites in NYC the same page as everyone across the country sees for that item? Like if I see "Out of stock" on disinfecting wipes are people in California and the mid west seeing the same thing or do the stores localize what they have to sell by zip code or states? I know on the Target site it says "Delivery not available in your or this zip code."

It depends. I know on the Walmart website if you turn on store availability, it might still say out of stock until you actually click on the product. Then the product page may say it is available at your local store located at 123 Main Street or whatever.

R500, are they Cento San Marzano tomatoes or are they just Cento tomatoes? The Cento San Marzano ones are the ones around $3.50 and the Cento non-San Marzano ones are around $2 in my experience.

Back in February I bought a five-pack of Clorox wipes from Costco on somewhat of a whim— mostly because of these threads. My mother just found some at Walmart and brought me a three-pack. They seemed a little smaller and they are. The pre-pandemic wipes have 85 wipes per container and the post have 75 wipes.

I JUST ORDERED LYSOL WIPES ON WALMART!!! successfully? who knows. but, I had my cart ready to go and did my usual 'obligatory search for disinfecting wipes'. there was ONE option of 4 tubs available. I added to my cart and checked out. it said 'no longer available' so, I refreshed, re-added, re-checked out and... they went through. I think I sniped them out of someone's cart. they show as not available again in search. but, the last time I did the refresh/re-add, the item was delivered.

R520 That gives me hope!

My last two grocery delivery orders from Wal-mart have both had about 50 percent of the items unavailable....so yeah, we're back in that hellish mode.

Stock up when you can on what you can.

just a note (karma), if they're delivered I'm donating 3 of the 4 to my work to make up for the ones that I bought using my works name but they can't use. it really makes me feel better if it works out like that

R515 I think the US is still the same size that it was at the beginning of March, the supply chains have been in place for about 100 years.

It just smacks of disorganized chaos to still be having problems.

R524 The supply chains were not designed for a situation like this. This was a situation no company had planned for. They had plans for natural disasters, but not for something that would affect the entire country at the same time. I think they will now plan for such things, but they weren't before.

Probably because The US has never had a War on its doorstep I suppose?

R513 I did the same thing I do now....clean without the need for a specialized paper based product that gets thrown into the landfill when you're done with it.

R526 We have just not within the last hundred years or so.

I wonder if there were food shortages and things like soap or whatever they had back then during the 1918 Spanish Flu?

R529 They didn't rely on stores as much back then. Plus what we did buy in the stores were made here. Much of our supplies are now imported, especially from China.

[quote] Plus what we did buy in the stores were made here. Much of our supplies are now imported, especially from China.

This is the main issue with so many things right now. It was all fine and dandy in the last 40ish years when manufacturing went overseas.

But that hurt us this year.

R531 I always thought it was idiotic to rely so much on one country, who is ideologically opposed to us, for so much of our basic needs.

C'mon, Walmart! Mama needs wipes!

[quote]I always thought it was idiotic to rely so much on one country, who is ideologically opposed to us, for so much of our basic needs.

While I agree that it was idiotic to move so much of our manufacturing to other countries because of what it did to our workers, there is also an element of mutally assured destruction built into our economic and production dependent relationship with China. We depend on them for all our stuff but their economy depends on us buying their stuff, too. As China finds other trading partners that start to equal our numbers, then they can tell us to fuck off. Until them, if we fuck off, they are fucked.

R534 that they could ever be in the position to tell us to fuck off, is our own fault. Their economic success is based solely upon our stupidity. Imagine how Africa’s economy could have been transformed if we had focused on outsourcing our manufacturing to those countries instead of China. If we were going to outsource manufacturing we should have made it a broad based economic nation building exercise to help raise up developing nations that didn’t want to actually destroy us. A special emphasis could have been placed on Africa and then the former Soviet states.

It's not just the US that has sent its manufacturing base to China the EU and Australia is in the same position. It's one of the reasons China has become so wealthy.

I'm not leaving my house to shop. Eggs, Milk, bread, broccoli, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, cukes, salad greens, avocados, brussel sprouts that's it. I will get sick of them, I know but I am going to keep it simple. I have cleaning supplies, plenty of toilet paper and toweling, and I'll use them sparingly. I have meat in the freezer. Cereal, canned tuna. Pasta. Tomato sauce, canned soups,jams and preserves. etc. I'm good. I'm going to use my supply of cake mixes to make cookies. They're actually good. So that's a suggestion. If you have a sweet tooth, just buy some cake mixes. Fast simple cheap. big. Also, since I'm working from home, I've decided to start eating Breakfast later, and dinner earlier. I'm only doing two meals and a snack. My breakfast is big. my snack is yogurt with sliced canned fruit.

Geez. Are you autistic, R537?

No, R538. I have "underlying conditions" and I'm just trying to survive. Why the asshole question?

Because your weird, detailed listing of your daily routine when no one asked for it and the jumpy, staccato writing seems autistic in nature, asshole.

In the "who's the bigger asshole, r540 or r539?" sweepstakes, you ARE the bigger asshole, r540. R537 may have suspicious punctuation and capitalization, but you're a cunt. So STFU, asshole.

Girls, Girls, you're both cunts!

Don't mind R538. Her shipment is late and she hasn't had a chance to change her bloody tampon.

WALMARY!

I needed to go to the grocery store but decided to stop off at a Chinese grocery store instead of my regular one. I was surprised at how much better organized and more seriously they were taking precautions. They had someone at the door not only monitoring the number of people in (my grocery store has stopped doing this) but also spraying down each cart for every customer.

The store itself was incredibly clean and they had two employees going up and down the aisles cleaning. I was there for quite some time and it seemed like the two cleaning started at opposite ends and continued back and forth, essentially making sure everything was wiped down at all times. They also had several employees re-stocking shelves, and they were in-stock with everything (although I don't know about wipes or disinfectant as I didn't check).

Another thing I noticed was that not only did all the employees wear their masks (and properly, i.e., actually over their noses), they were all wearing face shields. The clerks at check out were also spraying down their areas after checking out each customer. I wasn't allowed to put my items on the belt until after the cashier sprayed it down completely.

I was definitely impressed.

There’s some Chinese markets near me, maybe I’ll check one next time. Asians know how to wear masks properly and wear them.

I’ve been going to Winco, where not a single employee has worn a mask or gloves for months and they have one very narrow plexiglas shield between you and the cashier. It barely covers anything. Recently I got an email saying employees are all wearing masks now so I went back. The cash register woman was wearing a thin, worn bandanna over her nose, folded into a triangle. That’s it. Winco is owned by the employees.

I went to Ace Hardware today in Las Vegas. Plexiglass over the cash register, masked employee. Toilet paper, paper towels, in smaller packages, gallons of ammonia and bleach, and one gallon tin cans of 99% isopropyl alcohol for $33. I don’t use them, but if you need it it’s there. That stuff is flammable as hell, so don’t buy it if you won’t use it. They also had smaller bottles of 70% alcohol, and peroxide. And K95 disposable masks in 10 packs.

If you want to support a hardware store, Ace is a good choice. They’re franchises, and it’s one of the few stores you can go to today where there’s some old guy who actually knows what the hell he’s talking about. And they are glad to help you.

R546: WinCo Foods is about half employee owned. It's a shitty place to work when you're a new hire, but as you get seniority, you get more shares in the company and the jobs improve somewhat. My WinCo has required masks on employees since April at least.

Ace Hardware's non-sudsy ammonia is the shit. Great for cleaning greasy dirt and stripping kitchen and bath towels that start smelling weird.

[quote]Ace Hardware's non-sudsy ammonia is the shit. Great for cleaning greasy dirt and stripping kitchen and bath towels that start smelling weird.

I always do a combination of baking soda and vinegar. Makes towels extremely soft and removes any buildup your regular detergent isn't getting.

The only wipes I've seen on Wal-mart's site have all been for sale in store only.

my 4 pack of lysol wipes came!

I still haven't been able to order them : (

They are out of hand soap again and I never did get any Lysol/Clorox wipes

Yeah, they are buckling back down. They have wipes but will not sell them online any longer.

Life's back to normal at the Piggly Wiggly....

In case anyone needs masks.

50 pack for $15 and free shipping.

Logged onto Walmart yesterday evening and BINGO! Got a set of wipes. Thank goodness.

They do come up for order, but you REALLY have to be patient, refresh often, and have your cart already filled with enough so that if it becomes available you can add to cart and check out quick.

I've ordered a 24-can case of Diet Coke from Walmart (grocery pickup) twice recently, and it's been out of stock both times. Maybe there is a can shortage, as I've read about? Or maybe they just don't have the 24-pack. I specified "no substitutions" because I don't want them to substitute Diet Pepsi or regular Coke, but I'd be OK with one or two 12-packs. Maybe I'll try Target.

Oh-- and week after week, they never have lamb or buttermilk. When I search for "lamb," all that comes up is dog food.

Yes, there is a can shortage, and there's also a carbonation shortage, apparently.

But I read that the big brands like Diet Coke weren't affected, it was more the smaller lines. The fans of Fresca are up in arms as their favorite has been unavailable for months.

And Target has been just as bad. They didn't have any of the sodas I liked, and I looked at a dozen stores or more in the area (if you look online there's an option to search other nearby stores). They have been out of Snapple iced tea for a month or so, as well.

Well, I was able to get a 12-pack of Diet Coke from Target (drive-up pickup.) While Target mostly sucks since they won't let you pick up perishables or even things like bread at all, and will only let you pick up outside the store if you use their phone app, at least they don't have a minimum purchase like Walmart does.

R559 that is supposed to be changing

Walmart+ is scheduled to roll out this month. They say they're going to offer free 2-hour delivery of groceries. Costs $98/yr. Since I can't get Amazon Fresh where I am, I'm looking forward to this. I like Instacart with Aldi, but those delivery fees, service charges, and tips add up.

UGH - they cancelled my fucking wipes. Over a week of a cart full of items, refreshing often, to get those wipes and they fucking cancel them.

oops I am R562 and also R556

Just went to Walmart and was able to get a large container of Equate Hand Sanitizer, a big container of Disinfecting Wipes, and a bottle of laundry disinfectant which I have not seen in stores since March.

They did not have Lysol.

I'm not sure I understand the obsession with sanitizers, wipes, Lysol, etc. I guess maybe they're important for people who don't live alone and who have to go out a lot, but personally, I haven't really used any of them. I stay in, by myself, almost all the time. When I do go out, I make sure to wash my hands before touching my face. I wash after taking in mail or packages, but I don't wipe anything down. My understanding is that the virus can't last very long on surfaces. Am I taking risks?

I work in a very high concern of covid business and take the bus. I would be less concerned if I didn't have to venture out for short periods of in office time a few times a week.

I will say, I think this is my new normal. I have always struggled with people being next to me, talking in my personal space, touching my things etc.

I am going to be the weirdo 5 years from now still wearing a mask and glove with disinfecting wipe in public. this has shaken me. it was already here. what else is at any given second?

A bit of a tangent but hoping my Tasteful Friends here have a suggestion.

As much as I loathe Restoration Hardware, they did have some nice accessories a while back specific to cleaning - dryer sheets and, I think, laundry detergent.

Trying to find some really nice detergent, sheets and/or cleaning supplies that have a nice scent like that stuff did, pleasant but neither overly fragrant nor overly chemical smelling (as many harsh detergents are).

Any suggestions where I should look?

R567, maybe stop using dryer sheets. IMO, they're unnecessary.

I don't usually, R568, but I'm washing things so often now b/c of the virus, and even after cleaning my washing machine the smell is a bit....I wouldn't call it mildew-y, but it's not quite where it's pleasant.

throw white vinegar in with your washing. 2 birds, one stone

R569 I agree with the above. Stop using dryer sheets. I switched to those wool dryer balls awhile back, and they work great. For smells, as someone mentioned above, wash with baking soda and vinegar.

Since we're on the subject of laundry, in addition to cleaning out your lint trap after each use, are you guys washing your lint trap with soap and water at least twice a year? Apparently a lot of people aren't aware this is necessary.

^^ Also....people need to clean their dryer ducts annually.

^^ Also....people need to clean their dryer ducts annually.

My local Dollar Tree had alcohol and pain relievers today, finally. They'd been out of stock for a while.

I'm confused. What do dryer sheets have to do with a smelly washing machine?

My condo association requires us to have our dryer vents cleaned annually. We've had a few fires reported.

Not sure, R575. I've cleaned my washer a few times and the dryer too, including the lint trap.

I actually think it may be hard water, but in any case, I was trying to find something that had a nice subtle scent.

However, I have been dissuaded from any of that based on the negative Nellies here.

Just checked my GE washer. It has a "Basket Clean" setting. I guess that's to clean the washer itself. I'll have to check the manual. I've never done this.

r577 I have a GE washer with that setting also. You use washing machine cleaner or bleach. It runs a cycle with hot water.

Thanks, R578. I have did buy a bottle of washing machine cleaner.

Have any of our Pittsburghers been to an Aldi lately? I want to go, but how are they doing with mask compliance, distancing, shitty customers, etc?

Sylvia, I'm surprised that among the many "Karen" videos we haven't seen some dire, deeply uneducated soul from, say, Fayette County, or Jeannette, or Butler screeching at a poor checker at Giant Iggle or Aldi, saying, "Yinz can't make me wear a mask!"

So am I, R581. So am I. We do have a Gary trying to sue Gian Iggle, though.

[quote] According to the response, Kostek was shopping at the Oil City store when he was asked to put on a mask to which he responded, “My body, my choice.” When he was repeatedly asked to put a mask on, officials said he yelled at employees and berated an employee who would not serve him without a mask. Kostek was arrested and asked to not trespass at the Oil City store again, according to documents.

[quote] Oil City

That really says it all, sadly. That area of PA is, well, very scary. Dueling banjos scary.

What does that tell you, r581?

True R584. Those folks are just parroting a message from the right wing hive mind.

Anyone noticing that toilet paper is starting to disappear from the shelves again where they live?

I fortunately stocked up a few months ago, but have noticed when going to the stores near me (LA area), there's no or very little stock of it.

Yes, TP and a lot of paper products are in short supply again.

I responded on the other thread, R586. I'm having trouble finding my preferred Scott Comfort Plus but my local stores are pretty well-stocked. Except the local WalMart. I'm in Morris County, NJ.

I got a can of Lysol from Amazon Fresh

I got a rock.

I went to Five Guys yesterday because I was in the mood for a burger and fries. The cashier had the mask below his nose and was about to put out my bun, toppings etc. I asked him to cover his nose with the mask, he did, but I was like WTF? Really? If he was lax when customers are there, WTF is he doing otherwise? I blame the manager too. SMH

r591, maybe a month ago, I was chatting with a friend who lives in Berlin, and she was telling me that they had gone to eat at a restaurant with outdoor dining. I asked her if her server was wearing a mask, and she replied no, then started to quietly freak out.

I tried using Big Lots' curbside pickup yesterday. I took a long time developing my order online (because their website is truly awful) but finally finished it. I had a 20% off coupon that was going to expire and wanted to use it. Anyway, placed the order, used my credit card, everything was good. I got the email notification that my order was ready for pickup so I drove to the store and called them from the parking lot, as directed. The associate said he was busy but would be out in a few minutes. A while later, he comes out and tells me that their system is down and that I would have to go inside to check out using their PIN pad. I told him that I would not go into the store, and asked him when the system would be back. He said there was no way of knowing and said that if could not come into the store he would have to cancel my order. I said, "fine," and left.

Obviously they are not ready for prime time when it comes to curbside pickup. There was no reason he couldn't have offered to call me later when the system was up. Similarly, since I'd already provided my credit card info online, why couldn't they just charge it like every other online shopping service does?

I won't be wasting my time with Big Lots again.

New thread for when this one maxes out:

It's almost done! This one was much slower

and took forever

to fill up

but now

it's done

BUH BYE