Intentional Christmas – 7 benefits of shopping local

08 Dec Intentional Christmas – 7 benefits of shopping local

Today we are joined by Megan the creator and owner of Intentional Spaces based in the Blue Mountains NSW.  As a fellow Professional Organiser Megan offers a gentle, practical and sustainable approach to organising your life.  Her focus is on identifying what is important, eliminating the unnecessary and creating customised systems to simplify how you function. Megan’s heart is for helping people remove the things that drain them of energy and make way for their lives to speak of their individual truth, beauty and brilliance.

We love her INTENTIONAL business premise which is delightfully woven into the very fabric of her services.

Today she joins us to write about the benefits of shopping local.

Other than the ethical, sustainable and economic benefits of shopping local, it can dramatically reduce the stress of Christmas shopping.

I’m a big fan of shopping local. For the last few Christmas’ we have had a ‘shop local’ policy & we have fairly well stuck to it.

Now it’s not so much a policy, as simply the way we roll.

1. It saves me so much time if I can buy a gift on my way to or from the supermarket or while I’m waiting for the kids to hop off the bus.
2. It saves me the stress of battling crowds at bigger shopping centres & the angst of being overwhelmed with consumerism.
3. It provides natural limitations of what I can buy people, which I find gives room for creativity and resourcefulness.
4. I find joy in giving a beautifully designed, well crafted, made with love (or chosen with love) gifts, that I know will be something the person can either use well or treasure for years to come.
5. Some things you just can’t buy locally & that’s just the way it is. But if you are buying the majority of your Christmas list locally, you will find yourself being far more thoughtful about those few gifts you need to purchase from elsewhere.
6. I do actually SAVE money. Yes if you took it item for item, things that are mass-produced are of course going to be cheaper. But I find that when I buy mass-produced items I don’t feel like it’s quite enough & I find myself buying multiple presents to make up for the lack of quality.
7. If you find yourself in the crazy conundrum of Christmas decorations appearing earlier and earlier each year, yet you feel Christmas somehow sneaks up on you… last minute shopping doesn’t have to unravel you! Limit yourself. After all, limitations can be the birthplace of creativity! Pick 3 local shops that cover your bases, for example; a toyshop, a jewellery shop & a boutique bottle shop (kids, men, women). Limit yourself to buying from these shops. You’ll surprise yourself with what creative, thoughtful and truly appreciated gifts you’ll be giving. And with the time you will have saved travelling, and be able to reward yourself with a good local coffee. 

Our choices matter: “every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.” – Anna Lappe

I love giving gifts! And I love that when we chose to support small local businesses we are offering them a gift this Christmas too. 

What are your favourite local shops?

Do you think you could cross off the majority of your Christmas list at local shops? Go on, try it!!

Connect with Megan via Facebook or her website