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How do I get organized

when I love to shop?

Dear Maria, How do I stay organized when I love to shop, especially sales? I buy things I like when they go on sale, and my closet is busting at the seams. --Rita Response from Maria Gracia Dear Rita, I love a sale just as much as the next person. However, sometimes there’s a bit of confusion surrounding a great sale. That is...do you REALLY need the item on sale, or is it the sale itself that you find attractive? For instance, my friend’s grandmother once bought 24 bath towels because of a great sale...and she lives alone! Today, those bath towels sit in her linen closet...only four or five out of the 24 ever being used. It’s easy to get drawn into the excitement of a sale, but do we really get more by getting something for less? Not when the sale item becomes another unused item cluttering up our drawers, desks, countertop or, in your case, closet. Couponing is also quite similar. A coupon is only good if you’re going to use the item. No sense taking advantage of a “buy one- get one free” coupon for orange juice if you end up tossing nearly an entire container because it goes bad before your family can consume it. Here’s a new way of thinking for you. Going shopping just because there’s a sale is putting the cart in front of the horse. Instead, when you determine that you’re in need of a new pair of jeans (perhaps those you have no longer fit or have holes in them), THEN put that item on your shopping list and buy it WHEN it goes on sale. We all LOVE to pay less for items we need or want…but if the object isn’t something you need or love, you’ll end of wasting money instead of saving it. Hope this helps! Maria Back to Ask Maria Index