[Picture] Probably shopping at Squal-Mart

Dh does the grocery shopping; he doesn't care much for me to accompany him. One: I take one look at the cost of things these days and have a heart attack; two: I'm very persnickety about the shopping cart. I'll grab a sale flyer on the way in and lay it down on the fold down seat, where he always puts the vegetables and fruit, and a couple layers of paper on the bottom of the main part of the cart. With an exasperated ~sigh~ , Dh will ask "what in the sam hill" I'm doing. I give him a patient "don't be such a dunce cap" look and say "you DO KNOW that dirty baby asses sit in this seat DON'T YOU? Dirty feet as well. How many times do you see a kid trying to stand in one of these carts? Our FOOD goes there." He shrugs with a "yeah, so?" look and replies that food is wrapped. Major eye roll from me "you take the food from the cart and put it on the counter at home. That shit gets transferred from the cart to the food packaging to the counter. And you never wipe the counter off before immediately laying out food to cook." An "oh jeezus" look from him and unrepentant scowl from me. Yessss, I'm persnickety. I also have a vivid imagination; probably over active at times - maybe a bit OCD - but it wouldn't be that much trouble for him to indulge my foibles. I just hate imagining what he tracks home from the grocery store

Jeez look at it. Bare feet too -- this store must be hundreds of miles from civilisation is my guess.

Picking up bacteria, viruses and contamination from the outside world is what happens when you go where lots of people are -- particularly children and parents, who have no real standards of hygiene and just spew and wipe bodily fluids all over everything. You can be sure that anything a child or parent has come into contact with, even briefly, will be left with particles of poo, snot, spit, vomit, blood or unidentifyable gunk on its surface.

I'm definitely not OCD, but I've stopped doing thoughtless things which contaminate my hands -- I no longer push elevator buttons with my bare fingers, I've stopped grabbing onto handrails and railings all the time, try to avoid pushing open doors with my bare hands that 200 other people have pushed open that day, this kind of thing. Aside from after a bathroom visit, I wash my hands after I've been on public transportation, in the grocery store, handling goods in a shop, etc. Since I started doing this a couple years ago, and just being more aware of other people's muck, I get about half the number of colds I used to.

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"The death of creativity is a pram in the hallway"
- Cyril Connolly

Dorisan, I know exactly what you mean about the grocery carts. I don't even use the damn kiddie seat; as soon as I get my cart I fold up the stupid seat. And I use those disenfectant wipes that the store provides to wipe down the handle and as much of the cart as I can. I've seen enough filthy, germy, diapered-ass baybees and toadlers in those carts to know that those carts are total germ breeding grounds. Baybees/toadlers/kids have got to be the germiest things around.

Kids and babies shouldn't be allowed in carts (or stores, for that matter). If I put a puppy in that cart seat, people would have a fit- "I put my food in there!"

Where's the scrutiny of the health department when you need it?

What's great about that website is the eye bleach is just a couple of tabs over.

I don't know about those cats on the counter top either. They step in their litterboxes, crap and pee and then jump onto the counter where food is prepared? Eww. I will say they're much cuter than kids though.

I just bring sanitizing wipes and gel with me to the store, and whenever possible, use my own canvas tote bags at places like Target (you can buy them for a $1) to avoid the germy carts and baskets. If I must use a cart, I put the seat up. Some stores are installing cart washers which are like mini car washes for the carts. Wish they had that here.

We call that fold down seat the "poop seat" and I will never use it. Some stores now have anti-bacterial wipes you can use to wipe down the cart.

Our cats do get up on the counter. I had them perfectly trained not to until my spouse decided to let them up there. All my training went down the tubes. I do use vinegar and water to clean the counter before I prepare food. But cat hair gives the food a nice flavor

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- The human gene pool could use a little chlorine

It is just good, common sense to use the sanitary wipes provided at the stupid market or discount stores to clean the carts. When I was still in hospital practice, I used to get small cans of Lysol and other disinfectant sprays and carry them into the stores with me. If the store does not provide these wipes, carry a small supply of your own. They are available in handy travel sizes from any drug or grocery store.

Awwww, how sweet! That picture reminds me of our house, cats on the countertops.

In all seriousness, yes, they step in their pottys and such, but I never find footprints around, nor bits of litter.

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tom_c
What's great about that website is the eye bleach is just a couple of tabs over.

funny-pictures-cats-look-for-catnip-in-your-kitchen.jpg

I don't let mine on the counter but I KNOW they get on the table when I'm not home. Dammit.