View Full Version : Who knew it was so hard to buy string?
I always am impressed by what was once a common place item that now is so hard to come by....my most recent discovery is string. Wouldn't you think string is a common place item? Well, it's not. The days of having a use for string is a thing of the past. I'm always looking to pick up string. Just a roll of string when I'm out shopping. I use lots. But what I've found is that most supermarket don't actually carry it. Tape, yes, string no. It's funny, (but not) because it means I have to make a special trip to a store I might not need to go to, to find the stuff. Todays shop was Winco. A big supermarket. No string. Usually, during the week, just go to grocery stores and gas stations....I don't go many other places. But of course, now I need to. Anyone else ever find they have difficulty finding 'common place' items?
Bastelmutti
5-17-11, 10:21pm
Yes! Weirdly, I have had that same experience with string. And wooden matches, which I need to light my oven.
Wooden matches. Who knew? I've had a hard time in the past finding a simple plastic ball to give the kids.
"A world without string....is chaos."
flowerseverywhere
5-17-11, 11:36pm
We are lucky to have an "old fashioned" hardware store still in the middle of town, close enough to bike too. If I go in there and ask for string, they have a bunch of options. Of course, it is more expensive than the big box stores, but there is always a line at the register and plenty of helpful clerks. We go there for as much as we can because if they ever closed it would be a terrible loss.
Amazon is my friend. I've gotten everything there from alligator clips (to clip a pager button to my mom's blanket when she was confined in bed), to watch batteries (so much cheaper than a jeweler), to weed eater string, to pen ink replacements (even found some in purple, my son's favorite color!), to sponges (I bought a case of 24, now that should last a good while) to computer cables and adaptors. Many, many other things. I just don't want to be dragging kids into store after store looking for elusive items that they probably don't carry anymore anyway.
For string, DH and I buy it at Canadian Tire, as for wooden matches, DH buys those at an outdoor sporting goods store.
Bastelmutti
5-18-11, 10:16am
Other things I have tried to find and found only with difficulty: borax, washing soda, canning jars (now they seem to be everywhere - because of the economy maybe) and wax paper/freezer paper (the kind that has wax on one side). I am in the city, though, and I'm sure these items are still commonplace elsewhere.
All of the above and popsicle sticks. I was hunting for them the other day and had to go online.
A regular analog dial telephone for when the power goes out. Found one at an old-timey thrift store eventually.
Try shopping for a manual transmission car that has no power anything (doors, windows, ignition). They look at you like you've lost your mind.
I guess it's always like this with constantly changing times...hard to find the thing that used to be so commonplace!
Bastelmutti
5-18-11, 4:15pm
Try shopping for a manual transmission car that has no power anything (doors, windows, ignition).
I still feel kind of uncomfortable with automatic windows - like I'm going to get stuck.
I still feel kind of uncomfortable with automatic windows - like I'm going to get stuck.
My current car has automatic windows. I didn't want 'em, but they "came with" and it was in all other respects a good car, so I took 'em. In the first six months I owned the car, the driver's side window motor had to be replaced TWICE. It was under warranty so there was no charge, but jeez!
treehugger
5-18-11, 5:59pm
I wouldn't ever have thought to look for string at a grocery store (but then, I truly only buy groceries there, not any household products). I would assume that string would be at the hardware store.
We use matches in the bathroom as an odor neutralizer. Sometimes the grocery has them, other times not. I have recently been looking for wooden clothespins but can only find plastic.
I find a lot of these misc items like string, matches, wooden clothespins, etc at my local .99/dollar store.
I can guarantee none of the many dollar stores in my area would carry string....the others yes, but string seems to be a rare item, necessary of a visit to a hardware or garden center.
Float On,
That's not just a theory now, is it?
Hilarious!
ok, I have to admit, I can't tell you the last time I used string for anything, and I'm sure we don't own any. What do you all use string for?
All of the above and popsicle sticks.
Try the craft section of your local dollar store. I buy them to stir small amounts of paint.
I still feel kind of uncomfortable with automatic windows - like I'm going to get stuck.
I experienced a very uncomfortable drive home from the airport two winters ago when the driver's side window got stuck at half-mast while paying the airport parking fee. (It was so cold, the automated credit card reader had frozen.) I had to have it towed to a Honda dealer the next morning because the windchill was -18 and I couldn't stand driving it fifteen miles. And that was what I did on my flex day off.
Float On,
That's not just a theory now, is it?
Hilarious!
It's my favorite line from the movie, Mouse Hunt. The brothers inherit an old string factory from their father along with a house with a mouse that doesn't want them there.
For most common items. Sring, wooden matches, wood clothes pins etc.. I just go to my small local hardware store in town.
Maxamillion
5-19-11, 4:47pm
15" used tires. None of the tire places around here have them.
A shower rack (for holding soap and shampoo and stuff). I had to go to several different stores before I finally found one.
I've had problems finding string and matches too. I have found wooden clothespins (the kind with a spring) but they were of cheap quality and tend to break apart.
As for automatic windows....so expensive to fix! I couldn't believe what it cost to fix the driver's side window of my Honda CRV.
However, when I rented a car this winter in Tucson, the economy model had roll up windows. Can't remember the make of the vehicle,m but I was very surprised to see non automated windows.
http://iliketomakethings.blogspot.com
shadowmoss
5-19-11, 5:08pm
Try Lehmans.com for hard to find things like string, wooden clothes pins and such.
Originally posted by Float On.
It's my favorite line from the movie, Mouse Hunt. The brothers inherit an old string factory from their father along with a house with a mouse that doesn't want them there.Yes, I remember it now, the kids and I watched it together.
took me months to find wooden clothes pins in town. Found it at the $2 shop! Go figure.
took me months to find wooden clothes pins in town. Found it at the $2 shop! Go figure.
I also have had a hard time finding wooden clothes pins. I remember I once asked a worker at K-Mart if they carried them and she didn't even know what they were. Turns out they had the cheap, break the first time you dare leave them out in the sun, plastic ones but not the wooden kind.
Mighty Frugal
5-20-11, 10:24pm
It took me years to find a good man:D
For most common items. Sring, wooden matches, wood clothes pins etc.. I just go to my small local hardware store in town.
Yes, too bad my local hardware store went out of business. Victim of big box stores that are on the edges of town, near freeway extits.
Matches are sold in supermarkets here - both small and large. If I were looking for string, my first stop would probably be the pound shop (ie dollar store) or a hardware shop. Failing that, EBAY. You can find pretty much anything on ebay!
I have another one. For the last few days I have been looking for a lazy susan. I went to several chain hardware stores and several big box stores and none had them. Finally I found one at Ikea.
iris lily
5-25-11, 10:41am
Ebay! yes!
Year ago I bought a batch of bobbins for my Featherweight Singer Sewing machine and was proud of myself for using Ebay for one practical thing rather than the scores of frivolous things I've purchased there over the years.
As for automatic windows....so expensive to fix! I couldn't believe what it cost to fix the driver's side window of my Honda CRV.
However, when I rented a car this winter in Tucson, the economy model had roll up windows. Can't remember the make of the vehicle,m but I was very surprised to see non automated windows.
http://iliketomakethings.blogspot.com
Mine was close to four hundred to fix. The passenger side needs a replacement gizmo as well.
Rain hats and plastic fold-up ponchos are apparently extinct species around here along with metal wastecans. No problem finding wooden matches or string, but the string is all synthetic now. I'm hanging onto my old ball of jute twine for its sentimental value. I keep wondering what we're going to do when oil and its by-products become lots more expensive.
I keep wondering what we're going to do when oil and its by-products become lots more expensive.
Amen to that. Next time you're in a grocery store, really pay attention to how much packaging is made of plastic (i.e., nearly all of it). So many of the everyday items of our world are made of oil-derived substances. Gonna be interesting when the torrent slows to a trickle.
If you have a WINCO, you should have a Fred Meyer's -- and I bet they have string in the toy section -- where they sell kites!
I have even seen it in the stationary section.
Good to know. Went to a Sherms and got some there. Freddies would probably even have it in their garden section. It's not that it's IMPOSSIBLE to find. I can find it. But not without special trips to stores I don't often frequent, so, therefore it becomes a kind of hassle about do I really want to drive the car all the way over there and deal with everything or just stay home and hope I'll find some lost roll of string at home???
Ah, that reminds me - I need to put jute string/twine on the shopping list. Not only is it great to use around the house for this and that (I even use it to tie back curtains - I just love the look!), but the cats adore playing with it. :o)
Maxamillion
6-11-11, 11:48am
I think it was at Family Dollar that I found twine where the shipping supplies/envelopes were. Dollar General has a different sort of twine over where the car care products are.
Amen to that. Next time you're in a grocery store, really pay attention to how much packaging is made of plastic (i.e., nearly all of it). So many of the everyday items of our world are made of oil-derived substances. Gonna be interesting when the torrent slows to a trickle.
Well, it used to be you could put your veggies in brown paper bags instead of plastic. No more.
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