Hey Cuties,
How are you doing? What are you doing? How are you maintaining your experiences? Most days I am good, but I have my days when I just don’t feel like it in any capacity. I am mostly in the house, I venture out to the driveway or yard here and there but not much.
In my county, we are required to wear masks when we go to stores. Our stores legit have signs on them that say you can’t enter without a mask. So, we needed masks and I wanted fabric masks so I can wash them. The neighbor of one of my girlfriends made us some for $8 a pop. She made them using the fabric she already had, and I got one for each of us.

Masked up with the Manchild
I try to grocery shop two to three weeks at a time. I also order a sh!t ton of stuff online, like seriously A LOT. I am strategic about my shopping, I typically go alone, but the kids have been asking to get out so I’ve taken each of them out with me once.
My Pandemic Shopping Tips
Tip #1: Meal Plan
Since the pandemic, I’ve been forced to meal plan. I come up with three meals and get the ingredients to make them. Otherwise, I would end up with a cart full of food that doesn’t go together and we will still be hungry.
Tip #2: Make a list
I make my handwritten list at home before I leave home. This minimizes my time in the store. I don’t buy stuff we don’t want or need and it keeps me focused in the store. I pretend I’m on Super Market Sweep and I try to get in and out as fast as possible.
Tip #3 Sanitize
I know it is a struggle to find cleaning wipes, hand sanitizer, and soap sometimes. I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in my cup holder so I sanitize my hands soon as I get back to my car.

She couldn’t find Clorox, but my local store had it so I got some for her.
Tip #4 Shopping Days + Times
I’ve found that the best time to shop is when the store opens or 30 mins to an hour before it closes. There are fewer people in the store. For stores like Costco that manage the flow of entry and usually have a line I don’t have to stand and wait. I also ONLY grocery shop Monday – Thursday because there are fewer people in the store. The stores are packed on the weekends and I want to be around as few people as possible.
Tip #5 Barter Shop
I needed wine and didn’t have any, it is essential and that is fine because that’s my business. My bestie needed tomato soup and toilet paper. So, we work together. She gets what I need, I get what she needs, and then we socially distance and exchange the items that we couldn’t get at the stores nearest to us.

I am obsessed with crocs so I wear them to the store when I go every time.
Tip #6 Share Your Membership
I was on the hunt for paper towels and my Bestie needed toilet paper, so we met at Costco (she isn’t a member) and I got us in. They are only allowing +1 person right now, and they aren’t taking on new members.
All of these tips are based on my experience. I am fully aware that things may be different where you live. I also understand that everyone’s circumstances aren’t the same. If you are an essential employee you may not be able to go when I go. These tips keep my anxiety low.

L: Bestie Usie R: Bestie Chatting
Funny Story
So my Bestie and I go to Costco, we get what we need and leave the store. We load our groceries and decide to sit in our cars and chat in the parking lot. It sucks that we can’t hang out and do brunch and such like we used to.
While chatting my other Bestie sends me a message saying she is in Costco. So I tell her we are in the parking lot chatting come find us when you finish shopping. She also showed up to get toilet paper for a friend. See Tip #5 Now the three of us are chatting, in total, I was in this parking lot for two hours.

See right, what happened was…
As we were chatting I had my passenger side door open. After chatting for over 30 mins I realized that was a bad idea. The damage was done, my battery was dead. I’m a dope girl so I had jumper cables and we jumped the battery with no issues. I made my Bestie put the cables on, that process gives me anxiety. I let it run for another 30 minutes while we laughed and continued to chat. While waiting we had the following hilarious interactions and observations…
An older black man rode his shopping cart filled with groceries from the top of the parking lot all the way to the back, only stopping before hitting his car. It was so refreshing to see him with kid-like joy on his face. That is probably the most exciting thing he has done in some time.
A lady parked in the row behind us came out with a cart filled with plants, a fire pit, and a few other items. We laughed after she loaded them in her car. She told us she isn’t even a plant person but purchased three. She isn’t into the outside but might as well spice up the yard. We had a collective laugh and wished each other a good day.
Lastly and the most touching was a guy that came out with a flatbed shopping cart with multiple packs of Clorox wipes. Now you know Clorox products are like gold, so we were shocked that he had them. He told us he was a doctor and gave chemo to cancer patients. His normal supplier is out of stock, so Costco holds some for him. If he can’t sanitize his practice he has to close his office, and his patients can’t get the chemo they need. What a freaking story.
Life isn’t anything like what we want it to be, and some days it seems hard to be grateful, but this was a reminder to just keep going.
Do you have any special pandemic shopping tips that you have used during this time? Chat with me in the comments below or FB, IG, and Twitter.

Pandemic shopping tips that I have picked up during the COVID-19 Stay at Home Order. These tips allow me to get in and out quickly.
Yes!! Tip 2 is a must! I always encourage people to do the same thing make a handwritten list versus looking at a list on the devices. The devices is too distracting and when we make a list we can easily focus more with the paper and scratch it off with the pen.
Yes, you are so right. Plus I like to reduce the amount of touching I do to my personal device.
These days shopping has turned into such an event and you’ve made it into a party. Lol..love it! Generally we do all of this but my husband goes in while me and my daughter opt to stay in the car and play mask police. We give imaginary tix to people who not following the rules.
OMG! That is hilarious, I love that yall give imaginary tickets. This entire experience still feels unreal, yet here we are.
I do a lot of what you do – especially the hand sanitizer. Next time, I’m going to put my phone in a Ziploc bag so I don’t have to worry about getting germs on it but I can still look at store apps and coupons.
Joyce, that is a great idea with protecting your phone. I might try that too.
Your county seems to be taking the pandemic seriously. It’s scary down here in SC. I’m trying to go out as little as possible. I take my grocery shopping trips either really early or late, when there aren’t as many people around.
Yes, our county sends automated messages and they do regular conferences on TV. They have really kept us informed and are trying to keep up in the house.
Now that’s what I’m talking about. Besties have fun in the parking lot. Bartering is such a good idea. My daughter and I do that. I buy her stuff and she orders my food online.
Yes, that is the way to go Stacie.
Love and thank you for the tips!! I absolutely agree that wine is essential and to think of it I need to buy some more lol
Hahahaha, you are so welcome.
My mom, sister and I swap products based on what each other needs. We have taken the kids twice, very early Sunday morning that’s a good time to go too, no one is moving yet! Curbside pickup has been our best friend!
Curbside has been the win during this time.
I ordered some fabric masks from Zulily and I’m still waiting on them. We do have surgical masks though. I love your Ankaras. I keep bottles of sanitizer in my purse and we have a bigger bottle in the car along with wipes. I’ve been bulk shopping to keep from going out so much. Girl, I just be throwing stuff in the cart, lol. I shop for my mom too so I load up and succumb to impulse quarantine snack purchases. ? I am cracking up at y’all in the parking lot. What a day. I know it was refreshing. I find that folks are a lil’ more friendly and helpful while out. While we’re supposed to be distancing, I find it bringing folks together.
I started out with the surgical mask until they made it mandatory. Even in my stash I also get some quarantine snacks. I’m in this house I want food that makes me smile.
Yes, I totally agree. People are kinder than usual, I appreciate that.
Sanitizing and making a list is in my outting routines, but I never thought about bartering! That’s a smart thing to do too. But luckily the hoarding has gone down a bit.
Girl, the hoarding was out of control.
Great tips for shopping during this time. Sometimes it can be anxiety driven I try to get at certain times.
It totally can, that is why I am so strategic about it. I don’t need any extra stress.