A couple of weeks ago my younger daughter and I went to a local farm, Danda Farms. We were given some ground beef by a neighbor from that farm and we were hooked! All our red meat comes from them. All our fruits and vegetables come from local farmer's markets or from the actual farm. Buying local foods means they are fresher, usually healthier (I know which ones use chemicals and which ones don't), and it helps support local businesses.
Buying local keeps me out of bigger stores where I am tempted to buy foods and goods that I really don't need. When I go to the farmer's market I can leave with a weeks worth of produce for $10, when I go to the grocery store I leave with a weeks worth of produce and $40 of junk I don't really need! Should I be strong enough not to give in to temptation, sure I should, but I accept that I am who I am and going to market helps keep me in check!
What happens when buying local costs more? The meat I purchase at my favorite farm does sometimes cost more than my local grocery store. However, the meat at the farm is organic, I can talk to the farmers, I can see the cows, it tastes so much better than anything I can get in my grocery store, and I'm support a family with values similar to mine. If it means I buy less meat to have better meat, then that is the way it is.
What happens when buying other things locally costs more? I think it comes down to what is important. Do you need 40 items that you can get online for $100 or could you be happy with 2 items that you can buy from a local business for $20? Yes you can get more for your money online, but can you be happier with less? In most cases you can and you can feel good for helping local businesses. Another option would be to ask the local business if they can match the online price. I have spoken to local businesses who do just that. They have matched online prices to keep their customers happy.
Big box stores are every where, they can give us great prices on so many things, but at what cost? At what cost to our economy, our country, and our employees? This is a site that is interesting to read and watch... The Story of Stuff
Do I have the answer to the economy struggles? No. Do I think buying local will help? Yes.
How many times do you go to the store for a gallon of milk and come home with a cart full and wonder what happened? If you could go to a local farm and buy your milk, how much money would you save by not spending money on things you don't really need?
There are days I wish we could bring back a system of bartering, but sadly I don't think we ever could pull that off completely. So for now the best I can do is get down to just the basics, enjoy what is important and forget the rest. There is that great poem about 100 years from now. It is so true, our children will only care about the time we spent with them, not what we purchased for them. I can't remember anything that my parents purchased for me, but I do remember all the time my father spent in the garage working on cars instead of spending time with me. No one on their death bed says "I wish I had spent more time working", they always say they wished they had more time with family.
I was reading another blog last night and it was about a guy who owned just 100 personal items (he didn't count shared items or furniture, he also counted 300 books as 1 library and he did it for just a year), but he did it to bring awareness to consumerism. I would rather show what I'm for, not what I'm against! I'm for time with family, friends, serving the Lord. I'm for less clutter, less stuff, and less cleaning (you have to clean, but with less stuff, it will take less time) that steals our time. I'm for spending less so that we can do more with our families. Will I spend money? Yes, I will. But it will be to buy 3 shirts for my daughter instead of 20, it will be to take the family on a day trip to see this beautiful country, not on a video game. Will I save money? I hope so, because medical bills continue to come and they will only get more and more expensive, so I hope to save so I can pay them all. I'm about priorities and keeping those priorities in check and not allow material things to "own" me. Does it have to be 100 items for everyone? No, but I feel God is asking this of me, He has a plan and I'm going to do it!
I'm considering doing a few short You Tube videos to share on my blog.....what types of things would you be interested in seeing?
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