First let me say that I LOVE COSTCO. 1. They take back everything (They once took back an electric toothbrush that stopped working. ----I had used it for two years. They took it back. All I wanted was a copy of my receipt so I could send it in as it was still under warranty. COSTCO took it back. They actually insisted.) 2. You can eat lunch for free on a Saturday. Just walk around and sample all the foods they are preparing. Just last weekend I had a delicious lunch of rice pilaf, Greek cherry yogurt, kettle corn, instant mashed potatoes, apple juice, dark chocolate covered cranberries and a chewy vitamin C gummy. and 3. They have some really great buys.
When I first returned from Europe, going into COSTCO was just too overwhelming. I wasn't used to the huge-ness that is America. The big-bigger-biggest-is-best culture in which we live. After 22 years abroad, where petite and condensed rule, our over-the-top grand style had me running for the door after just a few minutes in any large store. Especially COSTCO, king of American mammoth proportions. But I have gotten over all that. I can now manage pretty much any American shopping experience (for a limited amount of time).
I have learned one thing about shopping big.....impulse buying can be a mistake on a grand scale. No "little" mistakes are made at COSTCO. Normal buyers remorse can quickly morph into regret on a colossal scale. For example, while there last week, I saw a great deal on Q-tips. Just so happens we were out of Q-tips, so it seemed like a great buy. Until I got home. Then I realized that the 3-pack I purchased was 3 extra-large (HUGE) packages that totaled over 2000 Q-tips. As I tend to use one per day, this would mean that I had enough Q-tips to last nearly 6 years.
Well, that's just great. I don't really have anyplace in the bathroom to store 2000 Q-tips. And do they expire? Disintegrate? Will they really last til the year 2020? Maybe there is some other use for them. Maybe I can start a new hobby that involves Q-tips, like some kind of Q-tip craft. Or maybe I can use them on the cats' ears (3 cats= 3 more Q-tips per day= my Q-tips will be used up in 2 years). I even Googled "things you can do with Q-tips" and found a site titled "Cool things you can do with Q-tips". That got me pretty excited. I can not only use up my Q-tips, but I can be really cool while doing so. But much to my dismay, this site only had five "cool" things. None were cool, unless you consider their #1 suggestion--- "cleaning out the creases" ---to be cool. Then I found a site "How to make your mom flowers out of Q-tips. Just in Time for Mother's Day" (not making this up). Yeah. Nothing says "I love you Mom" like ear-wax-remover-flowers. I also found a site detailing how to make a Q-tip blow gun. Instructions state that you should tape a needle to the end of the Q-tip. But there was the following warning: DO NOT SHOOT AT SOMEONE WITH THIS KIND OF PROJECTILE! These are for balloon popping only." So next time I have some balloons that need popping I am all set! The most disturbing website was titled "Don't use Q-tips to clean your ears!". Apparently it is not safe.
Now I have nearly 2000 Q-tips that I can't use for the sole purpose for which they are bought.
Happy Mother's Day Mom!
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