Market Correction?

Disclaimer! This is truly a rant which I don't usually post but I thought I would today. Don't shoot me! I'm just thinking outloud (on my own blog).



Call me crazy, I can take it. I don’t really know what a real ‘market correction’ is but it occurred to me recently that all that is going on in the world today could be another type of ‘correction’; maybe a societal correction.

A few months ago, at my husband’s (command) request, I started stocking up on all our staples along with some other things that probably couldn’t really be defined as a staple. In any case, I did just what he asked and stocked up heavily on everything we regularly use that will store for long periods. I’ll see if I can still find the photos I took of the stock up and load them. That experience is a whole other story!! We were in some ways preparing for the worst while hoping it would prove unnecessary in the end.

Robin has recently been contemplating making big changes to a more natural and wholesome diet for her family. We were discussing all the possibilities and we came to the conclusion if we were doing more from ‘scratch’ we wouldn’t need all the convenience foods we have sitting on our shelves. We would save money, space, waste (I am disturbed by the sheer amount of packaging we throw away each week) health and so much more. Shopping would be made easier because it would consist primarily of staples – in bulk. There is so much that we buy ready to serve, just add an ingredient or two, heat and eat – everything to save time and effort. In truth, most items that we buy that way could be prepared with just an extra step or ingredient and would be much healthier and save a lot on the budget and storage space in our homes.

That got me to thinking…

In order to really implement such an idea we would first need to learn what we can make from scratch and what we really cannot (is there anything that can’t be made from scratch that goes into a conveniently wrapped (three layers thick) package?) There certainly shouldn’t be… Then we would need to decide what staples we needed to stock up on and how best to store them. We would want to find those items at their best value – noting that the best value isn’t necessarily the best price; it might well be a moderately priced item but a much better quality. We would need to take some time to learn the art of preparing wonderful breads, pastries, cookies, pastas, rice dishes – anything we now have sitting on our pantry shelves as a convenience food.

This leads me to my next point – finding the time to learn these lost arts might require we take some things off our busy schedules. How many of us would welcome a legitimate excuse for having a lighter schedule with more flexibility to do the things we want without the pressure of being committed to being here, there or everywhere if we decide at the last minute that there is something else we’d rather be doing or would benefit our families more?

In the bigger picture, what if a huge sector of our population is forced into simpler living because of our current economic crisis? Would all the implications really be negative? I think not. Families may be forced to live within their means – smaller homes, fewer cars requiring less insurance, maintenance, fuel (pollution), fewer purchases of disposable and unnecessary items that litter our landfills and take up physical and mental space within our homes and our lives.

Here’s a real challenge – I may get hate mail for this – but just hear me out and please realize that I am a totally old-fashioned minded woman. One income families – period. It can be done – many of us prove it with the lives we lead. That doesn’t mean that people who are passionate about their career field have to stop work in that field if they are married. They can volunteer those gifts to benefit others as they see fit. How about this insane idea – no childcare facilities, no latchkey programs; just a parent at home taking responsibility for the care and safety of their own children? Does that mean they can never work in their chosen career field or volunteer their time and gifts? Of course it doesn’t. It means they would prepare for that career before they have children or after they are old enough to safely, legally be left alone. It means they could work part time during the day when their children are at school. This would require the work force to create an environment that allows for flexible and cooperative work schedules. What about those single parent families – they especially need those flexible work schedules and better pay and benefits. We need to empower parents to be actively involved with their kids and encourage and support couples to work through the challenges of marriage and parenting that often result in divorce (which I’m pretty sure is due in large part to finances and parenting issues).

To be continued...