Raw Drip

I’m still recuperating from the H-E-double hockey sticks that comprised the better part of my fall and the final 3 weeks leading up to Christmas.  In addition to battling “the cold that’s going around” and juggling my job which becomes all-consuming at this time of year, we also played host to my in-laws for 10 days.  Not to worry, this is not a bitch post about how awful it was to have 5 adults and 2 small children in a 3/2 house.  I’m the first person to acknowledge that hosting visiting family can be a hassle, but between the holiday parties and a lack of daycare, I actually looked forward to having the extra bodies around the house to help watch the kids and provide a pleasant distraction from all the insanity.  

There’s a well-documented potential for melodrama inherent in too many grown-ups trapped in one small space.  Add to that dynamic the typical zaniness leading up to C-day and you have a recipe for disaster.  Much to my surprise, there were no disasters.  In fact, we actually had a very pleasant, relaxing, and quiet visit with family.  

The only melodrama arising from playing hostess was the amazing amount of pure consumption that occurred.  Between last minute gift shopping, late night runs for gift wrapping supplies, and almost daily grocery store visits, our family exemplified the rest of the world’s idea of all that’s wrong with the American consumer.  When I took inventory and did the math after the fact, I was shocked at the figures.

Dry Goods  & Fresh Grocery Items consumed:

• 19 rolls of toilet paper
• 4 bars of bath soap
• 2 quarts of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds of butter
• 8 gallons of skim milk
• 5 pounds of coffee
• 1 1/2 gallons of Half & Half
• 4 loaves of bread
• 5 pounds of potatoes
• 5 pounds of tomatoes
• 4 pounds of apples
• 10 bags of pre-washed mixed greens for salad

I’m calculating that we spent about $700 in groceries for those 10 days – not including the beef tenderloin, pies & rolls made for Christmas dinner.  The really sad fact is that we ate out nearly every other night, so our actual numbers should be much higher.

Those of you with large families or who grew up in large families are no doubt, underwhelmed by my findings.  But I really don’t know how a large family can afford to survive in this economy.  If nothing else, this whole experience has been an exercise in awareness for me, who feels a new found happiness for her $1200 a month grocery bill.  Sadly, I bet my $1200 monthly grocery bill is generous for 4 people and is probably similar to the budget for much larger families.  Fortunately for us, my family eats a great deal of fresh vegetables and fruits which are notoriously expensive, so I can only imagine the sacrifices larger families must make on the quality front, just to meet the quantity needs.

Grocery shopping for 7 has re-acquainted me with important lessons about creating flexible, budget-friendly menus, and using strategic bulk-buying and generic brands to stretch my dollar.  I know I’m not alone in this realization.  Because of the global economic downturn, this holiday season was a wake up call for many of us.  I’ve heard it from friend after friend – we’re all shocked at how little we really needed to feel happy this year.  As I tallied up my gifting and grocery bills for this holiday season, I realized that I had allowed my spending vigilance to slip in recent months and, instantly, I knew what my 2009 new year’s resolution would be.

Like the tell-tale cough from a movie heroine that always signals her upcoming demise, the onslaught of consumption that we (and the global “we”) are barely surviving signals a change in our collective story line for 2009; a change that seems set to remind us, like it or not, about the virtues of simple, smart living.  It’s tempting to embrace the need to see simple living as something we need to overcome, but I’m hopeful that it’s just the thing we’ve been looking for all along.