Supermarket Break Up Challenge for October

I have a love hate relationship with the big 2 supermarket chains.  I love their convenience, access to choice but I do try to conscientiously shop when I go, buying Australian made and avoiding "their brands".  What I do hate is the duopoly they have in the market place.  I'm scared that one day if we don't do something drastic they will ditch all the other brands from their shelves and we will be left with no choice.  Every dollar we spend with them is a vote to what we as consumers want. So, it probably won't come to much of a surprise to my regular readers what this challenge is going to be for October. 

I read a blog post from Down to earth Mother titled Why I broke up with the supermarket.  It makes perfect sense. So, for the month of October I am challenging myself and any of you who want to come along for the ride, to break up with the two big boys, shop locally owned and lets see how we fair.  There may be a few slip ups along the way, but thats ok, breaking up is hard to do, there are years of firmly formed habits to undo, I promise there will be no judgement.

Where I live we have a locally owned and operated IGA, Aldi, Go Vita, lots of butchers, bakers and green grocers so I hardly think it will be difficult.  My biggest reason for wanting to do this is all the impulse buying I do when I hit Woolies or Coles.  I go with my carefully prepared list which has been well thought threw with a menu plan in mind and while yes I do get all thats on the list, I usually end up with way much more that I intended.  Those multi-buys get me every time, I'm a sucker for a bargain and of course there's my stockpile to think about.

I know for some of you you will be thinking "whoa there sister she gone crazy!" But I think its crazy if we don't at least try and invest in our local crew.  Some websites you may want to check out are who gives a crap for your toilet paper with free postage, go toddler who if you like on facebook will give you $5 off your first order.  Approach your local green grocers, butchers and bakers and ask if you could place your order over the phone and have your order ready and waiting for you to collect, you will be surprised at how many are happy to oblige.  You may even find some added freebies.

                             
So, who's going crazy with me?

Ciao, Jan