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Generally, no, I do not enjoy shopping because of how consumeristic and expensive it can be.
I replace clothing and shoes as they wear out or no longer fit me, but I find it wasteful to replace perfectly good stuff just because an advertisement says that a certain pattern or colour is no longer in fashion this year. (This is not a criticism of anyone who loves fashion, only of an industry that often strongly encourages people to purchase things they may not need or even want a few months from now).
Due to planned obsolescence and how many items are not being constructed in ways that makes repairing them easy or even possible in some cases, it can be harder to do this with stuff like electronics or small appliances, but I do still try to get as much use out of them as I can.
I used to like visiting the grocery store and occasionally the local chocolate shops before inflation increased the price of everything so terribly.
It was once relaxing for me to pick out the freshest produce I could find and browse new dairy-free products so long as I went at a quiet part of the day. There was nothing like the thrill of finding a new vegan cheese, dark chocolate bar, or less common fruit or vegetable to try that was only a few dollars but might become a new favourite of mine.
Chocolate shops always smell so good that I used to go there just to sniff around and see if there was any new vegan chocolate for me to buy.
With prices for everything rising and my budget having less wiggle room, I do not find as much joy in these things as I used to….unless I happen to stumble across a fantastic sale or something which does happen every so often.
The only shopping-adjacent thing I enjoy these days is browsing the new section of my local library or the new additions page on their website.
I love the thrill of seeing books by favourite authors pop up in these places and either realizing I can borrow them immediately or that the waitlist for them is beautifully short.
This isn’t even to mention all of the other stuff libraries offer: concerts, authors giving talks, discussion panels, book clubs, job hunting advice, movies, festivals, events, and more.
Thank goodness for libraries, I say!
I’m with you, Lydia! Use it until you can’t use it anymore. Every time my nephew buys new clothes (which seems to be by the minute), I can see an overflowing landfill in my head.
I’m glad you agree. I get that same sort of mental image in my head, too.
Good answer! I hate planned obsolesce and the capitalistic consumption model that just isn’t sustainable on any le el, from personal to ecological. I hold on to things as long as I can, from phones to cars. And I have clothes that are decades old (I say my clothes come back into fashion every 5-10 years). Geese, even one of my cloth shopping bags is about 30 years old.
Thank you, Greta. And good for you!
I hate shopping, unless it’s for books. My visits to grocery stores or other supply shops are basically raids: I know exactly what I need, I have a route to get the things as quickly as possible, and I get out. If I ever learn to code and create a program, it will be a a grocery store challenge where the point is to get items as quickly as possible while dodging obstacles like people stopped in the aisle talking on cellphones. XD
That would be a great game!
I never liked just-for-one-season “fashion” clothes either.
🙂
I hold on to my clothes and electrics. I just now got a new phone last week after having my old phone since high school. It would charge all the way and the apps would stop working.
https://snapdragonalcoveblog.wordpress.com/2024/07/10/www-wednesday-would-i-stay-in-a-haunted-house/
I just found this comment in my spam folder!
Wow, your old phone lasted a long time.
I agree with you on fashion. I wear things to death.
Good for you!