Cart Test Run

Yesterday was a test run of what it's like to go grocery shopping without a car. We still have the car, but we are planning to sell it. We thought it might be a good idea to try shopping without a car, to see how it much trouble it might be, and if we need to plan for it differently.

I leave the house with one big new collapsible shopping cart we bought a couple of weeks ago, five cloth grocery bags, a soft-sided cooler with two freezy packs in it, a bottle of water, an umbrella, and my purse. Getting down the street is pretty easy, the cart doesn't stay locked closed, but it isn't a problem. The bus comes right away, getting on is easy. The bus drops me off in a great place, close to the store. Ok, I'm going great!

It then takes me five or maybe ten minutes to figure out how in the world I am going to drag this giant cart around the store and also a grocery cart. Do I just use my cart? Can I put my cart under theirs? (No) Is it dumb to have my cart inside of their cart? (Yes) Isn't there just a little clip on the front of their cart I can use? (No) I finally figure out that I can put my cart upside down in the handle of the regular cart. Problem solved. I have to walk a little funny in the store, but it works.

Grocery shopping happens. I do pretty well, mostly sticking to the list. Notable off-list exceptions being queso fresco which just seems too exciting not to try, apple juice which should have been on the list and just wasn't, and filling in the blank space labeled "fruits and veggies" on my list: red peppers, avocados, grapes, jalapenos, celery, carrots, apples, bananas, and onions.

I go through checkout. The cashier and bagger are super helpful after I explain the situation. Basically I need them to forget the basic concept of creating a bag, and create a cart instead. So they make heavy bags to go on the bottom, and lighter bags to go on the top. Everything cold fits perfectly in the cooler. It's brilliant. It's also really heavy. And now that it's heavy, my cart does not enjoy the concept of cornering.

I learn to pick up the back wheels of the cart and turn in order to corner. I make it to the bus stop, and the bus comes right away. And then the moment of truth: what if I can't lift my heavy cart onto the bus? The metal is too fragile for me to lift from the basket. The nice bus driver lowers the bus a little bit for me, and I just heave the thing up. We make it!

Now just a short, uncomfortable bus ride where the laws of physics involving inertia are demonstrated for me many times. I get off the bus, and immediately hit a bump in the sidewalk that stops me short. The people walking behind me are not impressed. But I maneuver that and some more corners, and make it home.

I don't know if I'd call it an unqualified success, but it's definitely doable. A woman who got in the elevator with me seemed impressed with my cart skills. She sold her car last week, highly recommends it, and is thinking about copying my grocery shopping style. Slightly undermining all this cheeryness, we each wished the other good luck as I got of the elevator.