c t - "I rarely shop at the dollar stores. ..." "The extra time to make the trip isn't worth i." --- I understand that for you (and perhaps many other people), it may be different, but for me, I live about 1/2 mile away from a Dollar Tree. I pass right by it nearly half the time I go anywhere. It is more convenient to get to than nearly any other place I might go. That said, I don't go there often... sometimes no more than once in a month or 2. "A lot of the food is junk food / dozens of broken plastic utensils...but they were a bargain ..." --- I agree (partly). Not everything at a dollar store is a wise purchase. Some things (including some food items) are low quality, cheaply made, and should be avoided. If "everyone" decided not to purchase these sort of items, and left them on the shelf, the stores (likely) would not carry them anymore (sadly, people do buy them). But, they do have many quality, brand-name items. Even some of those are not a bargain. For example, they usually have a small package of "Aleve" or "Excedrin" (typically 6 pills per package). Approximately 50 pills would cost $8.00, 100 pills for $17.00, and 200 for $33.00. This is more than twice what you would probably pay for the larger sizes, even at regular (non sale) prices at other stores like CVS, Osco, Target, Walmart, or K-Mart. Another thing to watch out for is "expire dates" (sell by/use by/best by-dates). It's common to find food items that are near or past their prime, and these are rarely a bargain. But still, you can sometimes find some brand name food items that are a good deal even if they are near their "best-by" date, if it is something that you use up fairly quickly. And many other non-food items can be found that are also good deals.

jasdip and cherryfizz - I too buy some Compliments and PC products also - although I am having a problem at the moment since I am very annoyed with Loblaws and its decision to stop selling Organic Meadow milk. If I wanted Neilson, PC or Natrel - double-UHT'd I would just buy regular. I can tell the difference and I use it to make Bird's custard every day. Some Sobey's are carrying it - just finding the ones that do in Toronto is hard because they keep on changing - and you need to know the delivery dates - and whether the staff has gone to lunch leaving the products in the aisle rather than refrigerated. Seems to be hit or miss. Every Sat. a.m. I call around and if a store has the milk I ask them to hold 4 litres for me. A lot of people are very annoyed. Apparently there is a store named Dominion in Newfoundland that is owned by Loblaws - so Organic Meadow is toast there too! The Sobey's at Laird near Eglinton is "supposed" to carry it but they didn't have it last week - just the eggs. Good thing there is a liquor store located in the same outdoor mall.....

OK, I'm going to discuss purchasing glyphosate here...but I'm discussing various formulations and this is NOT a place to have a discussion about glyphosate itself or any ecological or social issues related to herbicide use. I had to use more than usual of various herbicides this summer, it was probably the worst possible pattern for fueling massive weed growth on my 3 acres. Wet May, bone dry June, and wettest July ever. I'm 'down to my last 2.5 gallons' of Rodeo, even though at the rate I was going, that would usually have lasted me at least 2 years. Figured it was time to buy the 'spare to the heir' so to speak LOL. Called my local Lesco-John Deere-Site One. He said he only had the generic. Decided to investigate before driving up there. I'm posting fair use pictures found on the web, so I don't seem like I'm advertising any particular reseller. Here's a picture of Rodeo: And here's the generic the guy recommended: This is puzzling. Glyphosate is a colorless chemical. Most chemicals that could hypothetically be added as stabilizers, are colorless. (seeing EDTA decolorize a solution of potassium permanganate during a titration is actually an exercise in some introductory analytical chemistry lab courses) So, what's up with the generic? Does anyone else besides me question the quality of the formulation when it has such a muddy color? Now, I will say I have used a mix of name brand and generic over the years, and haven't seen a different in performance. And I expect there probably wouldn't be in this case. But since I'm going to be keeping this for a few years, possibly, I wonder about the shelf-life of something that seems to have so many by-products or contaminants already present. And btw, has any seen a switch to SiteOne promoting generics more than they used to? I know for sure that when I first bought Rodeo in the late 2000s, I bought it at a John Deere. Although that was a different branch.

I like to point out a simple fact. FLOORING is the MOST ABUSED 'finish' inside the home. The only thing that takes MORE abuse is the ROOF. If you have a $50K roof line, then feel free to spend roughly the same amount on the flooring. Roofs should last 25 years. That's why we pay so much for them. A floor (or finish on a wood floor) *should last the SAME AMOUNT of time. That's why we pay so much for them. Think of ALL the floors that do NOT make it 25+ years. They are all cheap. Carpets that are 25 years old are considered DISGUSTING. They are considered 'builder favourites' because they are CHEAP and EASY to install. That's why builders love them. Laminate floors (entry level to mid-grade = $0.79/sf - $1.99/sf) are 'disposable' floors and will offer 10 years before they look really bad. They are in the same category as carpet. Disposable floors that are cheap and cheerful...for a small amount of time. A low-end engineered hardwood ($4.99/sf at LL) is much the same as an entry level laminate. Your expectations should be 10-15 years....just like laminate. If you want a floor that will offer 25 years of service (wood floors can go MUCH longer but they need refinishing to do this = HIGHER GRADE = MORE MONEY) you need to work in a HIGHER price bracket. I like to ask people: How do you feel about redoing/refinishing your wood floors in 15 years time? For today's investment of $7/sf (not including labour) do you EXPECT more than 10 - 15 years? You shouldn't. That's entry level stuff. How about 'upping' the price to $12/sf? Would you expect 25 - 60 years worth of life? You should...because the $12/sf price SHOULD get you a wood floor that has the ability to be refinished AT LEAST once (20 years + 20 years = 40 years). If you purchase carefully, you can get 2 refinishes out of it = 60 years. A sand/refinish = $5/sf. Compare that to a 'rip out ($2/sf) and replace ($7/sf)' cost of $9/sf (not including installation). Now you really see the difference. How much did you pay for your roof? Going cheap on a roof NEVER works out. Now compare how much you are willing to spend on your floor. Going cheap on flooring is the same thing as going cheap on a roof.