Target

I've been trying to put together an order for pickup or delivery from our supermarket, or any local store, but there aren't any slots available to sign up for anymore. I don't care if I have to schedule it for a week or two out, but they just don't even show the slots. And I've heard of several people using other services who are able to get a delivery slot but then their order gets cancelled at the last minute.

So this morning I had a break in my work and decided I was just going to run to Target. It's about 5 minutes from my house, and in normal circumstances I probably went there at least once a week. I was never thrilled with them for regular grocery shopping, but I know they carry a couple specific items I needed (like the vitamins I take), so I decided it was worth a shot.

I got there around 11 AM, which seemed like a good time, after the first-thing-in-the-morning rush - very few people were in the store. I put my mask on in the car, then went inside and sanitized every surface of my shopping cart (I brought a couple of my own wipes, but there were also wipes there). An employee stood at the front of the store, I assume to help direct people or maybe count how many were entering so they could enforce limits if they had to. I smiled and said hi, but realized she couldn't see my smile under my mask 😂

Luckily I'm pretty familiar with the layout of Target and was able to go directly to the things I needed. They had everything on my list, although selection was limited for some items (for example, only one shape of pasta - though they did have plenty of that one type). I didn't really look at the availability of other products, though I did see the bread and canned soup areas were pretty empty, while there seemed to be a good amount of produce. Not sure about milk, eggs, or meat, and I didn't even go near the cleaning products.

Most people in the store were very respectful about distancing, for example waiting to enter an aisle until I left. Some people just blew right past each other though. Almost everyone was wearing a mask - I think I only saw one customer who wasn't. I'd heard some stores like Target and Walmart had roped off the clothing areas, so you could only buy groceries, but that wasn't the case here. They did have ropes in a couple places to help people form a line. For example, to check out, everyone formed a single line and went to the self-check registers (or there was one regular cashier open). There were tape marks on the floor for people to space out 6 feet. There wasn't any wait at the time I finished shopping.

It wasn't an exact science or even intentional, but I sort of ended up using my right hand to push the cart, pick things up, and touch the buttons at check out, and kept my left hand a little more clean to hold my shopping list or car keys, and grab my credit card.

When I got home, my husband helped me with the sanitization process - I wiped down each item and handed it to him to sort on the kitchen table. Plus I cleaned my shopping bag, purse, keys, credit card, door knobs, and anything else I touched. I changed my clothes and ended up washing my hands about 10 times during that hour!

Overall, I was pretty happy with the experience. It was definitely less nerve-wracking than my last time at a store - that was over 3 weeks ago and a lot has changed since then. Between this and a weekly delivery of fresh produce, we should be set for a while.

The other big news today: schools in our state are now officially closed through the end of the school year. Everyone knew it was coming, but until now they were still set to reopen after April 30. I'm glad they've stopped stringing everyone along with promises of going back to school, but feel so sad for the students I know, especially the seniors who were looking forward to prom, graduation, and all the fun things that come with the end of high school 😢