Why is it so hard for people to stay at home

[pissedoffretailworker]

I have just got home from work. It has been manic today! People have queued for hours to come buy crap! I feel like people just aren't listening and are just freely out shopping for all these goods that are not essential. Browsing for over an hour in store and buying goods that we really shouldn't be selling.
This board and my other social media are full of people justifying their need to go buy gardening supplies or paint or walk their dog 6 times a day. As if they are special 🤷🏻‍♀️
Mental health is cited as a reason for people to continue to be selfish and put their own desires first instead of doing what is needed to help the nhs and protect the vulnerable.
I am feeling more and more angry at these people. I wish I could stay at home and keep my children safe. I certainly wouldn't be taking them to the shops to buy crap. My kids have not left the house other than to play in the garden since the 9th of March. I only go to work. I'm lucky in that I have a reoccurring delivery slot from a supermarket and have done for a long time so don't need to go shopping. I know I'm the grand scheme of things I'm better off than some people but I'm so stressed by other people's lack of care. What will it take to get these people to listen?

Don't you think we'd all love to take a short drive to find a lovely 3 hour walk? It's peaceful because the rest of us aren't doing that. Why is that so hard to understand?

It’s peaceful because no other bugger goes there. We do that walk frequently and rarely see another soul. I live in a sparsely populated area.

We could have popped into the local coop on the way back for a couple of bits but didn’t. I did my one big shop of the week including the in laws shop and some bread and milk for dh’s ex.

Won’t need to go in a shop for 10 to 12 days.

There’s no limits on the exercise, we socially distanced and it was a v short drive.

It’s all within the rules.

People were probably doing their weekly shop. For many that falls on a weekend day.

I stay at home same as everybody else I know all day every day bar a walk. I go shopping once a week - for 6! It takes time if I get everything to stop any further trips. You are lucky as you get a delivery. You can also pick up top ups any day

And as for only buying essentials, getting really tired of this . Picking up items a shop sells whilst doing a weekly shop saves deliveries and is perfectly ok. In many cases it keeps moral going and facilitates an easier time in doors which will thus lead to less likelihood of going stir crazy and longer time out on a daily walk. I bought soil and a couple of plants this week.

It's hard for people to stay at home because it's completely different from what (most) people are used to. A lot of people probably have convinced themselves the risk to them is minimal, and they are trying to cheer themselves up at what is a difficult time.

Unless and until the government actually bans the selling of non-essential items, people will still shop for such because it's 'allowed'. Sorry your job is causing you stress OP, we are all struggling.

My kids have a large garden with play equipment they have a trampoline, a swing, a slide, water and sand play tables room to use their scooters and bikes and a large grassy area to run around. They are much safer there than the park.

You've started a thread asking why not everyone stays at home.
Read this back and have a think OP...

My kids have a large garden with play equipment they have a trampoline, a swing, a slide, water and sand play tables room to use their scooters and bikes and a large grassy area to run around

there may be part of your answer why some people leave the house. Not everybody is so lucky to have a large garden with equipment.

I have no garden, one of my DC has ASD and severe learning difficulties and needs the outdoors. She is getting increasingly violent at home, both attacking me and her younger sister.

We go out at least twice a day for a long walk. It's the only way we can cope. HTH.

OP, spend a day doing my job. I work in substance misuse. I am constantly working with people with quite severe mental health issues, domestic violence, children on CP plans. If i you spoke to them and realised how some people live, you could understand why they are out of their homes for as long as possible. It's heartbreaking to know what's going on in their lives and at the moment there is absolutely nothing we can do. We are only allowed to see the highest risk, emergency cases and we have been told to expect deaths. Both from overdose, higher risk of suicide and withdrawal from alcoholics who cannot get the alcohol they need. I've been working with these people for months, some years. To hear that we have to expect some of them to die is heartbreaking. And that's not even from Covid-19.
These people may be the people in your attire.

Store not attire

I suppose some people's properties aren't as nice as yours to stay in all the time. I rarely go out, but then I live in a big house on a smallholding with plenty of jobs to be getting on with, and plenty of suggestions to make for the DC. Not everyone is as lucky.

I mean cushions and candles, home decor and paint, gardening supplies and furniture.

In this time I wouldn't categorize those goods as 'crap'. We will be in lockdown for months, all of us have to find ways to deal with that. Some people will redecorate, some will garden, for some a long bath with scented candles will help them through.

Greggers2017 - my work is similar. My caseload will be the 'gangs of kids in the park'. Which is what i'd do if I was them. That's preferable to more exposure to getting beaten up or sexually abused at home or watching alcoholic Dad piss and puke over himself on the sofa again. Or Mum and her boyfriend abuse each other verbally and physically because they can't get the drugs they can usually.

No it's not right they're not observing 'the rules' but selfish fuckers they are not. Nor are their excuses to be out 'flakey'.

It's so very easy to live in a nice house with a nice family and a massive garden and an online shopping delivery every week and think 'I just don't understand why people are making excuses to leave the house'

I don't work in a supermarket. I work for a large retailer that sells some food but mainly we sell other products. If I worked in somewhere like Sainsbury’s or Tesco's I wouldn't have a delivery slot 🙄

We could turn the OP on its head. Instead of customers being irresponsible by coming into her place of work. Isn't her boss being irresponsible by still being open for business selling non-essential items? Why doesn't the OP stand herself down if she feels it is morally wrong for people to shop in her shop?

I am not having a go at the OP. I can see it from both sides. But if one side is being castigated for not giving up something (their freedom), the other side can be for not giving up something as well (their short-term income).

Personally I have seen and felt the effect of restaurants closing, so workers and owners of non-essential goods shops are actually on a fucking good thing.

Shouldn't you be cancelling your delivery slot so it's available for people who CAN'T leave the house.

People in glass houses (with massive gardens full of play equipment) shouldn't throw stones OP.

If a shop is allowed to be open (so deemed essential by the government) then you're allowed to buy ANYTHING it is selling.

But that doesn't suit the trolley police's agenda. 🙄

I actually do not understand some OPs.
...
OP lists out her own incredible privilege and goes on to castigate the less privileged for struggling with the utter shit sandwich they've been handed.

I agree with this. It's OP posts like this one that's making me lose hope - not someone, somewhere buying a cushion or whatever.

I'm going out once a day for walk. But that's relatively easy for me because I live in a relatively large, detached, gardened, peaceful and loving house, that is filled with entertainment tech and I have a grocery delivery slot every 1.5 weeks. That doesn't make me better than anyone or give me judging rights. It makes me so bloody lucky that I should be down on my knees in gratitude.

Gardening and paint stuff isn't crap in my opinion. A lot of people are having a hard time with their mental health and trying to keep themselves busy at home. This is what my dad is doing who suffers depression as it is keeping him from just sat with his own thoughts.
I have had to go the shops more than id like as I don't drive so can only carry so much
We also need to take my toddler to the park or beach (literally across the road thankfully) because we have no garden. I'm getting tired of getting funny looks off people like we shouldn't be there. Just sick of all the judgement, most people are following the guidines and just trying to get through this as best as possible

Iv been out to buy paint.

Just before lockdown I had my front room, hallway and dining room plastered.

It all needed painting so I might as well do it while I have weeks at home!

Where are people buying paint? Misses point of thread but could do with some paint....

In the same shop I bought my paint I also picked up wallpaper paste, gloss, rollers, a huge pop up tent thing for my kids, bubbles, craft items and some junk food to keep in the cupboards.

I have no flooring down or skirtings. I wasn’t going to not get any paint while having weeks at home doing nothing.

@Perfidy - B&M are still open. That’s where I had to buy mine as B&Q was closed.

I work in a big supermarket and get my own shopping after my shift and yes I do buy non essentials. If I see something my kids will like I will buy it for them I'm there anyway.
Lucky you with your delivery slots but if you are working you don't sound particularly vulnerable and should manage your own shopping and leave the spaces to people who really need them. No point in you being preachy about what people are buying when you are taking valuable delivery spaces from people who need them so causing a problem yourself.
My garden also has been kitted out with lots of things for the kids but not everyone is as fortunate my heart breaks for these people so do I judge what's in their trolley.. No I'm not in their shoes but I know a small treat goes a long way

Believe me I rant about the company I work for and if I could live with no income I would not be going to work.

I would have liked to buy something’s yesterday as idiot that I am I have no spf in the house with two v fair skinned dd’s I did place a boots order a week ago for sanitary products and chucked some soltan in but it’ll not arrive till tomorrow

But I drove to two shops and just didn’t get out of the car as the queues were enormous for both, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to do that so I dread to think the size of the queue if everyone did join it

OP.. I think that you are actually very lucky to still be working, and as such possibly don't realise the effect being cooped up with no end in sight is having on people.. Hence why they are turning to non essentials such as redecorating to stay sane.

I work in a restaurant, and I miss my job terribly. I have 4 adults stuck in a tiny house together, living on top of each other, getting very bored and very much on each others nerves.

At this point, with the prospect of possibly months more of this, I would happily swap with you and much rather still be at work serving people making "unnecessary" trips.

Maybe try and understand that not everyone is in the same position as you, and might need something you don't in order to survive.