Creative Living: Shopping

When we begin to look at one thing in our life in a more creative way, we find that perspective influencing other aspects as well. Creative choices in earning money can lead to creativity in cooking. (It may feel like "no choice" but stay with me, please.)

Creative approaches to educating our children, can lead to creative thinking about our own educational needs. Yes, we do need to keep learning new things throughout our life.

Creativity can even be brought into our shopping choices. Today, folks are looking at shopping a bit differently than in the past. I haven't heard "shop til you drop" in a long time. It's fashionable to be thrifty. Yet, even the thrifty have occassions throughout the year to purchase a gift, and creative folks might want to consider purchases that benefit on multiple levels.

One such website is The Literacy Site: www.theliteracysite.com I like their creative approach to offering interesting, unusual products, while providing children with books and supporting other charities as well. Hunger, Breast Cancer, Literacy, Child Health, Animal Rescue, and Rainforest are their primary categories. I especially like the earrings that are available.

Today, it is probably more appropriate to think of creative ways not to spend money. But if you are going to spend money, consider using it in a way that benefits charities that are having a hard time, as donations and corporate funding are down. Stretch that dollar when you spend it.

For more information, look for the following websites or Google these phrases:
The Fair Trade Federation
Ten Thousand Villages
Where to Buy Fair Trade Certified products
World of Good at eBay
Fair Trade Resource Network
Inca Kids
Original Good
Minnesota Council of Foundations' list of charity shopping
Greater Good
How to Make a Difference in 15 Minutes: Charity Guide
Can Shopping Save the World?