I DID IT!
This has turned out to be one of my favourite resolutions of the year!
You may not know, but I made it my New Year Resolution this year to do a different resolution each month instead of one for the year - it makes it manageable, achievable and if something is attainable you're more likely to stick to it.
So far I've read all of the Harry Potter books (was supposed to be just 1 in January, but I got hooked and binge-read the lot!).
I've had a month without cr*p sugar.
I went back to horseriding - one of the things I loved doing as a child, but just stopped doing.
This month I said I would not go to a supermarket all month - the Big 4, not even Aldi, Lidl or M&S, nope no Waitrose either! And I didn't!
To be honest the first few days genuinely felt really weird - I didn't realise just how much time I spent in them...nipping in and picking up a few bits whilst passing, dog food, clothes, treats. Pretty much everything I buy is from a supermarket. It's a really easy place to kill a bit of time! Plus you can pretty much buy anything and everything you might need these days!
So what have I discovered?
Fresh meat from the butchers can be pretty expensive - unless you go on their cheap days, or buy in packs and freeze! But, you can really tell the difference and there is something nice about knowing where you food has come from.
My worry about yoghurts was somewhat unfounded because I found new ones I liked! Though I do want to get some Orange Muller Lights and my Light & Free Lemon Yoghurts and you can't get those in any other shops at all....trust me I've looked!
You don't get the low-salt/sugar varieties of things in local shops - OXO, Ketchup, Baked Beans that sort of thing...though for the amount we use them it's not actually that significant!
Dog food is a lot cheaper in bulk and not from a supermarket - Archie has certainly not complained about the new food!
There was nothing that replaced Aldi's frozen Thai Style Mixed Vegetables! Those I will be nipping in to get as soon as possible - as well as looking at the random stuff in the middle aisle! If anyone can let me know if I missed anything really good in September at Aldi that would be great!
Variety of bread/wraps/brioche/flatbreads is pretty poor away from a supermarket - we don't have it often, but when you're looking at stuff away from just a normal loaf it's pretty much all white breads and rolls...I like mini-wraps and mini-bagels - the big ones work for those!
There's something very grown up about buying fruit and veg from a greengrocers!
My favourite snacks (Nakd Bars) can only be bought in a couple of shops and as individuals rather than packs of 5, unless you go to Costco and then you can get tons!
Local shops seem to be friendlier! Probably to do with the fact there isn't the pressure to do everything as quickly as possible like in supermarkets...but even so, one of the old ladies in the local Spar held the door open for me on my way out the other day and I always get the feeling when they tell you to have a nice day they actually mean it!
So yep, I've survived, we haven't gone hungry! I even got a couple of extra walks in on a few days...walking to the shop for things rather than driving seeing as the shop is less than 10mins walk away...plus if you fill a couple of bags well your walk back is practically the 'Farmer's Walk' exercise! This is why the older generation were so much fitter and stronger than us!
The only disappointment? Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose didn't even notice I wasn't there! I thought the lack of use of the Loyalty Cards might have warranted an "Are you OK hun?" email at the very least! But no, they don't notice too much if you stop going, little ones do and that's why I'll be happy to try and keep it this way for a little longer. x