If you don't shop at Wal-Mart...

[isign]

Where do you buy things?

I'm trying to shop at another grocery store, but they don't have things that Wal-mart does, but I'm not sure where else to find them. Today I'm going for things for DS to start solids - cups, spoons, plates. I also need dish towels, linens (don't buy really expensive since we have a dog). I use Benefield dog food, but Petsmart (last I checked) doesn't carry it.

Do you have one big shopping day or do you run out often to get items since they aren't all at one store?

[Cath2005]

I am not a Walmart shopper - my Walmart just isn't a nice place to shop but my Target is awesome. I bet you could get most of that stuff there?

[ajb524]

I get my regular grocery stuff at Kroger and h'hold stuff like paper towels, cleaner, diapers, pet food, etc. at Target. Overall I found Target not to be much if any higher than walmart on the regular items I buy. Even if I do pay a couple of dollars more overall on my bill it's so worth it not to have to go to walmart :D

[isign]

I don't have a Target, so that doesn't work for me. We will in a year or so, but it's 30 min away, and since it will be the first one in this are there is no way you could get me to go near there with all the people there.

[diam124]

I do most of my grocery shopping at our neighborhood store (Bloom) and I buy some specialty things at Trader Joe's every few weeks. I buy pet food from PetSmart (I get the really big bags of food and then divide it up into smaller plastic containers so it's easy to handle).

I buy household goods (like cups, plates, linens) from Target. When I lived in an area without a Target I would buy that kind of stuff at Bed Bath & Beyond (with coupons).

[HeatherFL]

Super Target and Publix (grocery store chain.)

Since you don't have Target, I like the suggestion that diam124 wrote about using BBB coupons and shopping there.

If you're willing, you can also order online from Target or for dishes and linens, and from places like Overstock.com and Amazon. If you go to retailmenot.com or Google "Coupon Code" for whatever store you're wanting to order from usually you can find some good discounts.

~H.

[Sha259]

I still go to my neighborhood Walmart (regular, not the Super), but I don't typically shop there for much. Most of my shopping is done at my neighborhood supermarkets and regular stores (ie not discount stores). There is a Target close to the Walmart that I frequent, but I haven't even set foot in it. Not really a Target fan, all that red, such an angry color.

[diam124]

I thought of another good option for household stuff - Kohl's.

[KiKi'sMommy]

I haven't used it, but I know that Amazon has a grocery section with household goods available and I believe free shipping. I shop at Wal-Mart, but I would love to NOT have to shop at Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, we do not have another grocery store in our town. I do go to Target in the next town fairly frequently and it is much more pleasant. Do you have a Cosco nearby? That could be a good option for stocking up and not having to go so often.

[Lauren23]

I never go to Wal-mart. The Target is further away, but we go there instead. For food shopping we just go to Stop N Shop. As far as pet food goes, we have a rabbit and he eats a certain brand of food that only the pet store seems to carry.

[tenofcups]

We get things at a combination of places -- major food shopping, including pet food and paper goods, at our supermarket. Fruits and vegetables and sometimes meat at the weekly farmer's market. Other things at Target; an occasional big trip to Costco. I've never shopped at a Walmart and don't intend to. Do you have a Kmart or Walgreens or place like that near you? They'd probably have most of that kind of stuff too.

[ysolde]

We don't have WalMart in the City. I shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, as well as the local farmers' market. My everyday linens are from Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. (I am Hispanic, so the really high-end stuff is vintage, hand-made handkerchief quality linen that has been passed down for generations). I also mix in flea market finds and just old family stuff. Toilet paper, cleaning products, and biodegradable garbage bags and the like I get from the corner CVS. For pet food, I go to a local pet food store that carries high quality stuff, or I order Newman's Own from Earth Animal online. Since Manhattan apartments are small, we tend to make do with a whole lot less, and re-use a whole lot more. Reduce and re-use are not political catchphrases here. Just a practical way of life. So the whole WalMart, Sam's Club, CostCo thing makes no sense at all here. You would be surprised at how little you actually need.

[mamax2]

It's not that I don't ever shop at Wal-Mart, but I don't go there that often. If I do go, it's usually for something pretty specific and I'll grab other stuff as I go if needed at the time. It isn't a Super-Wal-Mart, so food is limited ther

Both Target & BBB are 40+ minute drive, so I don't shop at either of those places regularly either - gasp! :p

I get by with 2 grocery stores (one has some more upscale items), Marshall's, CVS, Dollar Tree and a Farmer's Market about 1/2 the year. We have some outlets for clothing, a local independent pet store for dog food and an independent children's book/toy store for kid items (Marshall's also very good for this).

[isign]

I guess we're just severely limited without internet shopping. That and having a munchkin now really does not make me want to go out to different places. We don't have a Kohls (90 min away, same with Target).I have started with Walgreens for meds, a local grocery store, and discovered a farmer's market up the street that I'm going to start going to. JCP is even 30 minutes away. I do have a Kmart, but for some reason it's barely stocked. I think Amazon and I will just become BFFs ;)

[Daisy]

Well, I'm anti-Walmart and manage to get everything I need without going to Walmart or any kind of super big box kind of store. I won't say that I never go to Target or Costco, but I don't shop their regularly. I get groceries from a variety of grocery stores, pet food from the vet, linens from where ever I find ones I want, etc. Even when I lived in a small town that didn't have a lot of store variety, we didn't frequent the big box stores.

[Rosebud]

Well, I'm anti-Walmart and manage to get everything I need without going to Walmart or any kind of super big box kind of store. I won't say that I never go to Target or Costco, but I don't shop their regularly. I get groceries from a variety of grocery stores, pet food from the vet, linens from where ever I find ones I want, etc.

Same here. It might take a little more time to shop at different places, but I feel that I get better products and better variety that way.

[mimieliza]

It's a little different when you live in a rural area.

I used to live in Portland and would tell anyone who would listen that I was "boycotting" Wal-Mart. Well, that's super easy to do when you have 5,000,000 other stores to choose from and the nearest WM is in a far flung suburb.

Now I live in a small, remote town. I can shop at WM or the grocery stores (Alberstons, Safeway). I still try to avoid WM, but it's much more difficult.

I buy all my food at Safeway. I keep a running list of other items I need (lightbulbs, cleaning supplies, baby items like wipes, etc.). There is a Costco and a Target 70 miles away and we try to go once a month to get the items on our list. Costco is great because if I buy in bulk, I run out less often and therefore have less cause to end up at WM.

I can't say we're entirely WM-free anymore, but we try to make a game of seeing how long we can avoid going there. Our record was six months, which is pretty good when it's the only choice in town. :)

[salysaturn]

Target for me. I am partial, I work there:)

FTR - WALMART is a stones throw away, while Taret is about 15/20 minutes away. Any WALMART I have been to has always rubbed me the wrong way. and won't go back.

[cocopop]

I avoid Wal-Mart at all cost. The store seems very dirty to me and I always see questionable individuals while shopping there. I will gladly go to three or four different stores just to avoid that place.

[hockeybrat]

I avoid Wal-Mart at all cost. The store seems very dirty to me and I always see questionable individuals while shopping there. I will gladly go to three or four different stores just to avoid that place.


same here but usually it is Target or other stores

[malala]

We boycott Wal Mart as well, but I can see mimieliza's point.

It's easy for me to avoid them when I have tons of other choices. DH always gives his parents a hard time for shopping there, but they live in a very small town with basically no other options.

To answer the OP's question, I shop at Super Target, Trader Joe's, Wild Oats and I get a couple of items at the regular grocery store. But if I was on your shoes, I would probably just shop at Wal Mart (gasp!)

[ManteoChik]

I try not to shop at WalMart, but mostly because its so far away (as is Kmart) and we don't have a Target or any other major store like BBB.

I do all my grocery shopping at Harris Teeter or Food Lion - this includes things like paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, and cleaning supplies. All my toiletries from the CVS (drugstore) as well as my prescriptions and any other random things that I need to pick up. For household items (like light-bulbs, etc) I usually get them at our local ACE Hardware.

[BusyBee21]

We have a Wal-Mart 3 minutes from us; but I am so disgusted every time I have been in there, I drive 20 minutes to Target to get what I don't buy at the grocery store. We also buy at Costco twice a month. And I have always had great luck with shopping on Target.com. If you sign up for their emails, you will often times get free shipping or $5 shipping coupons. Totally worth it for me to avoid Wally World.

[Sha259]

Is everyone's Walmart really that bad?? I know I've been to some bad ones, but I've been to nice ones too.:confused:

[Hello Kitty]

I know that WMs are different by region, and even to an area. The one in my hometown which has been there before the 80s is clean, bright, and friendly. But 30 mi away was a really nasty one - dirty, disorganized, filled with people hollering (TBH, any store in that immediate area was the same). In my hometown, WM was really the only place to shop for a reasonable price. There were some other specialty stores and such, but it wasn't like it was horrific that WM was my only choice.

For completely unrelated reasons, I decided to stop shopping at WM, and try not to fall into the Target as replacement line. I find that I just don't *need* that much stuff anymore, but try to buy only necessities anyway. We don't use paper goods, we get dishes from Ikea, pots and pans from the 'net. Linens I don't buy that often and replace only when necessary, but usually go to BBB/LNT. Cleaning supplies I use very minimally, and get at the grocery store. Pet food from the pet feed store. Um, I think the most misc or random stuff we get at the hardware store (HD, Lowes, Menards). You'd be suprised - those stores are trying to get more household stuff in them to keep women entertained more so men can buy more tools. ;)

[Heidi9771]

The walmart near my home is also not a very pleasant place to shop, so I avoid it at all costs.

I do my weekly grocery shopping at the Stop and Shop (grocery chain in the north east,) and usually try to pick up toiletries there too (you earn a $10 coupon off your bill for every $100 you spend, so I try to lump it in, as well as save me a trip to the drug store.)

For household items, I usually don't need to buy these on a routine basis, just as needed...when I do, I usually head to Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, or Linens n Things.

[coquelicot]

We rarely, rarely go to Wal-Mart. Kroger (for groceries), PetSmart (for pet supplies), and Target (for everything else) are so much closer, anyway. Less than 10 minutes to get to them vs. 20 minutes for WM. They're supposed to be building one just a few minutes up the road from those other stores within the next year or two, but I doubt we'll go there much. Like some of the other posters, we're not big on Wal-Mart. No matter which one I go to, they always seem to be dirty, crowded, and void of people to help you. For us, it's just not worth the extra drive to save a few pennies.

However, I can sympathize with those who don't have other options. My ILs are like that. They're in a town of about 30,000 people. There are a few other stores, but Wal-Mart is far and away the giant retailer of the town. We can't go a weekend there without someone mentioning needing to make a WM run, or what they just bought at WM. Kind of drives me nuts, but what can you do? There is a town of about 100,000 people about 30 minutes or so away with more retail selections, but with gas prices the way they are, it's just easier for them to stay in town. They asked us if we were going to do a baby-shower registry at WM. Um, no. To make it easier on those people who can't get to the adjoining town to go to Target, or down here to hit BRU or USA Baby, we're going to do one at JCPenney, which they do have (albeit a small one).

[Niobe]

This thread really illustrates what Walmart has done to America. No longer are small towns the home to little mom-and-pop stores where you buy specialized items from people who know something about them. Now, you have one option for shopping in a small town, because Walmart has put everything else in the area out of business.

Meanwhile, ironically, people in cities are still buying stuff from small stores, because there isn't anywhere to stick a Walmart. I haven't set foot in one in a long time, because the nearest one to me is across the bay in Oakland (yeah, that's where I want to go shopping). There's no Walmart, no Target, no Kmart. We buy foodstuffs at farmer's markets, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, housewares at Marshalls and Ross, other stuff at hardware stores, art stores, fabric stores, etc. If we had pets, we'd buy their food at the grocery store, or a pet store.

[yby1]

Where I shop

Groceries
Trader Joe's (weekly)
Wild Oats or Whole Foods (bi-monthly - buy cleaners, if needed, here as well)
Local Farmer's Market/ Local Farm Stand (3 times a week)
Bristol Farms (seldom - like once every two months)
Local Indian grocer (weekly)
Local Brazilian grocer (once a month)
Local Carniceria/Latino Grocer (twice a month)
Local Spanish importer (sometimes)
Local Halal/Lebanese Grocer (weekly)
Local German Bakery/Grocer (weekly)
Japanese Grocer - Mitsuwa or Marukai (bi-monthly)
Chinese Grocer - 99 Ranch (once every two months)

Pet food
Centinela Feed (they are a local chain w/ good customer service)

Yes, I'm peculiar about food. ;) I also buy in small batches, since eveerything is fresh and usually w/o preservatives. That's why I go so often.

[ysolde]

Niobe --

You are so right! It had not occurred to me, but people in cities are the ones still buying at farmers' markets, going to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, generally shopping for food once or twice a week (as opposed to once a month) (lack of space). We also don't tend to shop for disposable "stuff" as much. We go to the hardware store around the corner for a hammer or a screwdriver when needed (these things are kept in a small box, in a small cabinet under the kitchen sink, along with a small bottle of dishwasher liquid, one bottle of organic all-purpose household cleaner, a few sponges, some rags (sometimes old undies) and a bucket -- all usually bought at the grocer's). It's a different, and simpler lifestyle, that simply cannot supprot the large amounts purchased at WalMart et al.

[Sin Nombre]

I'm in the Northeast, but I barely knew Wal-Mart sold groceries until a year or so ago. I never considered buying food in Wal-Mart. We shop for groceries and other items (cleaning supplies, lightbulbs, paper goods, etc.) in the local Shop Rite supermarket. Any other drugstore-type items we buy in either Walgreens or CVS.

[mamax2]

This thread reminded me of the fact that my ILs live in northern NJ - right outside NY, actually. They have pretty much any and every store at their fingertips. However, when they come down here to visit, where's the first place they want to go? Wal-Mart! It's like their Mecca. We tease them that they do more shopping at Wal-Mart in a weekend than we do in a year. I think it's more a 'grass is greener' type thing. They like not fighting traffic and parking issues to run to 5 stores instead of the 1-stop-shop.

Still, I would LOVE to have the variety offered by something like a Whole Foods or something like that.

[Ericka_Jarett]

I don't care for our 2 local Walmarts, we shopped at Target a few towns away before we got one down the road. I shop at Target for a lot of stuff and Giant (just 2 stores down) for the main groceries

[laura]

We buy food between a mix of Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and the weekly Farmer's Market. I am trying to switch to buying cleaning supplies at Whole Foods, but formerly I had been purchasing them at Target.

My parents live in a small town; they buy groceries from the local supermarket. It's a strain for them b/c there is only 1 supermarket in town so it can basically charge whatever it wants and people are often "stuck" paying pretty high prices for a pretty low income area. They have Walmart 20 miles away, or a wider variety of stores like Target, etc. about 40 miles away. My mom is funny b/c Trader Joe's freaks her out b/c it is so foreign to her. ;)

I am curious about those who said they want to avoid replacing WM with another big box store (Target) but then say they shop at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. Could someone share the logic behind that? I have nothing against those stores, it just doesn't make sense to me so I feel like I am missing something.

[MrsT]

I boycott WalMart (I am the only one I know who does it though!). I hate their bullying tactics with vendors and am not a fan of how they treat employees (my aunt used to work there, so I know of what I speak).

A brand new Wal-Mart just moved in close to me, so that kind of bummed me out (as my DH thinks I'm silly and actually took DS there last week :mad: ).

Anyways to answer the question, I do most of my shopping at Target. Since Target doesn't carry all the food I like/need I also do food shopping at Kroger or Tom Thumb or Sprouts (natural-ish kind of store). I also am lucky enough to have a Kohls close so I do some home shopping there as well if I need something that Target doesn't carry. I think all of the previous stores have better quality items anyways, so spending the extra $ (OR going a little out of my way) is so worth it. Oh, and WalMart isn't actually the cheapest on certain items though (Target still has cheaper organic milk). Same as any grocery store.

I actually *like* going to different stores - staying home with an almost 3 yo, it's good to get out of the house and he thinks errands are "special" outings!!

I *did* go in the new WalMart though :o It has a dunkin donuts and I was craving one. I was pregnant though, so my brain wasn't functioning properly (and the donut wasn't as good as I had remembered).:pb