Annals of Grocery Shopping

The wife sends me out for Borax.
I'm at Treasure Island, where I have purchased it before. But today I can't find it. Maybe they're out. Maybe they moved it.
I go to the service desk. They send me back to the aisle I was in.
I can't even find an empty space or shelf sticker to indicate there was ever any Borax here.
I nab a stock person in the neighboring aisle. He has never heard the word Borax before.
He asks me to repeat it. Then asks me to spell it.
We hunt for a while together and then he goes to ask a manager.
"He said it's on the top shelf at the end of the aisle."
I've already looked there. We've already looked there.
Now, "Borax" is not a word that really sounds like anything else, except possibly a Dr. Seuss character. But my new friend offers up the somewhat plausible theory that the manager thought he'd said "Clorox," based on the fact that the spot he directed us to contains an array of Clorox products.
Then he says, "Yup. He musta thought I said "Clorox." But I can't go back, because he'll KILL me." And he says it, with such earnest matter-of-factness, that I believe him absolutely.
"Well," I say, "We appear to be at an impasse."
And so the story ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

HI,

Where grocery stores once had a lot of everything you needed. They have begun to concentrate on high volume products and eliminate low volume sales products.

The last time I bought Borox, I used it for DIY taxidermy. However, I buy BIZ - an enzyme presoak - about once every two years. I no longer find it a Jewel. I do find it at Sunset Foods and Woodman's.

Some specialized, and quite useful products, who may no longer get shelf space in grocery stores. They are more likely to cease production because of lack of sales or you may have to buy them online exclusively with shipping and handling.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:They are more likely to cease production because of lack of sales or you may have to buy them online exclusively with shipping and handling.

Regards,

While it may seem like a frivolous expenditure, Amazon's $79 annual prime membership gives you free second-day shipping on nearly everything (regardless of price or weight) for a full year (and it also includes access to their instant-view movie library and some other benefits). Given the reasonableness of their pricing and their broad range of products it's a pretty great deal. We get laundry detergent, dog food and countless other items from there. There's no minimum transaction price, a $2 item will qualify. They also don't charge sales tax in Illinois (although your state tax return does require payment of taxes on online purchases).

Can you tell me what you use Borax for? (This is a serious question.)

I never used, nor heard of, Borax until I got married. We throw some in with our laundry along with the detergent. I have no idea why, I just do what I'm told when it comes to this.

Amazon Prime is indeed amazing, and if you still have or can snag a .edu email address, it's an even better deal. We've also used soap.com for household products occasionally. Free shipping + watching for stuff on sale can get you some good deals.

You guys must not have grown up in the 1950's when Ronald Regan was the announcer for the TV program "Death Valley Days" that featured the Twenty Mule Team that hauled Borax from the mines! I had a little miniature mule team that I sent away for with X many box tops! The TV program was something like the Ice Road Truckers of it's day only based on real stories of the area and the period.

TCK wrote:Amazon Prime is indeed amazing, and if you still have or can snag a .edu email address, it's an even better deal. We've also used soap.com for household products occasionally. Free shipping + watching for stuff on sale can get you some good deals.

(Unfortunately) You need to be a student to take advantage of this deal.

If you are an alumni of a university that offers .alumni.edu email addresses, those work too.

Out of idle curiosity (because who knows, I might be able to get an alumni.edu address), what exactly is the advantage of having this as regards Amazon Prime? Do you get a further "educator discount" on Amazon merchandise, or is the yearly rate cheaper, or what?

Here you go: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/ ... =200500380

It's the same as regular Prime expect you get the first 6 months free then the next 4 years for only $39 a year as opposed to $79.

And Prime also gets you $3.95 next-day delivery for any item. There's nothing like having the delivery guy lugging a 40-lb bag of dog food to your front door (or a Weber grill).

I seem to recommend this web site a lot:

Lehman's Non-Electric Borax

Being in the Chicagoland area, we seem to get at least 90% of our items from the fulfillment center in Whitestown, Indiana, and at least 75% of my two day shipping items come the next day instead which is an added bonus. 4 bucks is obviously not a lot if you absolutely have to have it the next day, but sometimes it pays to roll the dice

TCK wrote:Being in the Chicagoland area, we seem to get at least 90% of our items from the fulfillment center in Whitestown, Indiana, and at least 75% of my two day shipping items come the next day instead which is an added bonus. 4 bucks is obviously not a lot if you absolutely have to have it the next day, but sometimes it pays to roll the dice

Not to mention Saturday (and sometimes Sunday) deliveries included as "second-day."

TCK wrote:If you are an alumni of a university that offers .alumni.edu email addresses, those work too.

They work, but if you aren't an enrolled college student, then you are not complying with their Terms and Conditions:

To sign up for and use Amazon Student, you must (1) have an Amazon.com account, (2) be a college student actively enrolled in at least one course at a college geographically located in one of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico, (3) be able to provide proof of enrollment upon request and (4) have a valid e-mail address that contains the domain suffix .edu. We may accept or refuse membership in our sole discretion. We may ask you to furnish documentation supporting your eligibility. If you do not provide documentation indicating that you meet the eligibility requirements above, you may be required to reimburse us for benefits you received as a result of your Amazon Student membership. The Amazon Student membership is for personal use only and may not be used to purchase products or services for the purpose of resale. You may not transfer or assign your Amazon Student membership or the benefits associated with an Amazon Student membership. You may not use your student e-mail address for more than one Amazon Student membership.

In any case, I have Amazon Prime (regular membership) and love it. I think UPS just my Roku at the door, actually!

I just picked up a box of Twenty Mule Team Borax a few days ago. I agree, it's not easy to find any more. I think I got the box I have at Mariano's, but it could have been Dominick's. It's a mulitpurpose laundry detergent booster and home cleaning product. I believe it has disinfectant properties as well. I bought this latest box for use in a project to clean the deck chair cushions.

I have used borax in the past as an ingredient in "bath bombs" where my cub scouts would hand form round balls with citric acid, borax, perfume, and put them in gift boxes for their mothers to use in the bathtub on mother's day. They would fizz up, etc. of course what the kids never caught on to was that the mothers got to be alone in the tub with some peace and quiet.

Walmart also carries borax, if you dare to enter.

Darren72 wrote:In any case, I have Amazon Prime (regular membership) and love it.

Me too.

Although I am a Student of Life, that doesn't meet the terms and conditions, so I'll stick with regular.

Whoa! Tnx sooo much for that info on Amazon Prime. Joined lickety-split. It'll save me zillions, given all the books I buy (professors *never* quit buying books, eh?! : )

If you have grapevines, Borax is a useful way to get some boron into your vines. Many vines, esp. in the Midwest (gumbo soils, etc.) are a bit deficient in boron. In September I put a couple of tablespoons of Borax in water, shake like crazy, then put the liquid into my hose-end sprayer. Sluice your vines well. But read the lit I've cited, first. Your mileage may vary.

Geo

I've used Borax as a laundry deodorizer, and find it at Meijer in Highland, IN all the time. I work at an animal hospital, and use it on my scrubs with amazing results.

Cathy2 wrote:The last time I bought Borox, I used it for DIY taxidermy.

That's got to be an interesting story.

I also used Borax for a mail order taxidermy class many years ago. It was used to treat the skin to preserve it.

I highly recommend the Prime membership. Last year I ordered the biggest Weber Summit grill at about $600 less than retail and when it didn't arrive on the 2nd day I contacted Amazon and they refunded $100! I didn't even ask for anything; I was just eager to get it after having waited a month for another company that never came through. It arrived the next day.

No Borax here but an Amazon shopping tidbit. If you do their subscription option for things you buy all the time, you get an extra discount as well as free shopping over $25. I do this for dogfood (my pup can only handle Organix which is a pain to find and is cheap this way), dog treats, catfood, mega box of litter and my fiji water supply (fiji is not noticeably cheaper but I otherwise end up paying Treasure Island or Peapod to deliver so it's wonderful to just have it all arrive once a month and overall I pay no shipping and save a nice sum. (Plus if I order from Peapod or TI, I always buy too much unnecessary stuff when really I just needed some catfood!)

Haven't gone for the Prime thing yet - with regular shipments I don't need the above shipped quickly and all my books these days are electronic.

Siun wrote:No Borax here but an Amazon shopping tidbit. If you do their subscription option for things you buy all the time, you get an extra discount as well as free shopping over $25. I do this for dogfood (my pup can only handle Organix which is a pain to find and is cheap this way), dog treats, catfood, mega box of litter and my fiji water supply (fiji is not noticeably cheaper but I otherwise end up paying Treasure Island or Peapod to deliver so it's wonderful to just have it all arrive once a month and overall I pay no shipping and save a nice sum. (Plus if I order from Peapod or TI, I always buy too much unnecessary stuff when really I just needed some catfood!)

Haven't gone for the Prime thing yet - with regular shipments I don't need the above shipped quickly and all my books these days are electronic.

Even with Prime the trade-off for subscription discounts is slightly longer shipping times for those items. On the plus side, you can cancel or suspend the subscription after your first order ships with no penalty.

Darren72 wrote:Can you tell me what you use Borax for? (This is a serious question.)

Growing up, my mother always added Borox along with the laundry detergent -- it is supposed to help keep clothes bright and fresh, and serve as a "booster." That came to mind recently because laundry just doesn't come as clean now that phosphates have been removed from the formula. It seems to help.

I found it at my local Dominick's.

sdbond wrote:

Darren72 wrote:Can you tell me what you use Borax for? (This is a serious question.)

Growing up, my mother always added Borox along with the laundry detergent -- it is supposed to help keep clothes bright and fresh, and serve as a "booster." That came to mind recently because laundry just doesn't come as clean now that phosphates have been removed from the formula. It seems to help.

I found it at my local Dominick's.

How does this compare to using an oxygen bleach powder like Oxy-clean? I've been using that, or distilled white vinegar (but not usually both) in my wash water. I find that towels can get stinky fast in the summer. Actually thinking about switching to turkish towels (Peshtemel) to see if that works better for us.

TCK wrote:If you are an alumni of a university that offers .alumni.edu email addresses, those work too.

Oooh, I think I better start using mine again.

leek wrote:

sdbond wrote:

Darren72 wrote:Can you tell me what you use Borax for? (This is a serious question.)

Growing up, my mother always added Borox along with the laundry detergent -- it is supposed to help keep clothes bright and fresh, and serve as a "booster." That came to mind recently because laundry just doesn't come as clean now that phosphates have been removed from the formula. It seems to help.

I found it at my local Dominick's.

How does this compare to using an oxygen bleach powder like Oxy-clean? I've been using that, or distilled white vinegar (but not usually both) in my wash water. I find that towels can get stinky fast in the summer. Actually thinking about switching to turkish towels (Peshtemel) to see if that works better for us.

Since Borox is a different chemical than bleach, my thought is the potential damage to clothing fibers. Borox does not harm fabric that I can recall. I have heard good things about Oxy-clean, but have never tried it. It's just something I remembered from a long time ago vs. doing new research on the subject.

Just bought a new box of 20-Mule-Team Borax at the Treasure Island in Wilmette on Wednesday. They customarily keep it (and Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, a product with very similar uses) with the liquid laundry detergent, and have done so for the 20+ years I have been shopping at this store. For those of us without water softeners, one or the other is a must as a laundry additive - softens the water, and really aids in the detergent's efficiency. Both are as much household staples for me as Sriracha is!