Does your SO like hardware stores? Do you?

[Willis Jackson]

No and no. I mean, we don't dislike them but we just go in, get what we need, and get out.

[Willis Jackson]

Oh, but I know what you mean about your life force getting zapped. That's how I feel in department stores. I'm hot and cold at the same time. Is it daytime? Night? How do I get out of here? Why is everyone smiling at me creepily?!

[Deleted]

I LOVE them. I have a lot of memories of my dad taking us to the hardware store when we were little and getting free doughnuts there.

The hardware store that is closest to our apartment opened in 1884. It is so cool.

I could wander a hardware store for hours happily even though there is very little I ever need.

[rex]

We both like them.

I don't like going alone because I generally experience a demeaning attitude from men who work there but I happily go with my H.

[dexteroni]

I love small hardware stores, and will browse for a while, because they're often charming and have interesting selections and knowledgeable workers. But I hate the big boxes like Home Depot and Lowes. We go to those stores when we have to but it's in, get what you need, and out, like Willisaurus said.

[SJ]

I HATE those type of stores.

DH doesn't like them, but he is more tolerant than I am.

[stingsharkruns]

I don't mind them. I worked in a small hardware store for several years during/after high school. I actually met MH there.

I don't want to go in & spend hours there, but I'll go w/ H if he needs to go.

[dukesilver]

I hate hardware stores, especially Home Depot and Lowe's. They seem to be so poorly organized and the employees so uninformed that we spend an hour looking for something when it should have been a 5 minute trip.

[Deleted]

DH--not really.
Me--yes, I do a lot!!

[aerowife2010]

We could have spent the entire afternoon in HD today. But part of that may have been the fact they were celebrating the store's 20th anniversary and had free food (and my fave cotton candy).

[justjen]

This would probably require one of us to be remotely handy, which neither of us is. So no.

[agnes]

Yes, H and I like hardware stores. I personally never need anything, but H always does.

[orangeblossom]

I've been known to wander around while DH gets what he wants. I like to look at the different paint colors, wall treatments, lights, etc.

[steph96]

I love going to Lowe's or Home Depot!! FI hates when I go because I always come home with 5 million projects for him to do. A trip for a simple screw turns into him spending the whole weekend replace all of the light fixtures in the house, painting, and planting flowers while I bug him about how we should replace all of our appliances and do a pretty tile backsplash.

[penguingrrl]

Neither of us do. We're not do-it-yourself types (which is part of why we're in no rush to stop renting and having to be responsible for repairs) and are not at all interested in hardware stores. Although to be fair we're not really shoppers at all, so I don't think there's any store we'd spend more time than necessary in.

[childofhiphop]

DH - Definitely loves Home Depot and hardware stores. He's a handyman on the side - mostly laying floors and painting - but still needs to look at every aisle on every trip.

Me - yes. The lumber yard part is the most nostalgic from going as a little girl with my Dad for all of his building and home projects.

[krystee]

Oddly, yes, even though neither of us is handy whatsoever. I just love the smell and the possibilities that are there for transforming the house. We don't go often, but I enjoy it when we do. I do hate the lighting, though.

[Deleted]

Sept 8, 2012 14:34:24 GMT -5 penguingrrl said:

Neither of us do. We're not do-it-yourself types (which is part of why we're in no rush to stop renting and having to be responsible for repairs) and are not at all interested in hardware stores.

That I think may actually be why I like hardware stores. There are so many dohickeys and whatnots sitting around being neat looking, and I love the smell. But then after wandering forever, I leave with, like, a new spare key or glass cleaner or something. And then I log into our building's website and ask the maintenance people to unclog the tub or change a lightbulb. So they don't represent hard work to me

My husband doesn't like them nearly as much as I do though, I think because his parents don't DIY anything so he has no childhood memories of being anywhere near a hardware store. And he has no idea what any of the dohickeys and whatnots are.

Home Depot does a lot less for me than ma and pa stores, though I do like walking around the fake kitchens and bathrooms.

[cajunmom]

I love hardware stores. DH likes them fine, I guess.

Like Willisaurus, I hate, loathe, and despise department stores. Shopping at Dillards, Penney's, and the like is akin to having my nails pulled out one by one.

[RoxMonster]

I never liked them until we bought our house. H could spend hours in places like Lowe's; I always loathed them. But now that we have a house, I don't mind going so much because I actually WANT to get stuff for the house and have a vested interest in it.

I swear, the first three weeks after we moved in, we were at Lowe's at least every other day. No joke. We got to the know the cashiers by name.

[crashgizmo]

Sept 8, 2012 12:21:07 GMT -5 @msstarry said:

I swear my DH could wander around Home Depot for hours happily. He will go there to get "a few two by fours" and take two hours. He's an indecisive shopper in general (why I generally do the grocery shopping), but the hardware store truly brings out the worst of this tendency. Like he'll stare at 3 screws trying to decide which one for 10 minutes. They each cost 20 cents. JUST GET THEM ALL.

Obviously I don't like those type of stores. Something about the lighting zaps my life force. Luckily I think the employees can sense this and whenever I go alone people are all over helping me.

This is us, word for word.

Luckily, there is a Ross and TJ Maxx right next to the Home Depot that DH goes to, so if I happen to be along I do my own wandering there while I wait.

[jinnifah]

Dh doesn't like shopping period - that includes hardware stores.

I enjoy browsing most stores - including hardware stores.

Dh will often give me explicit instructions if he wants something (including showing me the item online if he can) and send me in his place. Then everyone is happy.

[Bonita]

Yes, we love going to Hardware Stores - we bought our house knowing it needed some work, and sometimes we'll just go wander around to get some ideas of what we could do for certain projects and such

[chessie]

Hates Home depot, because the people there are stupid. DH is all business sorta guy, he calls the local lumber yard for what he needs, and they have it ready. DH used to be a contractor so in his head you should know what you want before you get there.

[carfar]

Hubs does not browse any store. He has a mission, and he gets out.

I'm meh on hardware stores. Paint and appliances I could spend sometime in, screws and wood? I have no interest.

[315bride]

I think I love hardware stores more than my H. Hardware stores and office/paper supply stores are like my weakness.

[belovedbride07]

I hate hardware stores...every decision takes soooo long.

I think DH is ambivalent. He likes buying tools and supplies, but he spends so much time at work specifying hardware and the like that we get to Home Depot and he gets all annoyed that they don't have the exact permutation of bolt he wants. And if only I had a dollar for every time he's said, "They want how much for this? I could buy it from McMaster for half that!"

[heygrey]

home depot is one of my favorite spots to waste time. it was also first on my list of places to apply if a job related to my career didn't work out.

h likes hardware stores, but he prefers going in with a purchase in mind. he doesn't not enjoy my "hey, lets go look at the kitchens in hd!" moments.

[moolarkey]

We both love hardware stores.

[papie]

I love HD. H hates it. But he barely knows how to use a hammer, so...