Sunday, April 19, 2009

Cynth's Shopping Tips

Cynth's Shopping Adventures and Tips

Cynth said...

I took today off (4/17/09) to take care of appointments and decided to just go for it and go to Walmart to do my first in-store grocery shopping in 5 years.

It took me a little over 2 hours, but I did it. I wouldn't want to shop during peak hours and once I figure out where everything I need is and on what side of the isle it is it will go smoother.

I got in a few peoples way, but then again people got in my way too. And our Walmart has posts in the center of some isles that require shoving the shopping cart past it on one side while I drive past it on the other.

I do feel much better now knowing that the scooter will take me shopping. I parked clear out back in the parking lot so I could have room to get my groceries in the car and fold the scooter up and down without someone parking next to me.

I also saved about $50 by shopping myself and not using Albertson's delivery.

Ok the mission today (4/18/09) was to go to Target. Mission accomplished. Our Target does have some groceries so I was able to pick up some coffee on sale and various sundry items.

I got my grandkids each 2 outfits and had fun looking at all the baby clothes (I had a new granddaughter March 23 and I have twin granddaughters that are 6).

As far as the isles go, the main isles are wide enough but the isles that have items on them are too narrow for me to drag the shopping cart through. Well ok, I "could" but that would take up the entire isle and I hate when people do that walking side by side so I avoid it.

I decided instead of buying a grocery organizer I'd first try using the box the TravelScoot came in. It should fit across my backseat just fine.

Oh and today when I was unloading and loading I was much faster. I watched Hardy's videos again and noticed he does not put the handle bar down when unloading and folding. So I tried that today and it was MUCH easier to get it to "snap".

I also paid more attention to how I was getting it in and out of the trunk; I do both with one hand. I really don't find it that heavy at all.

Elizabeth says...

Whoo hoo! You are hitting the ground running! Or should I say rolling? It must have been so fun to pick out baby clothes at Target. They have some of the cutest stuff. My Target is a Super Target so it's got a big grocery section and all the department store items too, but at least yours has some grocery items. Yesterday at Target I was able to pull my grocery cart directly behind me when I needed to fit through a narrower space. Most of the time I just park my buggy somewhere at the end of the aisle and zip back and forth putting things in it. I spent about $150 on groceries, so I bought quite a few things.

7 comments:

  1. sarge and i went to walmart today too. we both have scooters. i always think with both of us flying around the store we look like a freak show so guess what i do? wear my solid gold plastic tiara and smile! but with the two of us we don't even get a buggy, we just pile up the two scooters and head for the cashier.

    smiles, bee
    xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

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  2. It really was fun looking at baby clothes, made it a fun trip.

    How are you pulling the cart behind you, are you using a cord or are you able to twist your body enough to get the shopping cart behind you?

    I tried getting my cart behind me as I was leaving Target so I could fit through the exit doors better and I didn't have much luck getting it completely behind me. Damn my stubby arms!

    I do enjoy leaving the cart at the end of isles and making a run for items down the isle, it seems much faster. I wish the basket on the front of the TravelScoot was hung a bit higher as I have a hard time reaching to get things out of it to put in my shopping cart.

    I am finding myself "sore" from my shopping adventures. I haven't done this much twisting and reaching for quite some time.

    One day this week I want to go to the dreaded Home Depot to get some weed spray for my driveway.

    And I also want to go to a pet store and pick up 1 small and 1 medium/small dog collar. I am going to use them on the TravelScoot. The zip tie for the top of the shopping basket is not long enough and is hard to attach. I have been using a plastic snap attached to a camera wrist strap to attach the top of the basket to the Scoot. I think a medium/small dog collar with a quick release snap will work much better. And I can zip tie it to the basket so it doesn't fall.

    The small dog collar I will zip tie to the Scoots handle bars to hold my cane in place. I am currently using a velcro strap but find that I drop it every time I unfasten it.

    I'll let you know how the dog collars work out.

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  3. Bee, do you and Sarge each have 2 baskets on your scoots? I am just not getting the hang of how to put the basket on and actually be able to use it AND be able to turn to steer.

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  4. Cynth, I am able to sit straight and twist my left arm to pull the buggy behind me. I wouldn't want to do it for miles, but I can do it for a bit without a problem.

    My Target is probably different, but I can easily go out the doors with my left arm resting on the right side of my buggy. It's actually pretty comfortable.

    That's so interesting that you said something about being sore from your shopping. It does the same thing to me! I figure that's a good thing, because I'm exercising and using muscles I don't normally use.

    I think I'm going to have to do a separate post about attaching the darn baskets, because there's obviously something I'm not getting the hang of. I can't wait to hear about the dog collars. I think you need some jeweled ones! :-)

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  5. Bee, I feel like I'm getting to know you from your blog, and it doesn't suprise me at all that you wear your gold tiara while you're riding your TravelScoot. Go girl!

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  6. Bee, your gold tiara comment cracked me up.

    Elizabeth, I found the basket is easy to attach when I quit using the zip tie at the top. I found the zip tie to be too short and that "pointy V joint" in the scooters steering column rubbed against the basket.

    I am e-mailing you a picture of the camera wrist strap & snap I am currently using. It's not pretty but it works.

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  7. Cynth, I haven't gotten the picture yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Bee, I'd love to see a close-up picture of how you have yours attached too. I'm not seeing how to get past the problem with that "pointy V joint" in the scoot's steering column rubbing against the basket.

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