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If you really want to reduce your negative effects on the environment, it’s important that you plan all your shopping trips. When you plan shopping trips, you can ensure that you know what you’re going to buy and limit your destruction of the environment.

 • Use Less Gas

 – When you plan your shopping trips, you can map your trip in the most energy friendly way. You can also plan to carpool with others who need to shop too even further reducing the environmental damage that you cause.

 • Bring Your Own Bags

 – When you know you’re going to go shopping, you’ll remember to grab your reusable bags. Using reusable bags reduces the waste you create when shopping. Plastic bags are a huge problem in landfills and even in the sea, which is choking habitats and animals and ruining entire food supplies.

 • Walk or Ride Bikes More

 – You can shop without a vehicle too. Consider getting a cart and walking or riding a bike to go shopping. It’ll help you buy less due to having to carry it home, but it’ll also help avoid wasting gas. Not to mention it’ll be healthier for you due to getting you moving more.

• Take a List with You

 – When you go shopping be prepared with a plan and a list. Know what you’re going to purchase by creating a shopping list. Know exactly what you want before you even go inside. This will reduce last-minute purchases.

• Buy Items That Are Repairable

 – So many things we buy today can’t be repaired very well from computers to phones, to even furniture. Try to buy items that can be repaired. You can ask the salesperson or look it up online to find out.

• Buy Items That Will Recycle

 – Check to find out how recyclable an item is that you want to buy. Calculate how long you think you’ll use it in your life, and then how long it’ll stick around after your life. Is it worth it?

 • Buy Items That Will Rot

 – If the item you want to buy will easily rot when put in the ground and not contaminate the ground that may be the best choice to buy. When you buy things that can at least turn back into dirt, you won’t be adding to the permanent landfill problem.

• Plan for Seasonal Shopping

– When you shop seasonally you reduce waste substantially. Not to mention that the food will taste much better. You may need to determine whether you’re going to ferment some of it for later or do without offseason.

 

Planning shopping trips will help you buy things mindfully, instead of on the spur of the moment. When you take shopping and buying things seriously, it’ll make a huge difference in your carbon footprint and your wallet.

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