2010. Will it be all that different from 2009?

What are Your Local Resolutions? It doesn't have to be some gigantic change in your life. Everything counts. I have a few resolutions that involve my community.

For 1. I plan to zone out all groceries and eventually aim to buy only organic and natural foods. I will eat local whenever possible and will learn to extend summer produce into the winter. I will be shopping nearly exclusively at Eat It because the staff are amazing, prices are good, and they know their shit. I hear left right and center about how organic food is too expensive. I want to prove all you unbelievers wrong. When you head to Superstore, Walmart, Cosco, and all the other huge box stores you have so much marketing thrown at you. You head with your list of 10 items and leave with a cart full. These stores pay people a ton of money to make you spend your money there. When I shop at Eat It I leave spending the exact amount of money that I thought I would. It is actually kind of eerie. I don't know how it works but if I have $120 in my wallet and that is all, it will come to $118.50. I watch nervously as they swipe everything fearing that it will go over my budgeted money and it never does. The reason is because I buy what I need there. Eat It isn't like the big grocer demons. They have what you need and none of the junk.

Another good thing about organic food which I am sure that the owners of these establishments don't want me to discuss is that the processed and impulse items are too expensive to buy. ;) I rarely get pressured into buying a $12 small pizza or a $10 box of icecream. It costs enough money that it pushes me to make my own from scratch. If I do buy an impulse item it is a real treat and I cherish it like it is gold. Can you say that about your crappy rising crust pizza or grocery processed fish sticks? I have certain items that I share with no one. I hide my Greens & Blacks Butterscotch Chocolate in my freezer and I steal a couple squares from it a day until I sadly throw the empty wrapper into the recycling.

So, I guess I should get back to the plan....I am very good with the whole mind wandering....heck...I wish I had that chocolate right now. Ugh! Well....shopping at a small local grocery exclusively will make me think about my meal planning more and I will be cutting down on the expensive items like dairy, meat (for my man), and snack items. You really can get more for your money at the box stores....more crap I mean of course. I think my hubby will have the hardest time with this so I have to ensure that there is lots of easy snacks for him around so he doesn't panic and head to the closest junk food stop.

I believe that I will spend less money while eating organic and supporting my community. By shopping at Eat It I will not only be supporting them but local farmers, bakers, and candlestick makers. I read a lot of Mother Goose with my daughter but Eat It does actually sell local made candles so the reference is fine. ;)

Ok, 2, I would like to try to buy more gifts locally. I did pretty good at Christmas. Not all items were locally made but they were bought at small local stores and away from the Box Stores. I know that there are items that cannot be made in Manitoba but just by stepping into the smaller local shops to purchase the items helps our community and keeps our money here.

3, I want to visit some of the farms where I locally purchase meat, dairy, grains, vegetables, etc. I want to go and see how my food is made and I would like to share the information found here of course.

Lastly, 4, I would like to continue to pump everyone up to our local talent here in Manitoba by continuing to feature and review local artisans, artists, businesses, & restaurants. I will keep on passing any information I find about local craft fairs, awesome community garage sales, and other community supporting events to you.

Please email me anything you think can't be missed to handmadeinmanitoba@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading my posts and please continue to check back now and then. I promise that there will be some great people featured here. You should not have to shop at stores that are so large that you cannot see the 4 walls that surround you. Shop local and make a difference to your community. Support stores like Eat It, Humbolts Legacy, Tall Grass Prairie, and all the other amazing local stores that care about their community, the environment, and helping to keep our bodies healthy.

I hope 2010 is the year that the box stores get kicked out of Manitoba because of my blog and it's readers. Ha Ha! I am not smoking anything over here....I am just having fun. It has only been a couple months since I started it and I have 250-400 visitors a week reading up on what our community has to offer. I don't see why by the end of 2010 I can't have everyone reading it. How many people are there in Manitoba 700,000? Well...at least those with internet access. ;) I really should go to bed. My brain is getting a little out of whack over here. Again, thanks for reading my dribble.

Please let us know what your local resolutions are. Post a comment for the world to see.