Shopping Part III: Strategies for Life, Living Well with Vision Loss
Mary Beth Caruso, Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist
September 1, 2009
This month’s column continues with more helpful hints for shopping and how to carry items out of the store. A question that is often raised is “how do I know I am getting what I want?” This includes non dented cans, the sale item, sell by dates, size, ripeness etc. If using a personal shopper, have them pass items to be placed in the cart so each one can be checked tactually and visually. Low vision devices such as hand held magnifiers and portable electronic video magnifiers come in handy for this. Calculators that have a large print screen, large buttons as well as talking calculators can be used as items are placed in the cart in order to have an idea of how much the shopping order will cost.
Another question raised is “can I put my labels onto the items in the store?” This depends on the type of labels used: will the label obscure the barcode, interfere with the cashier’s movements or come off easily when placed in a bag along with other purchases. If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then labeling will need to be done at home. Perhaps a simple rubber band is enough to distinguish between two similar items until a descriptive label can be attached. The personal shopper can help place items on the belt for checkout. If one has shopped independently, customer service can arrange for the bagger to take items out of the cart.
Some senior centers and local community groups offer van trips to local grocery stores. Usually help is available to carry heavy items onto the van and then to the front door. This is a good time to stock up on canned goods, sugar and other heavy items; as well as bulky items that are difficult to carry such as paper towels. In between these bigger shopping trips, smaller ones can be made to local stores for perishable items like milk, fruit and vegetables.
Wheeled carts are fairly inexpensive and can be purchased to help transport groceries, particularly when walking to the store but even when traveling in a taxi or with a friend. Ones that fold flat can be placed inside the shopping cart and then unloaded at the checkout. It is important that the bagger know this is how purchases will be transported so that heavy items will be placed underneath fragile ones.
Cloth or heavy duty plastic shopping bags are both environmentally friendly as well as sturdier. They can be purchased in most every grocery store and are often given as gifts for donations to environmental groups. They have become so trendy that colorful ones are for sale in bookstores and boutiques. Ones that will stand up by themselves are easier to pick up again after putting them down to unlock the door, etc. Be sure to let the bagger know how much can be lifted so they can be careful not to overload or if there are other specific concerns for packing items together. Smaller size bags are available too.
Now that the bags are packed it is time to pay! Next month’s column will present information on ways to efficiently, safely and confidently pay with cash and credit cards.
Perkins Outreach Services for Ages 55 and Older, Outreach@Perkins.org, 617-972-7643.
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