So, it's March now. I have realized that this project is not something I have time for this year. I'm still not shopping at Walmart, but I'm not going to blog about it. At least not this year. Maybe some other time. Thanks to the 4 of you who got as excited as I got! I might pick my other blog back up. Who knows.
I'll leave you with one positive farewell: Walmart came through for the Walker Park Community Garden! They gave us a bunch of cardboard to use as mulch. Several employees at the Sixth street store were especially helpful and gave us a bunch. My mom and I got even more last Thursday night while they were stocking shelves. So, yay Walmart! I mean, it's because they ship so much to each store every single day, which I'm not a fan of, but at least we put their cardboard to good use.
So, ttfn. TA TA FOR NOW.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Time always gets the best of me when it comes to blogging. It happens.
It is now February. In the past two weeks, we have been to school three out of ten days due to 18 INCHES of snow being dumped upon northwest Arkansas. Ridiculous weather. During this snowpocalypse, as it has been termed endearingly, everyone around me was talking about rushing off to Walmart to stock up on food. Which I understand completely, especially because there's one so close to us now. But I didn't go there. I have made it to Ozark Natural Foods twice since my last post. On the last visit, my mom and I bought a butternut squash and made delicious soup. It was mostly organic, too, besides the butter. We didn't have to use any cream, either, and it was so tasty. I challenge thee, Walmart squash, to do better.
I haven't really had any issues with my non-Walmart happenings thus far. Mostly, I'm just severely aware of how much everyone relies on the place. Once it means something to me, suddenly I notice it in conversations everywhere. Not necessarily in a bad way, just often.
I did set foot in Walmart for the first time all year. Not even really inside, just in between the two sliding doors, to rent a RedBox movie.
I am concerned more and more about the new Neighborhood Market being put in on Wedington. It's across the street from a Harp's, which has a pretty good selection and is always busy when I've been there. I really like Harp's. They're an employee owned grocery and I really like supporting that. It seems really unnecessary to put in ANOTHER grocery store right there. I know, that's competition. But just because we can doesn't mean we need to. I know I sound whiny, but seriously. Why construct another building? Will Walmart really be hurt just by leaving one corner of our town uncovered? I don't think so. Maybe it's not that big of a deal. I just don't see why it's necessary.
This is sort of a weak post. I'll try to be better about keeping up with this, and expand on thoughts when they actually come to me, not three weeks later. Excuses, excuses.
It is now February. In the past two weeks, we have been to school three out of ten days due to 18 INCHES of snow being dumped upon northwest Arkansas. Ridiculous weather. During this snowpocalypse, as it has been termed endearingly, everyone around me was talking about rushing off to Walmart to stock up on food. Which I understand completely, especially because there's one so close to us now. But I didn't go there. I have made it to Ozark Natural Foods twice since my last post. On the last visit, my mom and I bought a butternut squash and made delicious soup. It was mostly organic, too, besides the butter. We didn't have to use any cream, either, and it was so tasty. I challenge thee, Walmart squash, to do better.
I haven't really had any issues with my non-Walmart happenings thus far. Mostly, I'm just severely aware of how much everyone relies on the place. Once it means something to me, suddenly I notice it in conversations everywhere. Not necessarily in a bad way, just often.
I did set foot in Walmart for the first time all year. Not even really inside, just in between the two sliding doors, to rent a RedBox movie.
I am concerned more and more about the new Neighborhood Market being put in on Wedington. It's across the street from a Harp's, which has a pretty good selection and is always busy when I've been there. I really like Harp's. They're an employee owned grocery and I really like supporting that. It seems really unnecessary to put in ANOTHER grocery store right there. I know, that's competition. But just because we can doesn't mean we need to. I know I sound whiny, but seriously. Why construct another building? Will Walmart really be hurt just by leaving one corner of our town uncovered? I don't think so. Maybe it's not that big of a deal. I just don't see why it's necessary.
This is sort of a weak post. I'll try to be better about keeping up with this, and expand on thoughts when they actually come to me, not three weeks later. Excuses, excuses.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Cotton Facial Cleansing Pads
My first Walmart product envy.
I use these babies with astringent or witchhazel to clean my face each night. I officially ran out yesterday. I'll probably use toilet paper tonight, but on a long term basis, it doesn't really work very well. Toilet paper absorbs the astringent so that it doesn't really apply to the face, instead of holding the liquid at the surface, like cotton.
My mom called me this afternoon to tell me she was shopping at Walmart, and to ask me if I needed anything. Well, I thought about the facial pads. I do need some, and I would usually buy some at Walmart. According to Walmart.com, they are $2.00 for a pack of 60.
Tonight, I'll suffice with using some other cleanser that doesn't require anything more than water. It doesn't work as well as my other system, but it will do. I'll have to see what Ozark Natural Foods carries for facial cleansing.
In other news, two people have brought up the new Walmart pharmacy on campus to me in the past two days. Once was this morning, before geology. The girl lives on my floor, and we were making small talk. I think I probably sounded really uninterested when she started talking about the details of what the new pharmacy carries. But I wasn't really comfortable talking about my no-Walmart project. It was basically silent in the classroom other than us, so everyone could hear what we were saying. I'm not ashamed of what I'm doing, but I am afraid of framing it in the wrong way when I tell people about it. And also I'm afraid of conflict. I dread that people won't hear me out. I should probably get more comfortable with the wording before I go around talking about it.
Yesterday, I saw a drove of people roaming campus, decked out in royal blue shirts and caps, handing out some sort of advertising material for the pharmacy. Probably tote bags. I saw one today with a razorback on it.
Greetings to the viewer from Alaska.
I use these babies with astringent or witchhazel to clean my face each night. I officially ran out yesterday. I'll probably use toilet paper tonight, but on a long term basis, it doesn't really work very well. Toilet paper absorbs the astringent so that it doesn't really apply to the face, instead of holding the liquid at the surface, like cotton.
My mom called me this afternoon to tell me she was shopping at Walmart, and to ask me if I needed anything. Well, I thought about the facial pads. I do need some, and I would usually buy some at Walmart. According to Walmart.com, they are $2.00 for a pack of 60.
Tonight, I'll suffice with using some other cleanser that doesn't require anything more than water. It doesn't work as well as my other system, but it will do. I'll have to see what Ozark Natural Foods carries for facial cleansing.
In other news, two people have brought up the new Walmart pharmacy on campus to me in the past two days. Once was this morning, before geology. The girl lives on my floor, and we were making small talk. I think I probably sounded really uninterested when she started talking about the details of what the new pharmacy carries. But I wasn't really comfortable talking about my no-Walmart project. It was basically silent in the classroom other than us, so everyone could hear what we were saying. I'm not ashamed of what I'm doing, but I am afraid of framing it in the wrong way when I tell people about it. And also I'm afraid of conflict. I dread that people won't hear me out. I should probably get more comfortable with the wording before I go around talking about it.
Yesterday, I saw a drove of people roaming campus, decked out in royal blue shirts and caps, handing out some sort of advertising material for the pharmacy. Probably tote bags. I saw one today with a razorback on it.
Greetings to the viewer from Alaska.
Monday, January 10, 2011
A Resolution
A few days ago, I was laying on a mattress in a Chicago church, listening to the breath wheeze in and out of the building and people around me. I was unable to sleep, because my mind was doing summersaults. I had just completed my first 12 hour day of a week-long training conference for youth leaders (Click here for more information). Much of this day was spent considering the ways in which our society generates and consumes energy and resources, and how to redirect that flow in more positive ventures. This kind of thinking always makes me consider my actions: am I living the way I want others to live?
I give corporate business a lot of crap. We all know that stores sell stuff to make a profit, and that stuff has to end up somewhere, and a lot of times that end is a landfill. So it's pretty easy to point fingers at a big corporate chain store and say "Look at all of this mess you made. Be sustainable. Digga digga digga."
But there's a reason we're called consumers. Because we are constantly making purchases and making waste. And based on the purchases we make, businesses produce to fill that need. Duh. Not a novel concept, by any means, but I do think that people forget how much power they have just in the small decisions they make everyday regarding consumption. No one decided to make Starbucks such a giant in the coffee world. Yes, their corporate offices strategically placed stores on every corner in the whole country and they have huge advertising campaigns and a naked lady on their merchandise, but all of that wouldn't matter at all if no one bought their coffee. But millions of people do, all the time. Again, you're probably thinking "duh".
I think most people recognize that there are serious problems facing our world right now, and in my experience, most people want these problems to get better. But it's hard to fix systems that are so ingrained in our culture. It's hard to change the current when you can barely keep your head above water. It's not fair to expect people to give up fast food when that's all that they can afford. But what if it were possible to eat healthier on a limited income? What if it were possible to keep local businesses alive? What if you could reclaim power over your purchases?
While i considered this question, I thought about the way I choose to spend my money, and the discrepancies between those decisions and the way I choose to use my words.
I've grown up in Arkansas, mostly in the northwest region of the state. Walmart country. Sam Walton's first store was opened about forty five minutes from the house in which I've spent my life, and the modern corporate offices are located there. Anyone you talk to in this area most likely works for Walmart or one of their vendors, or has someone in their family who does. In my town, we have two Supercenters, a Neighboorhood Market, and a Sam's Club. A new Neighborhood Market is in construction on the west side of town and they just opened a Walmart pharmacy on my college campus. In fact, the business school at my university is named after Mr. Sam himself. That's for a population of about 70,000. It's a way of life here.
I've criticized Walmart along with the rest of the world, for lack of worker benefits, where their products are manufactured, the way their price slashing tends to run local economies into the ground, etc. Important issues, but nothing that hasn't been said before, more eloquently (and nothing that hasn't been committed by other international business giants). And these concerns have never kept me from shopping there. My mother is the same way. She feels like she has to, because that's the cheapest deal, and she has a family to support. What a terrible feeling to have - seeing a big problem, but feeling like you have to keep contributing to it. But what else can you do?
So while I was laying there in Chicago, I had an idea. I knew what I could do. I could finally take a personal stand, and just say no (Sorry for the cliche. This will make up for it.) . That's how this idea was born. I've committed to not setting foot in or shopping at any Walmart store for an entire year. My goal is to attempt to buy what I otherwise would have purchased at Walmart from a local source, and to compare the price and quality of the item to its Walmart counterpart.
I also plan to use this as a place to discuss the opposition I'm sure to encounter during my experiment. Walmart funds this entire area. They have some diehard fans around here, and I'm sure I'll receive my fair share of criticism for my abstinence. I'll write about those experiences, too.
I don't want to condemn Walmart. They give back an enormous amount of money to so many community groups and non-profits, and they are making a lot of strides in sustainability efforts (which could have serious impacts on the rest of the production world). But they do have some practices that I disagree with. I simply want to see how hard it is to practice what I preach. I'm also hoping that by having to stop and think about more about my purchasing choices, I might just realize I don't need to buy so much after all.
Another disclaimer: I'm a college student. I have a meal plan and a scholarship and am supporting only myself on a not-even-part-time job. I'm not going to tell you that you should do exactly what I'm doing because of course it will work for you because of course you're in my same position. I'm trying to see how this will work for me, to learn something about myself and what I value, and to maybe create some sort of conversation while I'm at it.
Here begins a year of not necessarily saving money, and not necessarily living better. But I'm going to try to do both. We'll see what happens.
I give corporate business a lot of crap. We all know that stores sell stuff to make a profit, and that stuff has to end up somewhere, and a lot of times that end is a landfill. So it's pretty easy to point fingers at a big corporate chain store and say "Look at all of this mess you made. Be sustainable. Digga digga digga."
But there's a reason we're called consumers. Because we are constantly making purchases and making waste. And based on the purchases we make, businesses produce to fill that need. Duh. Not a novel concept, by any means, but I do think that people forget how much power they have just in the small decisions they make everyday regarding consumption. No one decided to make Starbucks such a giant in the coffee world. Yes, their corporate offices strategically placed stores on every corner in the whole country and they have huge advertising campaigns and a naked lady on their merchandise, but all of that wouldn't matter at all if no one bought their coffee. But millions of people do, all the time. Again, you're probably thinking "duh".
I think most people recognize that there are serious problems facing our world right now, and in my experience, most people want these problems to get better. But it's hard to fix systems that are so ingrained in our culture. It's hard to change the current when you can barely keep your head above water. It's not fair to expect people to give up fast food when that's all that they can afford. But what if it were possible to eat healthier on a limited income? What if it were possible to keep local businesses alive? What if you could reclaim power over your purchases?
While i considered this question, I thought about the way I choose to spend my money, and the discrepancies between those decisions and the way I choose to use my words.
I've grown up in Arkansas, mostly in the northwest region of the state. Walmart country. Sam Walton's first store was opened about forty five minutes from the house in which I've spent my life, and the modern corporate offices are located there. Anyone you talk to in this area most likely works for Walmart or one of their vendors, or has someone in their family who does. In my town, we have two Supercenters, a Neighboorhood Market, and a Sam's Club. A new Neighborhood Market is in construction on the west side of town and they just opened a Walmart pharmacy on my college campus. In fact, the business school at my university is named after Mr. Sam himself. That's for a population of about 70,000. It's a way of life here.
I've criticized Walmart along with the rest of the world, for lack of worker benefits, where their products are manufactured, the way their price slashing tends to run local economies into the ground, etc. Important issues, but nothing that hasn't been said before, more eloquently (and nothing that hasn't been committed by other international business giants). And these concerns have never kept me from shopping there. My mother is the same way. She feels like she has to, because that's the cheapest deal, and she has a family to support. What a terrible feeling to have - seeing a big problem, but feeling like you have to keep contributing to it. But what else can you do?
So while I was laying there in Chicago, I had an idea. I knew what I could do. I could finally take a personal stand, and just say no (Sorry for the cliche. This will make up for it.) . That's how this idea was born. I've committed to not setting foot in or shopping at any Walmart store for an entire year. My goal is to attempt to buy what I otherwise would have purchased at Walmart from a local source, and to compare the price and quality of the item to its Walmart counterpart.
I also plan to use this as a place to discuss the opposition I'm sure to encounter during my experiment. Walmart funds this entire area. They have some diehard fans around here, and I'm sure I'll receive my fair share of criticism for my abstinence. I'll write about those experiences, too.
I don't want to condemn Walmart. They give back an enormous amount of money to so many community groups and non-profits, and they are making a lot of strides in sustainability efforts (which could have serious impacts on the rest of the production world). But they do have some practices that I disagree with. I simply want to see how hard it is to practice what I preach. I'm also hoping that by having to stop and think about more about my purchasing choices, I might just realize I don't need to buy so much after all.
Another disclaimer: I'm a college student. I have a meal plan and a scholarship and am supporting only myself on a not-even-part-time job. I'm not going to tell you that you should do exactly what I'm doing because of course it will work for you because of course you're in my same position. I'm trying to see how this will work for me, to learn something about myself and what I value, and to maybe create some sort of conversation while I'm at it.
Here begins a year of not necessarily saving money, and not necessarily living better. But I'm going to try to do both. We'll see what happens.
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