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| Home Delivery of Milk in 1925. (LOC) |
I have been feeling overwhelmed the last several weeks. I realized there had to be a way to simplify life. When one is doing too much, there becomes a burden on one's life making it difficult to remain cheerful, calm, and peaceful.
A few weeks ago, something came up that led me to order groceries online for a home delivery. Since we live in a rural area, this type of thing has not been common around here. Delivery from one of the local stores began about a year ago but with an unstable and uncertain time frame. Many orders were delayed or cancelled. I believe this had to do with drivers not being available or enough deliveries to make it sensible for them to send out a few orders on one trip. This seems to have changed, now, for the better!
It has been costing more money than I feel comfortable paying for gas and food this month. The drive to the supermarket from our house is more than 6 miles away. The time and effort involved in the errand of getting supplies and provisions takes its toll on our fragile health and limited pocketbook. One day, I said to my husband, "why don't we try one of those grocery orders and see what happens?" This would be an order that included milk, eggs, frozen food, and other perishable items. I have come to understand that this type of order involves a person doing my grocery shopping for me and then bringing it right to my front door. If this works, I thought, a great deal of stress and worry will be gone from my daily life!
I chose a time frame for delivery and within a short period of time, all the groceries were carefully placed on my front porch. We were so thankful and relieved! I was incredibly grateful for the shopper who was willing to do this work for us!
Since there is an additional cost to pay the shopper, which they certainly earn, I believe I can only afford to order food twice a month. We will have to be very careful with the shopping list. The food has to last. We will also remember to go without when necessary until it is reasonable to pay the shopper the next time we place an order.
Another incredible blessing is that our local pharmacy delivers. The timing was always off when we thought about using this option. They only deliver one day a week to our town. A few days ago, our patient needed a prescription refilled. It happened to be on just the right day of the week. Instead of us having to make an extra trip, a driver came all the way out here (to our rural village) and brought the medicine right to the house. There was no charge for this service!
I am so relieved to have these options available to us, especially in our rural area. I now have more moments of peace, rest, and the ability to tend to the duties of home at a relaxed pace.
I am grateful to be here and so very thankful for deliveries!
Blessings
Mrs. White
From the Archives -
Some ideas - Peaceful Living by Rules.
Encouragement - Old Fashioned Duty of a Homemaker.
Old Time Manners - Waiting for the Door to Be Opened.
Living on a Small Income - Standard of Living.
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For happiness and cheer in the kitchen:
Mrs. White's old fashioned cookbook focuses on serving meals and setting the table in a humble home.
"Serving in the Kitchen: Cookbook with Recipes, Advice, and Encouragement for the Christian Home"
152 pages, paperback
8 comments:
That option certainly sounds like a Godsend for you and your husband at this time, Mrs. White. We've used this type of service before, but it's been easier for us living in a suburban area. During Covid, my brother would order groceries for our elderly mother as we didn't want her to risk getting out in public. If it saves you money in the long run, that's a beautiful bonus. Blessings and stay well!
In some ways, the old is becoming new again. It was common back in the late 1800's through early 1900's to have groceries delivered. Before telephones, you'd stop in the general store while in town, give them your order and they'd deliver it later or you would send a child or home helper with a note for what you wanted delivered. Of course, with the telephone, you would call and place an order. There was also regular delivery of milk, dairy products, coal, bread and even farmers would stop by to sell their produce. A real convenience for any homemaker. So glad delivery services are improving where you live.
I'm so glad you have this availability. I have my groceries delivered also, and time slots are carefully adhered to. We have a huge choice of times and I try to pick the cheapest, usually £2.00 . It would cost me that in fuel, so its a help really.
Our dispensary also delivers medicines. Living in a rural area isnt too hard when one has these choices.
I don't usually do an online grocery shop, but I have done in the past, especially when we had illness in the house. One thing I took advantage of is that the delivery cost varied according to the time of day or if someone else nearby had a delivery booked at that time. I particularly liked the second one as it meant that the shop was saving on time and fuel as well as me. I am almost always at home, so it doesn't matter if a delivery comes at 8am, 2pm or even 9pm.
We order groceries online for delivery twice a month as well. It does save on the delivery, and also makes you be more careful in thinking about what you need each order. Some things we found we need more and some not at all. If we forget we try to do without until the next order. It is such a blessing for us and I am so happy you can get it as well. We pay a yearly fee to get as many free deliveries as we want, but the driver gets a tip each time. So, in the long run it saves us and we are thankful! Trying to save money, pay down bills and be a good steward. I truly appreciate you, your wise tips and friendly encouragement! God bless you and all these nice ladies that come here.
In our very rural area of northwestern Minnesota there is no delivery. The nearest town is 10 miles away and has no grocery store. The next nearest town is 17 miles away and has a small, very high priced grocery store. I usually only shop there if something is on sale. The next nearest town is 45 miles away (90 mile round trip) and doesn't offer delivery. I can see where a home delivery service would be great for elderly who no longer drive, or those who are ill or housebound, or for those who live in a big city and don't want to deal with crowds and parking. I shop at the store 45 miles away once a month. Sometime during the month if I need milk there is a small Dollar General about 11 miles away.
The only concern I would have with home grocery delivery is if the person packing my order did not carefully look at the fruits and veggies and meats they are packing. I have often gone to a big grocery store and there would be rows of plastic containers of say, strawberries, and they look ok from the top. But if you turn over the package you can see soft or partly moldy fruits on the bottom. I am fussy about what I buy and a person packing my order might not be so careful about choice. Otherwise a home delivery service, if available, would be convenient for a lot of people.
With the high gas prices now, every trip adds up costs. Even our church is 25 miles away (50 mile round trip). But we are blessed to have the space and ability to have big gardens, a fruit orchard, a greenhouse, chickens and plenty of eggs. I do a lot of canning and freezing so those trips to the big grocery store are truly just once a month.
Mrs. White, delivery is such a blessing when needed. I also like online shopping because I can keep track of my budgeted amount much easier as I add things to the "cart." I'm glad you were able to use this service. Have a beautiful weekend :)
Dear Mrs. White, I'm glad this service has blessed you. I don't need groceries delivered, as I can walk to two grocery stores on my street, I live on a main highway. But I do shop for other things online, it's not easy for me to get to clothing, hardware and home goods stores from where I am, and I can no longer drive, either. Public transportation is too costly here, so a delivery makes sense to me. I'm glad this service works for you!
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