The Carts of Walmart
Posted by starsystemerror on Jan 13, 2025
Last year, I spent several months working a job that entailed hours of sitting at a kiosk in a Walmart, waiting for people to come to my desk for me to prepare their taxes. I had a lot of time to burn, and while much of that was spent reading news articles online or writing my own thoughts in my journal, some of it was spent doing what I decided to call “cartspotting.”
Cartspotting is similar to Dogspotting, the classic game of seeing dogs in public, but it involves carts of groceries. I originally developed this game at Costco while sitting at the food court, seeing the carts of people leaving and noticing what they thought was so necessary they needed to buy it in Costco sizes. Costco cartspotting, though, is easy mode. Most of the carts that pass by are not full of generic groceries, and have a funny array of specific items due to the nature of the store. Walmart cartspotting is a challenge only to be taken by those that work at or in a Walmart, watching hundreds of carts pass by every day. In early 2024, I was one of those people.
Here, I present to you, a list of my best cartspotting sights from January to February 2024, at a Walmart in a small rural Illinois town.
- Four cans of vegetarian baked beans, one bag of vegetarian not-chicken nuggets, and two tubs of pre-prepared mashed potatoes from the deli
- A giant bag of dog food, a giant bag of potatoes, an unidentifiable green bag of something, and three whole pineapples
- Two gallons of milk, each in a tied-closed bag
- At least five 6-packs of red Powerade
- Two large multipacks of water bottles, one large multipack of Gatorade Zero, 2 dozen eggs, and a giant jar of pickles
- A giant bag of dog food and a family size bag of tortilla chips
- A rug, two doormats, and a single bottle of Caffeine Free Diet Cherry Coke
- Someone returning three identical TVs
- A gallon of water and a single Zero Sugar Monster Energy
- A blank white posterboard and a gallon of bleach
- A giant plush snail and a can of instant coffee
- 8 dozen eggs, a 24-pack of Pepsi, two large bags of rock salt, and a single rainbow candy cane
- Two bags of rock salt and four gallons of orange juice
- Someone returning a baby stroller shaped like a Ford F-150 pickup truck
- A large multipack of tissue boxes and a single box of Little Bites muffins
- A bag of Cheetos puffs and a pound of salted butter, accompanied by a Boston terrier in the cart
- Boxed red wine and a multipack of Irish Spring soap bars
- Someone returning a blanket with a plush Grinch head, and an employee gently cradling it as they carried it back to the sales floor
- Two bunches of bananas and nothing else
- Paper plates, individual cups of yogurt, Equal sweetener, ranch dressing, and American cheese slices
- A single head of lettuce and several assorted greeting cards
- Two 6-packs of Pepsi, three quarts of motor oil, and three different shapes of pasta
- Three individual snow boots (not pairs) and a single liter of Pepsi
- A single medium-sized Squishmallow and a rainbow confetti cake from the bakery
- Dog treats, cheese balls, and a 6-pack of Pepsi
- A 12-pack of A&W root beer, a box of Drumstick ice cream treats, a gallon of milk, a pack of AA batteries, and two extra-long lighters
- A child cradling a can of Pringles like it was a baby
- At least 16 gallons of water, probably closer to 20, but they were stacked in the cart and whoever was buying them was moving remarkably quickly with a cart full of water
- Two gallons of milk in the top basket, then the rest of the cart completely filled with large bags and cans of dog and cat food
- Two giant chubs of ground beef and a large bag of dry dog food
- A single organic frozen pizza in an otherwise empty cart
- Three boxes of instant mashed potatoes, a box of spaghetti, and a giant pack of “extra strong” toilet paper
- A man in a nice business suit on the phone with someone while he was buying a comically small jug of rock salt and nothing else
- A large plush shark and a bouquet of flowers
- Two gallons of milk, two gallons of bleach, and four bunches of bananas
- A single car tire and a pack of “extra strong” toilet paper
- A box of diapers and a case of White Claw
- A cart of normal groceries, but in the upper basket was a large plush monkey seating as one would sit a child, buckled in and everything
- Someone buying a baby gate while the baby was in the cart basket, attempting to chew on the baby gate
- A giant plush dinosaur and two car floor mats
- 15 2-liter bottles of Caffeine Free Diet Coke
- At least 60 cans of pineapple juice
- Two bottled Starbucks Frappuccinos and a case of Bud Light
- Four gallons of milk, four boxes of tissues, and two large packs of “extra strong” toilet paper
- Four cases of generic diet cola, a giant bag of dry dog food, and a single tiny case of mini cans of regular Coca-Cola
- And a cartful of fairly normal groceries, accompanied by 6 gallons of sweet tea.
Categories: life
Tagged: walmart
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