Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Made in USA

It's been a great year of learning about what one person can do to help, I hope it has inspired at least someone to do the same, or all to give just 5%. I will continue buying American whenever possible, but am left with just one question....

Happy New Year and Buy American!

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Royal Flush

I haven't completely flushed my goal down the drain, especially when it came to this new purchase...

Made in the USA and dual flushing options, which saves water to boot!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

It's Good(s) for You...

I think what makes this country great, is when we work together for a common good. In this case it's for our own good(s).

Thanks Mom & Dad, this is exactly my point...

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/4FrGxO2Fn_M

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

My Government Might Shut Down, But I won't...

I know it's been a while, but I'm still on my buy USA products... here are some recent purchases, and from a discount store so I didn't spend more because the products were made here...just a reminder that it can be done!

Please note that the pitcher is not only made in the USA, but right next door in Carson CA!

www.scotch-brite.com (totally appreciate the fact that they have brought back a lot of business to the US)
www.housewares.org this is certainly a site worth looking into...

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Patrioschism or just a missing period?

A friend's grandfather served our country in WWII, back when men joined the military out of patriotism and not just because they wanted to blow things up. He was as patriotic as they came.  He was a proud American and would let you know it any chance he got.
 
He also took pride in frugality, but this was only second to his love for country. One of his greatest discoveries was a line of tools that he would purchase at a lower cost than Dewalt or Craftsman; and, of course, made in America with the stamp to prove it - "made in usa". Unbeknownst to him, there was a city....outside of the U.S.A....named Usa....
 
Although I could not find a picture of a tool stamped with "Made in Usa", I did discover that it may have just been a myth. There is a real place called Usa, it's in Japan on the Island of Kyushu. The myth debunks the fact that the city was created after WWII in order to sell items to the U.S.A. stamped with "made in usa" as a guise for poorly produced Japanese products - apparently the city of Usa was around long before WWII. I couldn't, however, find anything about whether tools were ever made there or not.
 
I'm not sure if any of the above is true, or whether my friend's grandfather ever found out about the misrepresentation.  What I do know is that if you check your labels and go in with the right intentions, you can honor those who came before you by paying homage to their patriotism - no matter how non-existent you may think it is in a global economy.
 
My blog is titled “Made in USA” (purposefully omitting the periods) in honor of the good intentions of those who made our country great by simply believing in it.  I hope to do the same.


Sunday, June 30, 2013

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Jeans?



The true price of those blue jeans

Those jeans of yours were made in Bangladesh and traveled a long way before being marked up by 300% or more.

Call it the calculations of the traveling pants. Those jeans you're wearing made a long journey from where they were manufactured in Bangladesh before they made it into the shop you bought them in. And the price you're paying? Let's just say it's a pretty hefty mark-up.

Reuters delved into the manufacturing process and came up with some alarming numbers.

When a factory in Bangladesh receives an order for a pair of jeans, materials and labor together cost about US $8.42. Once the jeans are made, packaged, trucked to the port of Chittagong from Dhaka, 153 miles away, and shipped to the USA (a trip that takes about 30 days), the cost has jumped to about $12.29. That includes U.S. Import dues and the cost of repackaging and trucking to retail stores throughout the U.S.

What do you pay? An average of $38.87, according to Reuters. That's more than 400% over the initial cost of manufacturing, or about two weeks wages for the workers who made them.

Watch the video for more details.

http://finances.msn.com/saving-money-ideas/19559d03-b6f9-4939-bf0e-1a771d6e3e32

Luckily with today's heat, I'll be wearing a dress

Monday, June 10, 2013

May Day, May Day....

May was a tough month. I lost my new dog to Kidney Failure. I had her for six months and 1 day. Was happy for the one more day.


I tried to fill the void with shopping...clothes and shoes not made in the U.S.A. I bought scotch...None of which helped.

I failed to share a single post in May. I can attribute that partly to what was going on personally, that and the scotch; but also, I was faced with having to admit that I completely abandoned my goal of only buying U.S.A.  I was reminded that that's what life is all about. Each failure presents an opportunity to learn and grow, and you always have the choice to get back on track. You get knocked down; you get up again…I then remembered that this journey was to be about the successes and failures.  

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."


Special Thanks to Henry Ford, Jon White & Chumbawamba