Yes dammit!! I said KMart. You know, the big friendly red "K" hanging around the most interesting parts of town. I know that this is supposed to be somewhat about fashion in a roundabout way. But Kmart holds a lot of sentimental value to me. See, I am from the mystical, mythical place known as The Midwest. Honest to gosh, people really do live there. It's not just cows and corn. And when we shop, we load up the pickup with all the kinfolk and off to Kmart we go!! That funny smell that all KMarts have? That's called NOSTALGIA baby!! I walk into a KMart and I'm four years old again and whining because I have to follow my grandma all over the store so she can get a skein of yarn, some plastic flowers and hard candy. I liked the hard candy though. My grandma used to feel sorry for me if I had to go to the doctor so she used to give me hard candy in the waiting room. She would give me the black licorice and the bright yellow ones and the neon red ones. Then the doctor would look down my throat with the stick and almost crap his pants at all the bizarre colors down there. I'm surprised that I'm not in every medical journal that was written at the time.
Say, did you know- in Michigan you can get your hunting license at Kmart? Nifty huh? My last KMart trip put me in line at Customer Service behind a guy who was getting one. The chick who was putting the info in the computer kept screwing up and having to start over. The Ted Nugent wannabe took it really well and was very patient (I think he was sweet on her). I, on the other hand, was sorely tempted to go out to his pickup and take that big 'ole shotgun off the rack and demand she just step...away...from...the...computer. Another smarter shopgirl came to assist and then things went much better. She had to ask a million questions - how many ducks did he bag last year, how many pheasants did he bag last year, then she said something about woodcocks. At that time I thought the conversation might get a tad too personal for me, so I finished my business and left.
So what's good about Kmart you might ask? Basics, that's what! I bought
bras undies and socks for the little one to start the fourth grade in. The Joe Boxer brand is good for kids. They have a variety of colors and "cool"styles so you don't have to hear the complaints about boring white and they hold up fairly well. Perhaps a bigger brand name might hold up better, but face it, at that age they grow out of them before they wear out anyways. These are a fraction of the cost of what you'd find at Limited Two or one of those other stores the kids like and who doesn't love saving money?
I would also whole-heartedly recommend their Basic Edition T-shirts. If I could get away with it, I would just buy fifteen of them in black and wear one every day of the week with jeans and white socks. And I hold myself up as an icon of style. The available styles change quite a bit so you have to check them out carefully before you buy, but the price is right. I have three black ones in different styles and one red and they can be worn anywhere, from the gym to work (under a jacket of course). Yeah, I do that.
American Fare handle tie trash bags!! These put the brand names to shame. I was first introduced to these by my ex-husband. He caught holy hell the first time he bought these instead of the usual brand name bags. I mean, I have cats and we know there's nothing worse than tracking used cat litter through the house in a torn garbage bag. He advised me that he learned in his bachelorhood that these hold up just as well as any others he has tried. And I'll be damned if the man wasn't right for once. These are a great value for an excellent product. You can jam an empty pizza box in there sideways and then empty your cat box and not have to worry about the fallout. If you haven't tried these, do yourself a favor and save a buck.
Yeah, okay, I shop at K-Mart. The prices on other household items are great. You can buy brand-name hair dye for under four dollars. And it is never as crowded as Wal-Mart. (I hate crowds). If you would like to berate me for my opinion, or just drop me a note or comment, please drop me a line at postmaster@shoppingenabler.com I will be glad to hear from you.See ya!
enabler