This is a good idea and I hope that a lot of folks live in an area where they can do this. In my community I have no idea where to buy things like toilet paper and soap if I don't do it in a chain store. Any ideas? It is also such a vicious cycle.......you have to budget your money which means you have to get the most bang for your buck, which means you have to go where things are cheapest, which means chain stores, which only drives the local stores to even higher prices before they go out of business. I wish there were easy answers to these troubles! :)
GW, I agree with what you said, but I also think you hit the nail on the head, the one I've been aiming at*wink*. If we don't support local stores and instead seek out better prices from the box/ chain stores, it drives up prices in the local stores and the end result is sadly the local stores go out of business. Okay, so this is how I think about it, it's a mind set and a budget adjustment of sorts( in the short term, I'll explain) We choose to support the local stores/ businesses first and foremost, now they don't always have what we're in need of so... we then resort to going to the city and we work hard to support the local businesses there before patronizing any box/ chain stores, which is sometimes the end result to find what it is we need*sigh* Yes, we do spend more buying local, but if you factor in gas, mileage added to your vehicles and convience it helps soothe some of the initial pains felt in the budget. I guess what I'm trying to convey is that it is the "principle of the matter" and if we don't change the way we've all been indoctrinated into thinking, we soon won't have a choice, because all the local businesses will have gone under. I've seen this over and over in our local city areas, in respects to WalMart and big box stores. Soon the locals are driven out and then the shift of "everyday great prices and the best selection" in the chain/box stores diminishes and untilmately you no longer have a choice, thus you pay the ultimate price. I hope this makes sense.:o)
kelle, i agree and also think it's a matter of principles. because we can't grow hardly any food ourselves here in the desert but have to travel to a certain city once a week for work, we do almost all our shopping at a community co-op where only organic food is sold and as much local as they can get. we get all our toiletries, dish and laundry soaps, etc. there. people often say they can't afford organic but i always notice they often have a starbuck's coffee in their hand or are planning their meal out with friends. we virtually never buy anything out and i bet we spend less than many folks do who buy commercial food only. as for other items, we support the local hardware store when they have the items we need adn the rest of the money goes to home depot as those are the only choices. good reminder to us all, though!
Hopeful, Glad you added your $.02, we've missed hearing from you, as well as seeing new posts on your blog, but we also understand, what we refer to it as, " Life Happens" moments.*wink* I agree, if people stopped to add up how much they spend in a month on; special coffees, cigarettes, pop, even bottled water, they'd be shocked. Let alone all the meals eaten away from home. They'd certainly be able to afford to eat better foods wouldn't they? For the most part it all goes back to convience, and several generations not learning how to cook from scratch, why? because Mom's were indoctrinated/ deceived into thinking they had to work outside the home.*sigh* For several reasons this indoctrination/deception worked, because SAHM's were made to feel that they were less of a person if they didn't have a job outside the home( making an identity for themselves) as well as the indoctrination of "Keeping up with the Jones's". We have what we term,"convience foods", it's usually some homecanned soup, spagetti sauce with meat, breads and desserts frozen, only in need of thawing to eat, etc.... We even double cookie recipes and take the extra cookie dough, roll it into a log and wrap in waxpaper, then foil and freeze. These come in VERY handy for unexpected company, you just slice off some frozen dough and bake, when the company arrives they feel very special that you baked cookies for them. This works well with pies, freeze unbaked or par baked, finish baking for special company*wink* Blessing and thank you all for your comments, Kelle
now, that's a good "convenience food". and, i agree that stay at home moms did get that stigma and still do. i wish folks could just do what they felt was right and not worry about what others thought. my mom did both - had her own business and managed to cook and do the rest. had a supportive dad who helped out and i was able to hang out at her work a lot (a surfboard shop in the early 70's in san diego - a paradise for a kid!). well, i hope to get posting on my blog soon again. yes, "life happens" and i hope it smoothes out a bit now!
6 comments:
This is a good idea and I hope that a lot of folks live in an area where they can do this. In my community I have no idea where to buy things like toilet paper and soap if I don't do it in a chain store. Any ideas? It is also such a vicious cycle.......you have to budget your money which means you have to get the most bang for your buck, which means you have to go where things are cheapest, which means chain stores, which only drives the local stores to even higher prices before they go out of business. I wish there were easy answers to these troubles! :)
GW,
I agree with what you said, but I also think you hit the nail on the head, the one I've been aiming at*wink*. If we don't support local stores and instead seek out better prices from the box/ chain stores, it drives up prices in the local stores and the end result is sadly the local stores go out of business.
Okay, so this is how I think about it, it's a mind set and a budget adjustment of sorts( in the short term, I'll explain) We choose to support the local stores/ businesses first and foremost, now they don't always have what we're in need of so... we then resort to going to the city and we work hard to support the local businesses there before patronizing any box/ chain stores, which is sometimes the end result to find what it is we need*sigh* Yes, we do spend more buying local, but if you factor in gas, mileage added to your vehicles and convience it helps soothe some of the initial pains felt in the budget. I guess what I'm trying to convey is that it is the "principle of the matter" and if we don't change the way we've all been indoctrinated into thinking, we soon won't have a choice, because all the local businesses will have gone under. I've seen this over and over in our local city areas, in respects to WalMart and big box stores. Soon the locals are driven out and then the shift of "everyday great prices and the best selection" in the chain/box stores diminishes and untilmately you no longer have a choice, thus you pay the ultimate price. I hope this makes sense.:o)
kelle, i agree and also think it's a matter of principles. because we can't grow hardly any food ourselves here in the desert but have to travel to a certain city once a week for work, we do almost all our shopping at a community co-op where only organic food is sold and as much local as they can get. we get all our toiletries, dish and laundry soaps, etc. there. people often say they can't afford organic but i always notice they often have a starbuck's coffee in their hand or are planning their meal out with friends. we virtually never buy anything out and i bet we spend less than many folks do who buy commercial food only. as for other items, we support the local hardware store when they have the items we need adn the rest of the money goes to home depot as those are the only choices. good reminder to us all, though!
p.s. we also support our local farmer's market!!
Hopeful,
Glad you added your $.02, we've missed hearing from you, as well as seeing new posts on your blog, but we also understand, what we refer to it as, " Life Happens" moments.*wink*
I agree, if people stopped to add up how much they spend in a month on; special coffees, cigarettes, pop, even bottled water, they'd be shocked. Let alone all the meals eaten away from home. They'd certainly be able to afford to eat better foods wouldn't they?
For the most part it all goes back to convience, and several generations not learning how to cook from scratch, why? because Mom's were indoctrinated/ deceived into thinking they had to work outside the home.*sigh* For several reasons this indoctrination/deception worked, because SAHM's were made to feel that they were less of a person if they didn't have a job outside the home( making an identity for themselves) as well as the indoctrination of "Keeping up with the Jones's".
We have what we term,"convience foods", it's usually some homecanned soup, spagetti sauce with meat, breads and desserts frozen, only in need of thawing to eat, etc.... We even double cookie recipes and take the extra cookie dough, roll it into a log and wrap in waxpaper, then foil and freeze. These come in VERY handy for unexpected company, you just slice off some frozen dough and bake, when the company arrives they feel very special that you baked cookies for them. This works well with pies, freeze unbaked or par baked, finish baking for special company*wink*
Blessing and thank you all for your comments,
Kelle
now, that's a good "convenience food". and, i agree that stay at home moms did get that stigma and still do. i wish folks could just do what they felt was right and not worry about what others thought. my mom did both - had her own business and managed to cook and do the rest. had a supportive dad who helped out and i was able to hang out at her work a lot (a surfboard shop in the early 70's in san diego - a paradise for a kid!). well, i hope to get posting on my blog soon again. yes, "life happens" and i hope it smoothes out a bit now!
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