Convenience

My entire generation has been built on the concept of convenience. So many people laud the advance of technology, and marvel at the advancements of each approaching age, but instead of feeling the excitement that is supposed to come from the launch of iPhone27, I seem to feel more dread than anything.

Chalk it up to “old fogey” syndrome, or whatever you want to call it, but I’m starting to understand why our grandparents scoffed at our new technologies. I’ll go so far as to say that I’m even a little alarmed at the pace at which our country is advancing. Everyone seems to have a “hurry up and get there” mentality. The question is, hurry up and get to what? What ideal is everyone in such a hurry to get to?

I was raised in the onset of the generation of Convenience. Every new product, every new commercial proposed some new, innovative way to get things done. We stopped drying sheets on the clothes line, we made complete meals in microwave minutes. We found ways to travel faster, travel lighter, we streamlined everything from automobile assembly lines to furniture that snaps together, to nail polish that dries in seconds. We can purchase any item, any time, anywhere in the world, in just a matter of clicks.

Not to mention the way we have improved communication. No more lengthy letter-writing, with cramped fingers and rubbed out mistakes. Now we can email, we can text, we can Skype. If only we could just master telepathy, we could cut out having to speak at all!

I feel sometimes like I stand alone in the center of a busy tornado of technology. I watch the world spin faster and faster, all in an effort to produce the next big thing that will enhance our busy lives. I watched tapes turn into CDs, videos turn into DVDs, computers turn into laptops turn into handhelds. I see that the phones that teenagers carry have the ability to video chat, text message, surf the net and watch movies. Every week somebody somewhere launches a new product that incites such hysteria that people will camp out for days just waiting to get their hands on one.

For much of my life, I have participated in this race. And it feels like a race; it feels like I am forever trying to keep up with what everyone else has. Even in the grown-up world of house-hunting and car shopping and designer clothes-wearing…it feels competitive, and I have often felt the compelling urge to work harder, make more money, and go go go and buy buy buy.

Last night I made laundry detergent. I know lots of people do that already, and it isn’t some major accomplishment on everyone’s bucket list. But it gave me a rush of power I can’t even describe to you. The first time I made it, I Googled a recipe and discovered that everyone in the world makes the same basic recipe with a few variations. At the time, I didn’t recognize the names of the products on the list; I had never purchased them, never seen them, and had no idea where to get them. (Turns out every single one is carried by Wal-Mart. Who knew?)

Anyway, when I got to Wal-Mart and located the items, I bought several containers of each item. I figured that eventually I would need more, and I hate extra trips to the store. The first batch I made was good. The second was better, and now I’ve adjusted my own formula to the one that is, in my opinion, the most amazing laundry soap ever made. It’s ridiculously inexpensive. I spent $10.82 on the ingredients the first time. I bought them in March, 2012. Today is November 1^st, and I estimate I have used half of what I originally bought. Do you have any idea how many loads of laundry I have done for $5?!

But the part that got my wheels turning this time, was that little rush of power I felt when I realized that I really could just make it myself. The age of Convenience put ready-made laundry soap at our fingertips, but it also gave me the (false) belief that I NEEDED that grocery store to produce it for me.

The truth is, long before the age of convenience, we provided for ourselves. Money was necessary only for large, start-up purchases, and then people generated for themselves. The culture of capitalism has created an entire generation of people who are so dependent on the dollar, that without it, they are crippled. As the economy took a downturn, poverty and unemployment hit an all-time high. And I believe the effects are more detrimental than ever before, because the vast majority of people can’t provide for their families without that all-important job. Money makes the world go round, and it has never been more true.

We have experienced the highs and the lows of finance in our family. There were certainly good years, when we had enough money to take vacations, make large purchases, go anywhere and do anything. But when the economy started to slide, and things got lean, it was a very difficult transition to make. I had a nagging sense of unease each month, which intensified into a dull panic. The numbers weren’t good, and you really feel helpless when you know you are working as much as you can, and somehow the numbers still don’t add up.

I hated most of all the feeling of helplessness. I hated feeling like there was nothing I could do to make it better. Cue my husband, who is ever a solution-finder and problem-solver. The self-sustaining farm was wholly his idea, and it seemed very Little-House-on-the-Prairie to me, and a rather impossible undertaking. But the deeper we get into this little project, the more freedom I feel both financially, and in my heart. Take that laundry soap, for example.

It wasn’t easy…the residual feeling of “store-bought is better than home-made” is deeply ingrained in me. (Thank you, Advertising Executives.) When my family wanted pizza, I bought one. The recipe for homemade dough is not difficult, and I know that lots of people make it, but I approached it with the same mentality I had approached everything: why take the time to make it, when I can just buy it? This is perfectly fine, if you make a lot of money. This works great if you don’t have to worry about where your next paycheck is coming from. But what happens when the economy takes a nose dive, and you suddenly have to start budgeting for purchases? $14 laundry soap starts to look kind of expensive. $16 for a large pizza is ridiculous.

I love the freedom I feel when I can make something myself. And now that I’m reading more about the chemicals in our products and GMO food crops, the better I feel about the decision we made. Yes, I am trading homemade spaghetti sauce that takes me about 20 minutes to make, for a jar of Ragu that would take 2 minutes to heat in the microwave. But every single ingredient was planted by us. Nurtured by us. Chopped and cooked and served by me, and Emma sometimes. At 8 years old, she is discovering a real love of cooking already, and the 18 extra minutes it takes us to produce that home-made sauce provides me with 18 more minutes to laugh and teach and talk to my daughter. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

Convenience and technology certainly make things easier and simpler and faster, but I’m not sure the trade-off is worth it, to be honest. Think of all the skills you lose, when you let someone or something else do it for you. Think of the control you are actually ceding to big business.

One more small example…the kids wanted BBQ chicken for supper one night. I didn’t have any bottles of BBQ sauce, so I figured I would have to put them off and pick up a bottle on my next trip to the store. Then I stopped myself…someone somewhere makes BBQ sauce, obviously – why can’t I? I looked up some recipes, and lo and behold, I had all the ingredients. 10 minutes of experimentation later, I made the sauce of my life. Even Carys, who doesn’t really like it, said it was her favorite BBQ sauce ever.

Huh. I almost didn’t learn that skill, because Convenience had trained me so well.

We have friends and family in our lives who think we’re a little crazy. They love us, but they definitely shake their head sometimes. Like when Aaron announced that next summer we’re going to get some goats. (Goats?!) But I like to think that we are modeling a lifestyle that will help our kids learn to sustain themselves, and not be governed by the whims of politics and economics and the much heralded system of capitalism, which is showing serious wear and tear in today’s world.

Right or wrong, this is our path. Traveled by few, perhaps, but the journey is just that much more interesting for the weeds we have to step over and the brush we have to clear. This road was paved long ago, and we let it get far too overgrown.