Friday, August 24, 2012

The End of a Hardware Store, and in a Sense, Also an Era





   I have not posted in a couple of weeks. I assure you that this blog is not too far from my mind though.   Having found a publisher for both of the books I am writing, a lot of my time in consumed with either final research or the actual writing of the "Rational Preparedness" book.   I also must continue to move forward on other projects on the farm, and in general preparedness and organization.
   Some friends who own, among other businesses, a hardware store, are in the process of gradual liquidation.  I have already indicated that we keep a fair amount of organized hardware on the farm for future issues.  Our friends recently made everything in their store 50% off.  This enabled us to buy many of the things my daughter needed in her quest to reburbish the house she bought in July.   Everything from paint, to sanding articles, spackle, new locks, were bought at a discount and we have all been involved in the project in some manner or another.   This week, the remaining articles in the store were reduced by 75%.  To give you some idea of how sick the US economy really is, much of the hardware store materials were still there, even at 75 % off !    My husband and I discussed this, and decided to allocate funds and space in outbuildings  to properly  house and arrange items that we, or the kids might need in the future, or that may become very expensive in a super-inflationary age.   So yesterday, my son and I took sturdy buckets to the hardware store and began to load up.  We bought steel rods for welding, welding supplies, electrical supplies, brass plumbing fixtures,  rakes, stainless steel hinges, nails, pins, carriage bolts with screws, paint, drill bits, paint scrapers, tape, fasteners of all varieties, gardening items, etc. I also bought their two remaining maple trees.   We bought things we thought would last of the many things that remained, even after a fifty percent off sale.  We had also told close friends of the sale, and they arrived when we were leaving, and found things that would also be helpful to them also.



 

    We hear of many people stockpiling ammunition, and although this might be a good thing to have, if you will house it correctly and use it, in target practice, this might not be all we should be stocking. What about air filters, oil filters and fuel filters to cars ? What about generator oil filters ?  What about commonly used hardware ?  Look around. Pick up what you can on sale, when you can, while you can.





6 comments:

Matt said...

what gets me about these businesses closing is that the media will tell you we are about to reenter a recession.

This is nuts, we never left the first one, and I contend according to many charts that we may be close to a depression.... if we aren't already there....

Thanks for the post, Jane. I was wondering what was up.

JaneofVirginia said...

Thanks for the comment Matt,
In this case, the female owner of the hardware store died recently. In view of present economic conditions her adult children grieved for a while, and then decided, in view of the economy, and the lack of profit in those interim months since her death, not to continue this venture. By virtue of location, broad range of unusual types of hardware, including rare plumbing items, broad range of welding supplies, rarer breaker box elements, and growing cluster of businesses in that region, this store should have made it.

kymber said...

Jane - as you know, i am over the moon about your book deals and will do anything at all to bring your projects to fruition....anything! as for stocking up on hardware supplies - i applaud you! these are the types of things that no one thinks of stocking up on - and in the prepper/survivalist world - all anyone ever talks about is bullets and beans. you can have bullets and beans stocked to the nth degree...and be crying for a few simple screws!

your friend,
kymber

Gorges Smythe said...

Always a shame for a good store to go out - nothing decent ever replaces then anymore.

JaneofVirginia said...

Kymber,
Of course, one of the things which prevents most of us from stockpiling enough hardware is space. Anything we save has got to be stored in a manner that is accessible. Thanks for the encouragements ! I certainly hope we selected the right screws, the right nails, and the right brass objects too !

JaneofVirginia said...

This store is going out, and then the gun shop next door will be moving in, to the larger space. It will still be a net loss for people who wish to get hardware and know how more quickly than driving an hour or more to a city. It certainly IS a shame.