Market For Home Life

(View From the  Front Window of the Manse)

The world revolves around the home and the family. You can see it everywhere, especially when enterprise is at its peak. Garden publications and plant/soil centers wait for people to fill up their yards and gardens with that merchandise. Grocery stores supply everything for a home-cooked meal.

 Someone recently told me of an survey she took of a department store in her area, to see if she could supply a home with everything it needed. She was in fact, looking for wedding gifts to help the couple establish their new home and feel settled. She spoke of how the market caters to home life, and  listed a number of things that were available in large supply:

Cookbooks 

cookware

dishware and cutlery

bakeware

bedding

kitchen supplies

bathroom supplies
Home office supplies

garden and yard furniture

indoor furniture (beds, tables, chairs, living room couches and chairs, rugs, cushions)

heaters, cooling fans, electric fireplace, 

lamps and lighting

wall hangings and pictures

house paint

electric and plumbing supplies 

camping equipment

hardware, some building tools

vehicle supplies, motor oil, etc. 

bicycles
A vast fresh produce and grocery department on one side of the store.
Summer and winter clothing, hats, umbrellas, handbags, etc.Children and baby clothes and baby supplies: beds, strollers, etc.

The travel equipment to fully stock your vehicle was abundantly available, as well as travel magazines, books.

Anyone who just wanted a vacation at home with a fancy dinner could have it readily. 

She concluded that these shops in her small town could supply nearly everything needed for a home.

She even spotted some basic school books for learning at home: reading, writing science, art supplies,  instructional videos and others.

Because the supply chain was not interrupted during the recent events, home improvement products were available.  We noticed how much the yards and gardens were enhanced in the neighborhoods and how many families were enjoying being on their bicycles. 

I can remember when this was not as easy even in normal times.  Everything had to be ordered by catalog, including your cook stove and fridge.