Day 11: Shopping

I am a serious shopper. It's something I have to tame in myself. I am also a bargain hunter. Not just a sale at a departments store, I want clearance at the outlet. I also shop thrift stores regularly. I'm pretty cheap, but I'm a SAHM and I want to stay that way.

Here's the thing, that kind of shopping can lead to a lot of clutter. It's really easy to say "oh, it's only 50 cents, so if I don't use it, it's not that much of a waste." The problem with that attitude is that when you get home and don't use it, you still have to get rid of it. Getting rid of bargains is just not as easy as it sounds.

The tip that I'm giving you, whether you are shopping with me at Clever Container or at a thrift store or in a mall is that if you aren't going to use it, don't buy it. Impulse buying is the worst clutter creator in my house. I'll see something, find it great for (fill in the blank) then never use it. It just doesn't fit in my life at that moment. However, if I'm going shopping and I have a specific purpose to fix a problem in my life or fill a specific desire, I'm more likely to actually use the thing that I buy.

Thrift shopping is difficult to stick to this with. I'm always finding something else besides what I originally came for. This morning I was looking at winter jackets for my kids (I pay $5 or less for these at a thrift store as opposed to $40 or $50 and still get good stuff). I walked away with one for only 2 out of 3 girls and none for my boy. They just didn't have everything I wanted up to my standards and it's not like I needed them for today. The problem was that right next to the jackets was jeans...and they were half off...I walked...then talked myself into going and looking for my oldest daughter who walked out the door this morning in jeans that seemed a bit too snug. She probably has enough to last her a while, but I thought I should replace the ones she had on today. Honestly, it's not like I spent much (I paid about $1 a pair), but I left there with things that I probably could do without. Okay, I also walked past the books and HAD to stop. I had already compromised, it was too hard to stop myself. I left still under budget, but with only half the jackets that I originally needed.

See? I'm bad. Don't do this to yourself! Stick to a list! You can do it!