Menards is packed with a bunch of awesome stuff, but I shouldn't be allowed in alone.

Yesterday I was on a mission. A mission to buy supplies to repaint the 97 ZOK green room while Sweet Lenny is on vacation.

I got the "ok" to paint, picked the color and went to go get it a Menards, but I had no idea what I was in for.

I've been to Menards before but only with my dad or my friend, Lori, never alone. I know there are places I shouldn't go alone, like Aldi or Chipotle, but I didn't consider Menards one of them, until yesterday.

Here's why:

  1. The parking lot was PACKED. Menards on a Wednesday? I'm sure there will be plenty of room to just park close, get in and out. Nope. Note to self: Menards is for people who are off on Wednesdays during the day.  Also, I was driving the wrong direction in the parking lot.
  2. I don't know how to buy paint. I thought you just picked the paint that you wanted from a shelf, brought it to the check out and paid. So when I couldn't find #436 on the shelf, I asked the woman at the counter, "How do I buy this paint?"
    Thankfully the woman behind the counter didn't tell me how dumb I am.
  3. You need a cart for paint, not a basket. You'd think I'd know how heavy two gallons would be... but nope, I brought a basket to the counter. Which I then carried with all my might to the carts.
  4. Pre-ordering at Menards is not for regular items. Pre-ordering my brushes and drop cloths sounded like a great idea... until I realized Menards is not like Buy Buy Baby or Target. Those places you just walk in and go to the left and boom, you're done. At Menards I had to go to the shipping area in the back where I'm pretty sure you usually order walls for your house... not paint brushes.
  5. Carts don't go through turn-styles. When I needed to go to the back of the store after I paid for my paint... I tried to take my cart through the turn-style. No surprise here. That didn't work. Thankfully someone told me how I could unlock it to push my cart through.
  6. The parking lot isn't filled with cart returns. Maybe I was just overwhelmed with my Menards-ing because I couldn't find the cart return anywhere in the parking lot. Or maybe there aren't any.

Thank you employees at the Cherry Valley Menards for helping me find my paint and paint brushes, because I would've left without my supplies and instead a bunch of clearance Christmas ornaments.

Next time, I need to bring a friend.

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