P
Their comments I recently noticed on social media-
"OMG! La-Z- Boy says it will take 6 months to get a new sofa. It must be the Suez canal blockage!"
...
"OMG! My oven broke and it will be 6 months before the part comes in for a replacement!!! WTF? Am I going to need to use my conviction oven for everything now?"
...
"Wow! I have to wait a year for my new home to be built?!?!"
And not only were we warned, these are mostly trivial First World problems. @Dannyboy has a healthier attitude--- accept the reality, and wash the dishes by hand.
I also wish people would consider buying used more often. Especially when it comes to furniture. Yard sales, estate sales, thrift stores--- there's tons of good stuff out there if you bother to look. It's much better for the environment.
As I've been getting my garden ready a little bit later this year (just a week) I was confronted today with the latest shortage. Every store in town was out of zucchini and summer squash plants and seeds. Normally that's half my garden. I tried Home Depot first and when they didn't have any, I went to our local nursery (they're more expensive which is why I usually buy the bulk of stuff at HD even though I prefer to support local - we're often talking twice as expensive!) - They told me they've been out for weeks, barely got any in to start with, and don't know when they'll be restocked. No seeds in any store.
Guess I'll have to try something different in the garden this year! Stupid shortages!
EDIT: I opened the "sweet things to hide from the daughters" cupboard and after a little rummaging, came across two seed packets - Zucchini and Summer Squash that I bought last season when I realized stores were going to be closing and it'd be hard to get in and out. Going to try planting them. Amazing serendipitous moment! Thank you spirit for that one!
@dannyboy Is it a shortage or just that due to climate warming, people are planting earlier? Just wondering. I don't know.
I've noticed this happening:
We need a new couch. I was about to order it at the beginning of April and the delivery date was Mid May. I'm sorry I didn't order then because I checked again two days ago (May 31). Now the delivery date is mid November! From a six week delivery to a six MONTH delivery. Is that due to a shortage?
@jeanne-mayell There’s a lot at play with the furniture issue. My cousin (the one who had COVID and is now doing much better thankfully - had a mild long haul case but is able to work again) manages one of the local mom and pop furniture stores and they’re backlogged with orders from the pandemic - partially due to shipping, partially due to manufacturing shortages in several related industries. Their store, which used to be a “See something you like, we’ll deliver it for you from the floor today” place is now at a bare minimum and functioning as a showroom only for pieces that can be ordered. But - I can walk into the chain furniture store down the road and there are couches and appliances a-plenty ready to take that day so I don’t completely understand it myself.
I don’t know what the cause is for the plants - it might be a general labor shortage at the nursery’s (but they had plenty of tomatoes so I don’t know!).
@jeanne-mayell A suggestion for that couch--- see if you can find something with "good bones" at a thrift shop and have it reupholstered. It could be cheaper and better quality than new.
Regarding garden plants: I purchased a few veggie plants at HD about 3 weeks ago-- 5 tomato, 4 cucumber, 2 zucchini and various herbs (parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, mint). There was plenty of stock so maybe it is a localized thing. I am in Central NY. I have not even checked the Farmer's Market but plan to stop by there this Saturday.
We have been doing some home improvement-- we were able to purchase the hardwood flooring (from a Canadian mill) we desired and there was not a hike in price. Also, no shortage of the base molding. I ordered a couch and side table about 6 weeks ago from Wayfair and it was delivered faster than I expected. I also ordered 3 light fixtures and they were delivered in a timely fashion. So far, I have not encountered shortages.
In July/August, I expect to be purchasing a new vehicle so I will update you all on the progress of that. I have read there is a shortage. The homes around our neighborhood are selling really fast with cash on top and waiving inspections. This is really unheard of in my region--we missed the 2000's real estate bubble. I expect that once the mills are producing again and the supply chain has recovered, new construction will begin in earnest and the bubble will deflate --probably within the year.
@rowsella One thing i've noticed on car lots - we have a ton of them in our town and while they look full, they're parking everything right up alongside the lot that butts up to all the major streets. If you actually pull in like I did to get an oil change, what used to be rows of cars is empty space. It's surreal.
Used car lots aren't faring much better - the ones that are left on the lot have often been left there for a reason (case in point, i'm paying way too much for my Jeep Cherokee because the GMC Acadia I traded it in for wasn't paid completely off but was a lemon. That was two years ago and that Acadia has been sold and traded back three times by my count (once to a former student, twice to different strangers - it had a very distinct rust spot on the back from an accident) I wish you the best of luck if you're looking for used - but if you're going new there are cars - but you might sacrifice a few of the creature comforts we've come to expect in vehicles unless you're willing to wait.
Jeanne,
Yes, there is a supply issue causing shortages for furniture. Much of us is due to shipping container shortages. Even companies who make furniture in N. America are having issues because fabric is from overseas. So many shipping containers have been backed up in the ports for months.
My parents ordered a tv counsel in Feb and it isn’t going to arrive until September. When they first ordered it is was a 6 week wait which became 7 months.
And appliances are worse.
@ana. Good suggestion. Rehabbing an old couch is better for the environment. Buying anything used, i.e., clothes, housewares, furniture, is so much better for the environment. 20 years back a friend helped me reupholster the couch I am now planning to toss and she grabbed a long plank from our garage and added it to the inner structure to give the couch extra strong "bones". I might go ahead and reupholster it again.
@jeanne-mayell. When we moved to our home two years ago we searched the area for a new couch and could not find one that we liked better than our 30 year old couch. Nowadays they are huge and very deep for larger people, I think. So we reupholstered ours and had the cushions replaced and we are so glad we did! It cost less than a new couch and we still have our old friend in our home. ?