Catalogs: A "Greener" Way to Shop

Imagine the biggest mall in the world. It's full of specialty shops and department stores. You can get almost any item you can imagine in a variety of colors and/or sizes. It even has all the comforts of home, but that's to be expected - this mall is in your living room. And it comes to you via the US Postal Service or UPS. I'm speaking, of course, about catalog shopping.

Catalog shopping and I go way back. In fact, I have childhood memories of the mailman delivering large packages from JCPenney's, Sears and Montgomery Wards. It was always fun to watch my mother open the packages which usually contained, among other things, new clothes for me. The only thing better was the arrival of the annual Christmas catalogs which meant hours of looking, dreaming and writing letters to Santa.

I have been a catalog shopper for almost thirty years. There are many reasons to love catalog shopping, and here are some of mine:

1. Catalog shopping doesn't expose you to all the calorie-laden temptations you find at the mall.

2. You don't need to put gas in your car to catalog shop.

3. It discourages procrastination. Realizing you need to make allowances for delivery time forces you to get on the ball and get that sweater ordered so that it arrives in time for Aunt Martha's birthday.

4. Catalog shopping requires organization and forethought, two useful skills to cultivate.

5. You don't have to drag your children through the mall or hire a babysitter for them while you catalog shop. In fact, you can shop via catalog at the park or poolside while your children play.

6. Your car never has to leave the garage, making catalog shopping the "green" way to go.

7. You can catalog shop any day, every day, 24 hours a day!

8. Catalog shopping discourages impulse buying.

9. It ensures future happiness and teaches you to appreciate delayed gratification. You have the fun of planning and placing your order initially, and when your merchandise is delivered, it's exciting all over again.

10. Did I mention that gas is around $4 per gallon?

11. Catalog shopping allows you to get something in your mailbox that's a lot more fun than the usual bills and junk mail.

Here are some tips to help make catalogs your favorite way to shop, too:

Tip #1 Keep shipping and handling fees low by ordering several items at once. When you buy more, the shipping and handling is usually lower on a per-item basis. Some merchants will ship for free if your order exceeds a certain dollar amount.

Tip #2: When looking through a catalog, mark items in which you're interested with a Post-it or circle the merchandise with a marker and write the page numbers on the cover of the catalog. Then put the catalog down and don't look at it again for at least 24 hours. You might be surprised at how many items you will remove from your wish list after a "cooling-off" period.

P.S. The benefits of catalog shopping also apply to internet shopping...minus the pretty, glossy catalog.