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Clean up your shopping habits to green up your life
By E.E. Kane
Posted in: Lifestyle
How many times have you picked up an item impulsively at the store, spent a few minutes in silent debate, and then bought it based on this thought: It's only a few dollars, and it might not be there later.
Impulse shopping fills our homes with clutter, our closets with clothes we never wear, and our garbage pails or garage sales when it all gets out of hand.
Shopping secondhand and selling your goods are good green practices, but use these impulse-curbing steps if your shopping habits are creating a problem:
- Research before you shop. If you don't have a good sense of what clothing styles suit you or how you want to decorate your house, know before you go! The Internet, of course, is a great resource.
- Keep a list of what you need when you go shopping, or bookmark resources online.
- Hold out for the best quality you can afford.
- Ask yourself: How long will this last? How long will I like it? Is it useful in other ways after it has served its intended purpose? Do I really have room for it?
