The mystery of the expanding shopping cart

After I dropped the kids off at summer camp this morning, I stopped by Target to pick up a couple of things. My intention was to spend five minutes there and get back home quickly so I could get some work done before going back to pick the boys up at noon. I really only wanted to pick up a couple of things, literally (I even brought just one shopping bag to the store with me).


So how in the world did I end up with all this?


(That doesn't even include the fifteen pots of yogurt that I had already put away in the fridge).

Yes, I'll admit, I'm a impulse buyer. I know the solution is to make a list and stick to it. But who hasn't come away from a shopping trip with tons slightly more items than they set out to buy? In my defense, I did make a list. My list said:

Printer paper
Dishwashing liquid
Hand soap

But you know how it goes. You're walking down the aisle to the office supplies section, then the toothpaste display across the aisle catches your eye. Hang on, we're going to run out of toothpaste soon. In goes the toothpaste. To get out of the toothpaste section, you need to walk past the body wash section. We're running out of shampoo as well. In goes the shampoo. You get back on track and find your printer paper. On the way to the home cleaning section, you notice that Target now has a fresh foods section, so you check it out. Hey, look at this, individually packaged apple slices! How perfect for the kids lunchboxes! Further on... OMG, I've been looking all over for these yogurt with granola packs! And so it goes.

On second thought, I'm not an impulse buyer. I think my problem is not that I don't stick to my shopping list, it's that I've forgotten to add most of the items I need to my list. I'm not an impulse buyer, I'm not! That's my story and I'm going to stick to it.