I gave up Walmart. Not that hard, seemingly. Four days in, and I realized why I like Walmart. It takes some of the work out of making decisions and it means less in and out of a car when running errands.
My first challenge came on the second day of Lent when I needed to buy underwear and socks. I ended up at a local favorite, The Big Deal. This is the equivalent of a small Big Lots. If Big Lots was local. And low and behold, there they carry underwear. Sadly, the socks were for me and they didn’t have what I need, so as of yet, I haven’t bought socks. Those would be at Walmart. Where I am not going.
Next challenge came on four days in. We ended up driving over to the next town to do our shopping. Both boys needed “dress” shoes. Let’s use this word loosely, since what I mean by “dress” is “not caked in mud” and “not athletic wear”. Kelly and I headed east about twenty miles and started at the local shoe store, Lebo’s. We found Kelly some fantastic cowboy boots with leather toes and camo shafts. Perfect for my little banjo player. They also had a selection of Tom’s and a small selection of boy’s shoes, including some great Merrill’s for little people. Unfortunately, they didn’t have what my older, preppy child wanted. They had the Sperry’s, just not in his size. Next was grocery shopping at Publix, where I had to make way too many decisions and read too many labels to make sure I bought the reasonably healthy choices. Exhausting. But, we don’t have a fancy grocery store like Publix in my town, and therefore we enjoyed the pleasant ambiance. So finally, we ended up at Shoe Carnival. Quickly found the shoes my older boy could be seen in around town. At which point, I was asked if I didn’t want to go ahead and buy one more pair since it was a sale. The second pair of shoes would be half. Y’all, I wandered around the women’s shoes unable to focus. Too many choices. I hadn’t come for myself, and shoes for me weren’t on my list, and I could not concentrate. No more decisions could be made. We left with just that one pair. No sale shoes. No more choices.
And this is why I think I enjoy Walmart. I can wander around one big place, but really, for each item I need, there aren’t a whole lot of options. We eat good, healthy, not so processed food. Walmart only has little pockets of that. So decisions are made by simple lack of choice. Their shoes are not all that fantastic. Only one or two pairs in the boys section would I allow my children to be seen in around town. Done. Not that the older would wear shoes from Walmart anymore, but still.
I am not a shopper.
This is the reason it has taken Lent to make me try another way. It requires making choices. And it is tiring. Is this why we have abandoned our mom and pop stores? It required getting in and out of the car and they gave us too many quality choices? Not judging here. I already told you yesterday wore me out. Just pondering.
Now, for those that are curious, so far I have bought items at:
Watson Farms – http://www.watsonfarmsbeef.com This is where I get our meat, and I drive to their farm monthly. Just over the county line, but actually closer than the next town for me.
Publix – I had to go to another town for this one. Groceries
Lebo’s – Local shoe store in the next town over. Fun place for those that like western wear and the nicer brand western or hippy/ hiking/ ergonomic shoes. Insanely cool boots!
Shoe Carnival – Shoe store chain in the other town.
The Big Deal – A Big Lots with a local flair. Right here in town.
Educating Patricia Hatch 