My folks are farmers - and my Dad always likes to point out that what a lot of people considered to be “groceries” was stuff like socks, shirts, etc. In fact, if you evaluated the usual cart load of goodies which people wheel up to the check out stand, you would discover that only about half of their ‘grocery bill’ comes from actual food. Some of the non-food items which I have discovered at the local grocery store which were cheaper than anything I could have purchased on-line have included hair bows, socks, slippers, hangers, garment bags, shirts - and - yes - even hats! (Usually stuff like Rockies baseball caps, etc.) Of course, where I grew up, we had a “general store.” You could go to the “general store” and get everything from fresh pineapple in season to hammers and nails! The General Store also had a section which was the local post office! When you wanted to pick up your mail, the general store owner would actually take off his apron, go over to the post office section, put on his post office clerk’s hat, stand behind the little cage - and wait on you as a postal customer! Then - after you had taken care of your “mail” business - he would take off the postal cap, put his apron back on, and return to the grocery counter. People think it is strange when the local grocery store sells stamps and such - but it never seemed strange to me!
My folks are farmers - and my Dad always likes to point out that what a lot of people considered to be “groceries” was stuff like socks, shirts, etc. In fact, if you evaluated the usual cart load of goodies which people wheel up to the check out stand, you would discover that only about half of their ‘grocery bill’ comes from actual food. Some of the non-food items which I have discovered at the local grocery store which were cheaper than anything I could have purchased on-line have included hair bows, socks, slippers, hangers, garment bags, shirts - and - yes - even hats! (Usually stuff like Rockies baseball caps, etc.) Of course, where I grew up, we had a “general store.” You could go to the “general store” and get everything from fresh pineapple in season to hammers and nails! The General Store also had a section which was the local post office! When you wanted to pick up your mail, the general store owner would actually take off his apron, go over to the post office section, put on his post office clerk’s hat, stand behind the little cage - and wait on you as a postal customer! Then - after you had taken care of your “mail” business - he would take off the postal cap, put his apron back on, and return to the grocery counter. People think it is strange when the local grocery store sells stamps and such - but it never seemed strange to me!