I went to Aldi with the kid other day and I compared the pair between and her dad in the way they shop.
The man: He pushes the trolley so I can concentrate on my list. He is slow. He likes to look at everything. He says it’s because he doesn’t come that often. By the time I’ve reached the end he’s still sniffing and fondling the fruit. I have to walk back to the trolley constantly. He doesn’t forget anything. He browses quietly except for the odd “should we get this” or “didn’t you say we needed this”.
He scans. I pack. He loads everything in the car. Returns the trolley.
The kid: She pushes the trolley. She likes to look at everything. She’s quick but likes to point everything out. “Can I have this” “put it in” “can I have this” “put it in” “can I have this” “whatever”. Eventually she stops asking because I’m not even looking. I’m concentrating. I may have forgotten stuff. She costs me an extra $50.
She scans. I pack. I push the trolley to the car, load it and return the trolley.
Question: Which one would you prefer to shop with, the slow poke who does everything for you or the octopus who doesn’t hold you up?
Ps. They shop together quite often. I can see why it takes them so long to get back from buying ice cream.
Thornburywitch@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
I think I’d prefer the slow poke, but I am conflicted. I did learn eventually to NEVER shop with my bloke. He was a menace in colesworth - filling up entire trolleys with stuff that caught his eye but nothing on the agreed upon list. He was also a ‘specials’ victim of the worst possible stripe. The incident of the 10 2 litre containers of vinegar still scars me to this day (But it was on special!).
We ended up with me doing the household staples and frozen stuff, and him doing the fresh food - separately. So I’d give him a vague list and tell him to come back with 5 kg (or whatever) of animal protein and 5 kg of fruit. He could choose what sort for each. We did have a productive veggie patch so we really only bought spuds & onions as staples. I think this satisfied his hunter/gatherer instincts better than an exact list. And enabled me to keep my temper better. And relieved the pressure on the pantry storage. And enabled me to keep better tabs on what was in the freezer and how much room was left for new stuff.
CEOofmyhouse56@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
Hahaha. The vinegar 😂. I can relate. I might say I’ve run out of paper towel and he’ll come in with 5 packets because they were on special.
He also buys the fruit on his way home. I’ll ask for a capsicum and he’ll come in with a bag full because they were cheap and he doesn’t want to look like a tight arse buying just one.
indisin@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
I feel attacked in this thread haha