As I continue on my journey to eat seasonally and local, I have been working on a Mercantile List.

As a child I was a huge fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Little House on the Prairie. My grandma Paula read the books with me as a youngster and how I loved their simple life. 

The Mercantile was where the locals went to buy their staples that couldn’t be grown or raised on “the farm.” My Mercantile List is all the basics you need that may be difficult to find locally.

Depending on where you live, this list may be different, for example, in Florida, you wouldn’t need to put citrus on the list…

My advice is, if you are going to go all in be prepared to adjust your Mercantile List and make choices. 

Create your own rules and be prepared to break the rules if you must!