Well, Lisa’s and my experiment in living an unchained life for a year ended on December 31, 2009. Now we can return — if we want — to shopping at chain stores and eating at chain restaurants. Did I gain any insights from that year year of “sacrifice”? Did I learn any lessons?
Actually, I learned quite a few lessons.
When it comes to shopping, most of us Americans see ourselves as consumers instead of members of a community. And as consumers, we’re interested in buying things at low prices — not in helping our town or city to survive economically. A recent online article in The Boston Globe about a 16-year campaign in St. Albans, Vermont to stop a WalMart from opening illustrates this attitude… Continue reading | 2 Comments
One thing I’ve noticed since going chain free is that independent stores tend to have too few choices and chain stores tend to have too many choices.
For example, take cheddar cheese.
Before I stopped shopping at chain grocery stores, I used to buy a wonderful English Cheddar cheese from the BI-LO
Recently, I bought an air filter for my lawn mower at Lowes. Why? The reason is simple: The only place I could buy one was at a chain store. I had four choices of chains: Home Depot, where I’d bought the lawn mower, Lowes, the local Ace Hardware, or the local True Value.
To be truthful, the True Value store should… Continue reading | 1 Comment
