My Traumatic IKEA Experience!

First let me start this entry off by saying that I love IKEA. I do. Really, I do. HOWEVER...did you notice the big "however?" Yes. However, I HATE shopping there.

I work less than 5 minutes walking distance from the Pittsburgh IKEA and I do not go there. Honestly. I have only been there twice in the last 4 1/2 years. I know some of you out there are probably jealous that I am so close to one. Some of you are thinking that I'm nuts for not going on a weekly basis but it's something I just can't do. Yes. I said CAN'T. Let me explain.

Several weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to stop and get some of these "BURKEN" jars for my kitchen...

...and some of these"BRANÄS" baskets for my...
"EXPEDIT" shelving unit that I bought on my last visit to IKEA ... 3 years ago! By the way, don't you just love all the cool names they have for their stuff?
Anyway. If you have ever been to IKEA you know what I mean when I say that you can not get into that store easily! The entrance is clearly marked so I don't mean that but once you step inside the door, you don't know where to go. I end up going into this little entrance which dumps you directly into one of their shopping areas. I then had to find my way back to a corner of that area so I could pick up one of their carts that have wheels that go in all directions. Yes. This cart can not only move forward but sideways and is a little hard to handle at times because you are not used to driving a cart with a mind of it's own.

Okay, now that I got into the store and have my cart, it was time to search out the jars. I found them quickly and I was doing just fine at that time. Then I tried to find my way to the baskets. It wasn't an easy task. That place is like a maze! There are these openings that you think is leading you to another section but then you take it and you end up back where you were! Ugh!

I finally stumbled and I mean stumbled upon the baskets. Thank goodness! I was starting to get frustrated. There weren't very many there. This was disappointing because they are handmade and they are all a little different. I had trouble picking three that were similar.

After I had my jars and baskets, I thought that I would look around a little. This turned out to be a good idea and a bad idea all in the same. I stumbled upon some more of the baskets and traded in a couple that I had already picked out for some that were better matches. That was the good part. The bad part of my "looking around" idea was that I should have known better. I get lost in IKEA and can't find the entrance or the exit and then I start to panic. I'm serious! I start to break out in a sweat and then I start breathing more rapidly. I go into panic mode thinking that if there was a fire or some other emergency, I couldn't find my way out. I would die in IKEA with baskets and jars! So after my 30 minute visit to IKEA, I had to get out of there...and I didn't even make it to their other floors. Thankfully, before I had to embarrass myself by asking someone to point me to the registers, I luckily found my own way out!

I know this crazy but this is what IKEA does to me!
It turns a normal independent middle-aged Mom in a fearful panicked child!

Why couldn't they just build the store like other stores? One large space divided by aisles and rows?

Seriously. I don't think I'm alone in feeling this way about this store...at least I know there's one other out there...because in sharing my experience with my BFF, she agreed with me!
Do any of you have IKEA panic when you shop there?

Oh look! It's our personal inspector!
Princess has to sniff, examine and climb into any package, box or basket that comes into our house. I don't know what she's looking for but I hope it's not bugs!

Have Fun!

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