I still remember the neighborhood of my childhood. The memory is still fresh of the types of stores within the block where we lived. The bakery made fresh bread every day at four o’clock in the afternoon. We bought one pound of white bread for our afternoon snack. We could buy cookies and crackers in small amounts such as several pieces for a quarter.
My mom went to the market twice a day to buy fresh food for the meals of the day. She didn’t need to store any food in the refrigerator. The refrigerator was the size of a dish washer.
I don’t remember we needed to buy anything in large volume. We could go to a hardware store to buy a few pieces of nails; go to the pharmacy to get a few pain tablets; or a grocery store to get four ounces of sugar or salt. The only large volume of food item that my mom bought was rice. Since rice was the major diet, my mom bought 50 pounds of rice at a time and stored in a large ceramic jug.
I look at my life here in U.S. We buy most of the daily use items in large volume. When I go shopping, I read labels a lot. I compare the amount per ounce, and try to get the most out of the buck. I usually go to a large warehouse for certain items, because I could save a few dollars for larger volume. One disadvantage of buying things in large volume is the lack of freshness.
I especially don’t want to have large volume of snack items available around the house. It’s too convenient to grab it and stuff in the mouth when we don’t need the extra food in our stomach.
I still miss the days when I could get one pound of freshly baked bread every day or several cookies for a quarter!
It was in Poland, in the 70’s and the beginning of 80’s, but people were very cooperative, even if it was illegal Now I’m more mature and live is more stable, I hear to commend some of the things I’ve gone through and even publish about it.
Living in NYC, apartments are small and storage is limited, so we pick up what we need often. We take advantage of current sales and enjoy more variety in our diet that way, Miriam. Kind of like your childhood experience. 😉 xoM
Yes, Margarita. Even these days, living in Hong Kong doesn’t let people have large storage area. Imagine the whole family living in a 900 to 1200 square feet flats. Probably it’s close to situtations in YC.
I think it is a balance I purchase household items (soap, toilet paper etc) in large volumes as it cheaper and we have the space. I however, purchase produce at the farmers market once a week…
Yes, that’s so right, it’s not that long ago you could buy just what you need and no more. We are only 2 people so I don’t like all the food waste. I now have a subscription service that delivers only the exact amount we need for recipes provided. But it’s not just food! Bulk overwhelms me and I find it not aesthetically pleasing to store in my home. I was just lamenting to my colleague how toilet paper only seems to come in packs of 16 or more these days!
My daughter subscribes produce from a farm in Portland, OR. They make weekly delivery of vegetables plus salmon – they are vegetarians. For certain household items, it’s inevitable that you have to buy large volume and store them ;-0
I’m also coming from a place and the time where the big supermarkets didn’t exist, everyday shopping was normal, not mentioning the period when there was nothing to buy besides spagetti and flour 😂
yes, sure, you couldn’t function in that system without doing illegal things. It was dangerous, frustrating but also often funny, especially when I think about it now 🙂
You know I’m happy you wrote your post because it brought me to this conversation and then to those memories and I really thought about it a lot today. It brought me somewhere 🌺 thank you 🌷
You’re welcome! I find myself try to push some memories away. Now I’m more mature and live is more stable, I try to remember some of the things I’ve gone through and even write about it. ♥*♥*♥
We are lucky here in that we still have small independent bakeries, greengrocer’s, butchers and fishmongers where we can buy small fresh portions of what we need. We also have a farm nearby where we can pick fresh fruit and vegetables ourselves and only take what we need. It is sad to hear that these kind of options are disappearing where you are 💜
I remember going to the market with my mom where the meat was hanging, and my mom pointed to the portion and the amount she wanted. The butcher just sliced it. There are more Farmers Market and promote buying local produce to reduce the traveling distance of the produce. But everything else comes in bulk package!
I like what you say about buying just what one needs. Many people buy too much and dump later while millions are starving. It doesn’t help the world. If we have much let us think of those who don’t.
The buying food in large volumes issue is one that my dad often complains about – though my mum just can’t resist a good deal in the supermarkets! Though I find this simple joy in being able to buy something like a banana milkshake from the food court near my office for only $2 and sip it throughout the day….
I agree with you, how those days they would buy only what they needed. With bulk buying these days you buy so much whether you need them or not and so much waste.
The Showers of Blessings 
It was in Poland, in the 70’s and the beginning of 80’s, but people were very cooperative, even if it was illegal Now I’m more mature and live is more stable, I hear to commend some of the things I’ve gone through and even publish about it.
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Living in NYC, apartments are small and storage is limited, so we pick up what we need often. We take advantage of current sales and enjoy more variety in our diet that way, Miriam. Kind of like your childhood experience. 😉 xoM
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Yes, Margarita. Even these days, living in Hong Kong doesn’t let people have large storage area. Imagine the whole family living in a 900 to 1200 square feet flats. Probably it’s close to situtations in YC.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it is a balance I purchase household items (soap, toilet paper etc) in large volumes as it cheaper and we have the space. I however, purchase produce at the farmers market once a week…
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Yes, that’s what I’m doing also. The non perishable items, I could get larger volume.
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Yes, that’s so right, it’s not that long ago you could buy just what you need and no more. We are only 2 people so I don’t like all the food waste. I now have a subscription service that delivers only the exact amount we need for recipes provided. But it’s not just food! Bulk overwhelms me and I find it not aesthetically pleasing to store in my home. I was just lamenting to my colleague how toilet paper only seems to come in packs of 16 or more these days!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My daughter subscribes produce from a farm in Portland, OR. They make weekly delivery of vegetables plus salmon – they are vegetarians. For certain household items, it’s inevitable that you have to buy large volume and store them ;-0
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I’m also coming from a place and the time where the big supermarkets didn’t exist, everyday shopping was normal, not mentioning the period when there was nothing to buy besides spagetti and flour 😂
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Live must be different and hard when there was nothing to buy except spaghetti and flour!
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Well, people aroud me (especially my parents) were very creative😄
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I’m sure people are creative to make the most of what they have!
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It was in Poland, in the 70’s and the beginning of 80’s, but people were very cooperative, even if it was illegal
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They just try to help each other out!!
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yes, sure, you couldn’t function in that system without doing illegal things. It was dangerous, frustrating but also often funny, especially when I think about it now 🙂
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It happened in many societies. Yes, at the time, you only focus on day to day survival.
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You know I’m happy you wrote your post because it brought me to this conversation and then to those memories and I really thought about it a lot today. It brought me somewhere 🌺 thank you 🌷
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You’re welcome! I find myself try to push some memories away. Now I’m more mature and live is more stable, I try to remember some of the things I’ve gone through and even write about it. ♥*♥*♥
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We are lucky here in that we still have small independent bakeries, greengrocer’s, butchers and fishmongers where we can buy small fresh portions of what we need. We also have a farm nearby where we can pick fresh fruit and vegetables ourselves and only take what we need. It is sad to hear that these kind of options are disappearing where you are 💜
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I remember going to the market with my mom where the meat was hanging, and my mom pointed to the portion and the amount she wanted. The butcher just sliced it. There are more Farmers Market and promote buying local produce to reduce the traveling distance of the produce. But everything else comes in bulk package!
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:o) xxx
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🙂 🙂
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I like what you say about buying just what one needs. Many people buy too much and dump later while millions are starving. It doesn’t help the world. If we have much let us think of those who don’t.
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Yes, exactly, we wasted too much!
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The buying food in large volumes issue is one that my dad often complains about – though my mum just can’t resist a good deal in the supermarkets! Though I find this simple joy in being able to buy something like a banana milkshake from the food court near my office for only $2 and sip it throughout the day….
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Yes, just buy what you need is better than storing what you don’t need at the moment.
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I agree with you, how those days they would buy only what they needed. With bulk buying these days you buy so much whether you need them or not and so much waste.
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Yes, exactly. IMany times I look at the expiration dates and end up throwing away food that’s expired!
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