It can be scary when a door gets closed...

It can be scary when a door gets closed. It can be even scarier when multiple doors of opportunity get closed, as is happening in the business world as stores shut down due to the economy. Isn't there a saying about when a door closes, open a window? That's why I think that it's important that we have a window to open, even (and maybe especially) if it's in our own home in the form of the things we have stored in the way of emergency preparedness supplies. If we already own what we need and have it available in our storage space, we have a lot less to worry about in terms of which stores stay open, and which are forced to close.

I have heard about stores closing, but I have thought more about it since reading this post on the Cordite Country website while I was blog-hopping. When I saw on their list that JC Penney was closing some stores after January, I went out searching to find out more about what was going on with other specific companies as a result of everything that is going on with the economy. The article that I found here didn't mention JC Penney, but there are still a few names of companies that are having problems that are familiar to me on it. There is a link to the full article on that page, and the news isn't good (and I found the accompanying photos to be rather depressing as well).

None of the companies mentioned here probably have as great as an impact on my shopping habits as does JC Penney, but it does bother me that Safeway is having problems--it's a food chain. That and the newspaper group mentioned--I know that we have the internet, but it would be scary to have limited access to the press because of economics, especially if a non-biased source runs out of money, and a press source with a biased agenda is the only one available. With limited sources, I would think that it would be difficult to determine which was which.

So that's the bad news. The good news is that at the time that I am writing this, the companies mentioned are only struggling, not completely gone. If I find out that the JC Penney closures extend to my community, I will probably stock up on children's clothes before my location closes, if I have the means and opportunity. If you find that one of the companies listed has things that you need to have in stock, it would probably be wise to stock up before it's too late. My opinion? I bet you can't guess :), but I say get some food in before it becomes less available. Eating never goes out of style, and if we plan wisely, we can get what we need while we still have so many choices. You may have noticed a theme that runs through my blog-- I love to have choices. That holds true for food. It holds true for clothes and other basic needs. I plan to exercise my choices while I still have some, and I hope that you will as well.

We are pretty frugal around here--to give you an example, we are currently looking for a vehicle to replace our 18-year-old car, that we bought used, and which recently demonstrated attributes that will be too expensive for us to repair and still be able to justify keeping it. We usually try to "wear things out." I doubt that that many stores depend on our constant patronage to raise their revenue. But we do need the basics plus we like to have some non-essentials, and hopefully we will be able to get ourselves well-prepared before even harder times come. You may have noticed that my current poll is centered on the problem of store closures, and I will tell you what I think, at least in part. The stores closing bother me--yes, because of the restriction of choices, but more because it means that more people will find themselves unemployed and struggling. To those who have found themselves more directly involved in the problems of the "doors closing", whether due to employment or lack of resources in your area, I hope that things get better for you soon, and that you have enough of a window in terms of preparedness to make your life easier. For those of us who can help, I certainly hope that we will where we can. The more we prepare ourselves, the bigger the window we create, and hopefully, the greater the opportunity to share...