Let’s face it. I hate shopping. I’m sure a lot of people do, especially you fathers out there. But I really hate grocery shopping. But one store has made it much better for me. Aldi.

Before we get too far in, let me give a little context. My wife and I used to do the majority of our shopping at Walmart. The town we grew up in pretty much just had one and that made for one stop shopping. So when we moved to St. Louis, we did the same and found our local Walmart.

It was horrible. There were boxes everywhere on the floors. The shelves weren’t stocked or they were sloppy and unorganized. But worst of all, the people there, both the customers and the employees were just rude and standoffish. Now, I’ve worked in places like Walmart before and I expected a little better than that.

So we started looking for other places to shop, especially after our son was born. Parents know what it’s like to have a baby or toddler in the cart. It can get a little… interesting, to say the least.

Then we were blessed to find Aldi. This store blows my mind every time I go in one. First, the prices. They are the lowest around for excellent food. Their produce is far better than you would expect for the price. And, thank heaven, the store is organized.

But the biggest and best quality is the atmosphere. Everyone in there is friendly. The employees are always smiling and offering to help out. And the customers are far kinder than you find at Walmart. I’ve had so many positive interactions in the store.

Aldi is the place to shop. I always walk out with a smile on my face rather than my nerves frayed. I recommend it to anyone, particularly parents who want to be able to shop for groceries without having their nerves ruined by a bad shopping experience.