I ordered a KitchenAid built in refrigerator in early July. I’m still waiting, appliance store owner said they are saying mid November but he said don’t count on it. The nice thing about ordering from a local store they have given us a loaner.
I’m wondering if I should stick up on staples again. I do buy a bag of King Arthur or Bobs Red Mill flour when I see it.
Dial foamy hand soap refill- buy it when you see it (infrequently)!
Lysol bathroom cleaner- the one with citric acid (cuts soap scum/hard water) has disappeared completely. Comet brand- with 2x citric acid concentration was at Walmart, bought when I could. Bleach and ammonia cleaners don’t do the same job. An excuse to stretch the monthly thorough cleaning for the two of us to six weeks. No one visiting.
Cleaning product aisles usually pretty empty.
Finally saw Tyson Teriyaki chicken thighs for the first time in months. Likewise Johnsonville cooked beer brats (as opposed to smoked).
Shopping is not fun anymore for those of us who liked it. Have learned strategies for acquiring some goods when available, not just as needed when running low. Being ready for hurricane season helped (Tampa) as well as generally keeping ahead on things. It was worse when Irma was heading our way three years ago and shelves emptied out- and gas pumps empty. But that was only for a short time. This has been going on for so many months now. I won’t exercise or eat indoors until aa vaccine and/or pandemic over.
Decided to replace my aged/falling apart computer desk in August. Determined the exact one I liked/fit my needs and Sauder- in Ohio- won’t have my model until maybe February. They used to give likely availability dates- in Oct-Nov- Feb-Jan but stopped that. They nicely responded to my email awhile ago when I wondered if they would discontinue the model I want. Having people laid off for awhile put them behind.
On notify me lists for the model webcam I want to replace the one lent to neighbors who couldn’t find any months ago. They returned H’s but I think they may have forgotten about mine. I haven’t needed it and am waiting for the one I want that will last a long time. Old fashioned here- like my desk top with the big monitor.
It’s feast or famine regarding library books. They can be put on hold online and picked up “curbside”. With the holding time it takes a lot longer and I miss browsing the shelves. E-books often have a waiting list as well.
Who knew when I got various medical check ups and such done early in the year it would make a difference. Also lucky we already have what we want except above.
Gas is not in short supply- driving far less (retired btw). Could save on flights but NOT traveling yet. Missed summer trip, sigh. Not even checking if flights have cancelled.
Can’t wait for political ads to be over with- there’s certainly no shortage of those!!!
Before everything shut down I tried and really like a particular type of Dawn dishwashing detergent https://dawn-dish.com/en-us/products/by-form/dawn-powerwash-dish-spray. It’s really nice when only hand washing a couple of items.
Couldn’t find it at Walmart, Target or Meijer. Happened to go into Dollar General and they had lots of it. I’ve said it before that Dollar General will have cleaning supplies that other places did not.
My library system started interlibrary loans again. However it is much slower (as the libraries are quarantining books as they come in for 3-7 days). Another issue with getting library books is on their supply end. The companies that supply the libraries (baker & taylor, for example) are much slower than in the past. Libraries used to get a new release before the release date and make it live on that date. Now, they are not getting them for days or even weeks after the release date.
I had read early on that many food companies were concentrating on their top products and not producing their less popular ones. So, for example, the Kellogg’s cereal I like (All-Bran Flakes) has been impossible to find. Probably because Kellogg’s is making lots of Rice Krispies instead. This is probably the case with the soup, rice a roni, and other flavors that people have found hard to find.
Yes, it has been up and down where I live with wipes, sanitizer, toilet paper, paper towels, and other cleaning supplies.
I also felt that at first the big stores were just understocked in general. I would walk into Target and the clothes section looked empty. In the past few weeks, this seems to have changed. All the box stores are awash in Halloween and Christmas products. The clothing stores have gotten in their fall/winter items also.
I did go through a short period where I dreaded food shopping (something I typically don’t mind). I think that changed when we started doing more food shopping at local farm markets, meat markets, bakeries, etc. They seemed more friendly to me.
I’ve been reading from my Kindle almost exclusively since the start of COVID. With the Libby app I can reserve or hold books from the couple library systems I frequent and always have something on hand to read.
I love hard copy books but at this point I’m super happy with the reliability of my Kindle.
Air conditioner coil is back ordered with ETA a month.
Riedell ice skates! I was told there is a three month lead time on custom figure skates, something that used to take just a week or two. It seems after reopening they focused on making roller skates instead of ice skates. Demand for the roller skates shot up while people were quarantined. While the ice rink is open again, it is at limited capacity, and this isn’t a sport people are inclined to take up right now. There are other brands of ice skates, though, but if you’re holding out for Riedell, you’re either in a stock boot or you’ve got a wait ahead of you.
Regarding foaming soap refills… there is nothing magic about them. Take your regular Dawn and dilute it with 4-5 parts of water and refill the sprayer.
Still can’t find hydrogen peroxide anywhere here. Generic antacids have been out for over 6 weeks. We found treated lumber decking, but only needed a small amount.
Hash brown patties, 10 in a package. Major food store ran out quickly in March, got a few in June, back again in September so I bought 18 pks and 5 from Target. Store sold them all in 2 days. Glad I have a large freezer.
Bicycles are impossible to buy. It took me two weeks to locate a used bike. I also purchased a new bike–the manufacturer said I would have to wait three months. It’s now four months out and no new bike.
My daughter (who is temporarily, i.e., since the pandemic) doing social media/marketing and everything else for a small local outdoor cafe/general store spent the better part of two days looking for outdoor heaters for the restaurant. She was even willing to drive within a 100 mile range to pick up two heaters. She ended up ordering some from a vendor in China. The heaters are supposed to arrive next week. She ordered them in July.
terracotta flower pots - none at all at Home Depot for the past couple of months, so I expect there won’t be any at Lowe’s either
rubbing alcohol - none anywhere I’ve been lately
My husband has been calling a lot of lumber yards to see what sizes of lumber are available before he releases construction documents to homeowners, to make sure his designs are buildable. Availability has been unpredictable for months now, before the hurricanes and wildfires.
Ha, literally as soon as I wrote this post, DH copied me on an email he sent to a local lumber yard:
"The repair design specifies one select structural 2x3 Douglas Fir SS stick that is 4 feet long: one Piece 1.5” x 2.5”x 4’-0” long – Doug Fir Select Structural.
My client is having difficulty finding this locally and so I wanted to check to see if this is something that you might be able to fabricate for him."
I guess DH didn’t check ahead of time, ha.
I got local that way, but there is a run on national… 
Are you in a competitive state or district? If not, they could be allocating yard sign production and distribution to more competitive states or districts.
^No and that’s my assumption. Also that there is an unprecedented number this year, especially for the area I am in. I reckon mine will show up soon enough.
8 weeks for wood frame windows in standard sizes, not custom.
My SIL said she has not be able to find kitchen rubber gloves anywhere. I guess I have to believe her as she goes into multiple grocery stores, Target, and Costco a day, because why not! 
I thought my grocery store had them, but I haven’t really looked for any.
National issue has been resolved in my area. Might be worth checking again if you haven’t checked lately.
^PM’ing you. 