Are YOU a perfect citizen?

My name is Michelle and I produce zero waste, grow my own food, only eat organic, am in perfect health, wear only ethically made or up-cycled clothes, never shop at chain stores and make my own soap in our tiny house that produces zero emissions.

NOT!

If that is you…fantastic. Is that MY goal? Nope.

So, what in the world do I mean when I say shopping with purpose? I tried to sum up what I am trying to do in my own life into a simple list. Your list may be entirely different and that is OK. Mine has and probably will change through different phases in my life.

· Use safe and natural products for my home and personal use.

· Focus on having less “stuff” but finding items that will last and are the most functional for myself and family.

· Support small and local businesses, women run business, made in the USA, brands that give back and are ethically made.

· Reduce waste

· Plan menus and eat what I know will make me feel my best.

· Finding ways to simplify to have more time to spend with my family, giving back to others and self-care.

After putting that together I kind of feel like a fraud! Even though these are my own goals I tend to fail a lot. It doesn’t happen overnight and it honestly can be exhausting at times but as you go along it gets easier. You find brands you can go back to and it doesn’t take as much planning and thought.

When did this list become my focus? I have always had an interest in supporting small business but haven’t always made it a priority. Honestly, cost and availability were big factors but never too late to make a change.

About 5-6 years ago I was having some unexplained health/hormonal issues and started to REALLY look at what was in the products I was using like, shampoo, makeup and cleaning products. Cut to me standing in the Target aisle {I know…evil chain store. HA HA} for an hour looking at the cleaning products…stress sweating and trying to look up everything that said it was “organic” on the EWG website to see its score. I thought I had to immediately replace EVERYTHING in our home. I ended up leaving with nothing and was absolutely defeated. I decided that I would need to make a gradual change. As something ran out I would replace with a safer alternative. This not only saved my sanity but my pocket book and I wasn’t wasting a ton of products that I already had.

Thankfully there seems to be a trend of people paying more attention to what they purchase and more products are being developed to offer safe alternatives and social media seems to make it easier to find conscious brands. Overall I think people are getting back to the idea of supporting local business and the number of great small restaurants and shops are increasing which is so exciting!

My challenge to you is to step back and think about your own life and what your goals are. Make a list and post it somewhere you will see to keep it fresh in your mind. Start with ONE thing and work on it.

Maybe your goal is to be healthier and feel better. Start a menu plan with meals that fit your requirements and challenge yourself to only buy items on your list. Find what foods make you feel your best and eliminate something if it does not.

Maybe your goal is to pay off your student loans and buying only organic and from small shops is not in your budget. Your list can be different! Shopping at thrift stores or buying those $5 shoes from the chain store to fit your needs and budget can be YOUR shopping with purpose in this phase of life. Focus on necessities and if you are passionate about supporting small business do that when you can or even just share them on social media with your friends or like their posts.

I could go on all day with scenarios but hopefully you get the idea. The goal isn’t to add stress or anxiety to your life trying to achieve some perfect citizen status but to get people thinking and {insert tag line} shopping with purpose.

XOXO Michelle

#shoppingwithpurpose #EWG #bloomshoppingwithpurpose #goals #shopsmall

Link for Environmental Working Group referenced: www.ewg.org