Different

So we decided to go for a few weeks without going to the big supermarket. You know the one, that has everything, is open at all hours, big aisle, huge parking spaces, two for one offers, no, four for one offers. You don’t even have to talk to someone while your there, what with it’s self service and all. 

The reasons behind trying to not shop there for a little while were pretty vague. In the conversation I probably mentioned something about the farmers getting squeezed for everything they have, or something about the amount of packaging. Something about helping the local business may also have been put forward.

Ultimately, it was a case of trying something different, getting out of the routine, exploring.

And, as always, when you do that, you learn.

We learnt that the local butcher provides amazing meat. The local markets have fruit and veg that simply tastes better. We learnt that we have been buying stuff that has way too much packaging. That getting sucked into two for one deals often means two things; you spend more and you waste more. Em learnt how to make gnocchi from scratch (it’s the kids favourite and we couldn’t get it without going to the local big supermarket). We learnt that it feels good to walk into a small bakery and chat to the baker and buy some bread. 

We will most likely go back to the supermarket to buy some stuff. It’s the only place that seems to sell toilet paper around here so a complete ban would seem a pretty silly (and smelly) thing to do. But if it’s fresh, we will go elsewhere. It’s fun and rewarding to explore.

You can lose a lot for convenience.