buy in the u.s.a.We're all feeling patriotic these days. Enemy #1 is out of the picture, and we're thinking that we're pretty kick ass. So why not go the extra mile and turn that "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" chant into cold hard cash? Diane Sawyer is working on a Made in the U.S.A. campaign that shows what happens when a family removes any goods in their home that were not made in America. Turns out you can empty a single family home quite quickly using that method.

And it turns out that only spending an extra $3.33 on American goods can actually create 10,000 new jobs. So pay attention to those chain mails suggesting that from May 1 until June 1 we only buy goods, food, entertainment -- basically anything that is made in the U.S.A. -- to see if we can't boost the local economy.

This does not bode well for my planned shopping trip to IKEA, nor getting an iPhone for my husband. It will, however, completely justify my lust for a new Viking stove. Huzzah!

I took a quick look around my living room to see if I bought anything that was made in America. My glassware came from Mexico, a mirror on my wall from Colombia. My kid's Porter the Puppy chair was purchased from an American company, but the tag outs it as being made in China. Which is what you'll have to do to keep this pledge: lots of tag reading -- even at the grocery store. Are you sure those oranges came from Florida?

Personally, I feel like it's not a bad thing to trade with other countries; after all, Americans cannot possibly consume all of those craft beers themselves. Still, this experiment is worth a try to give our economy a kick in the pants. Luckily, there is some guidance from ABC, and they have an interactive map to help you on your American-only shopping spree.

Here's how you can spend an All-American evening:

Get yourself some Manpans cookware from Spokane, and fry up dinner tonight.

Have your guests relax while kicking back in your chair from The Old Wood Company in Asheville, where they re-purpose American wood and design purty furniture.

Dress for dinner in a pair of Roundhouse Overalls from Shawnee, Oklahoma. Then you can go build a shed after you've fueled up.

Invite over your rocker friend for some after dinner entertainment, as you provide him or her with a Peavey guitar from Meridian, Mississippi.

Then hit the hay in your Vaughan Bassett bed from Galax, Virginia. You can sleep well tonight, knowing you supported your neighbors.

Could you only buy Made in the U.S.A. products for one month?

 

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