Thursday, August 9, 2018

Three on Thursday

Joining Carole for Three on Thursday, and today it's with three things that should be easy to find, but were not. Let me explain ...

The house in MD is fairly liveable, and I'm determined not to clutter it up with too much "stuff". When I finally had time to sit and knit, I was also enjoying a nice cup of tea. I didn't want to mess up the brand new furniture, but the washcloth I set my mug on just didn't look very nice. My search for simple coasters took me to Walmart, a nearby knick-knack type shop, and 45 minutes away to Target before I admitted defeat and ordered them from Amazon. 


The same thing happened in my search for a lint brush. I was certain that I could find one at Walmart, but apparently people in our area aren't too linty or they don't care if they are. Amazon came through again.


My latest search was the most difficult. Justin had his windshield tinted at the top and they had to remove his EZ Pass adhesive strips to do the job. I thought replacement strips would be easy to find, so I checked Walmart once again (they sell the EZ Pass transponder) and stopped at the EZ Pass office at one of the bridges between NJ and PA, but no luck. The guy at the EZ Pass office recommended that I check with the DMV but they just said no and wished me luck. I did check Amazon, but $14.99 seemed a little pricey for two small strips. In my online search, I found out that the adhesive is called 3M™ Dual Lock™ fastener. When I searched with that term, I found that Lowes stocks it. Success at last - four strips for $3.84!

I don't know if I'm a poor shopper or just don't know where to find these small necessities of life, but I hope I don't have to go on any more wild goose chases in the near future.

Head on over here to read more Three on Thursday posts.
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I'm heading to CO tomorrow, so I'll be back here in a week or so. I hope to post once or twice, but no promises. :-)

18 comments:

  1. When I got a new car I was able to get strips for my transponder directly from the EZ Pass office in MA. I'm glad you had success with everything, even if it did feel like a long process!

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  2. Enjoy your quick trip! And, I am glad you found those strips at a more reasonable price and I am glad I am not the only one who goes on wild goose chases looking for what seems like it should be simple. Steve says this is why those "semi-local" big box stores suck... they only carry things you don't need! Haha

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  3. Sometimes the simplest things are so hard to find. I can spent ages looking for bozes in the sizes I have in mind...

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    1. That's why I send almost everything by USPS Priority Mail; I never have to search for boxes. If it doesn't fit in a Priority Mail box, the item ends up sitting on my dining room table (and possibly never gets sent)!

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  4. For all the reasons you list, I am not a good shopper. I hate shopping as it is often fruitless. Amazon helps (I need coasters, too!), but they are not the answer. So glad you found what you need, but how did we find anything before we could use the internets to search?

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  5. The "not too linty" part cracked me up! Glad you could find (eventually) what you needed.

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  6. Just like you, I wander around stores looking for everyday items and can never find what I need. I rely on our local Ace Hardware or Amazon.

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  7. Sometimes I wonder if stores carried more items before Amazon??? Like Margene, I also wonder how we found anything at all before the Internet??? I hate shopping, and I really hate shopping when I know what I want . . . but can't find it. I'm glad you were able to find success!

    Have a great trip to Colorado, and enjoy your time with Ryan. XO

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  8. I think it is getting more difficult to find certain items... and I'm willing, most times, to try & find/buy local, but I'm not going to spend all day trying to track down some seemingly esoteric item (that can magically be delivered to my door in a day or two)...

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  9. When we got our new car, I was able to log on the the EZ pass website and ask for new strips. They sent them to me free of charge, downside was it took longer than finding locally. I am glad you found them for a reasonable price.

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    1. I didn't even think about checking the EZ pass website when our EZ Pass office in NJ wasn't helpful. Next time!

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  10. Safe travels and best wishes to your son.

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  11. I hate shopping for so many reasons, but inability to find things is one of them. I am old enough to remember when there were actual department stores that had _everything_, but that is no longer the case. So I rely on google, and most of the time google comes through. Have a fabulous trip and enjoy yourself immensely. I assume the trip is this weekend.

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  12. Persistence pays off and so does online shopping. Safe travels.

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  13. safe travels my friend!! I tend to look on amazon first lately ...

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  14. Winning on those strips! All the best to you and Ryan in CO!

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  15. I give in to amazon. ITs just so convenient isnt it? But today Ihave to organize a return and that will throw me iM sure

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  16. I really think that brick and mortar stores are the best -- but they no longer carry the things we need. Like everyone else, I end up ordering from Amazon.

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Thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment! :-)