Do You Need Some "Retail Therapy?"

If you're like many people today, you probably possess far more personal possessions than your parents and grandparents did when they were your age. Quick and convenient access to almost anything one needs to buy makes it easy to accumulate a lot of household and personal possessions. To make matters worse, many people find that they have a tendency to use shopping as a kind of emotional therapy. If they become unhappy, depressed or stressed, a shopping trip to their local department store sometimes is the cure used in order to feel better. If you are an "emotional shopper," it's likely that you also find it difficult to keep your home organized. After all, there's a limit to how much stuff you can efficiently store within a home. Here are a few "retail therapy" tips that can help you get your emotional shopping habits under better control.

Focus On Your Feelings

It can be helpful to keep a personal journal where you can write down how you feel during the day. The next time you find yourself getting into the car to go shopping, do a careful assessment of your feelings. Write an entry in your journal describing these feelings. After keeping your journal for a week or two, go back and read it. It's likely that you'll see a pattern developing. Once you are aware of this pattern, you'll be better prepared to replace your shopping trips with other more productive activities. For example, if your journal reveals that you shop when you're bored, perhaps a new hobby is what you really need. If stress makes you grab your shopping bag, perhaps a brisk walk would be a better and more productive solution. Ideally, you should only be heading to the store when there's something you actually need to buy. If you're simply looking for entertainment or emotional solace, focus on finding healthier and more productive alternatives.

Perform a Personal Inventory

Sometimes people find that they head to the store because they feel as though they "never have anything to wear." If this is your situation, perhaps you feel this way because you really don't know exactly what items you already own. Overstuffed closets and disorganized dresser drawers can make it difficult to find things when you really need them. If you take the time to truly clean and organize your closets and drawers, you might be surprised what kind of items you'll find.

Once you've sorted out your clothing items, it can also be helpful to pre-assemble them into outfits. By doing so, you'll be less likely to panic and run to the store the next time you need a particular kind of outfit. After all, if there's already an appropriate and attractive outfit hanging in your own closet, why would you need to go to the store and buy yet another one?

Performing a personal inventory can also make you much more aware of how much money you have spent in the past on clothing items and other personal possessions. Sometimes just coming face-to-face with how much you own as well as how much you've spent in the past is enough to help curb over-buying habits . The next time you're tempted to go shopping, put the money you would have spent into a savings account instead. At the end of a year, you might be shocked to see how much money you've saved.