The Inspired Shopper

Now that July is here, chances are you’re either stuck in the middle of a freezing cold winter or  enjoying (or enduring) a sizzling summer. Op shopping (thrift shopping) is great fun whether in the dead of winter, boiling hot weather or anything in between. The tips below will help you make the most of your op and thrift shopping. Happy adventuring!

* Use the poor merchandising at some op shops to your advantage. Some stock may not be displayed prominently enough for casual shoppers to notice. When you’re in the store, don’t just keep your searching at waist level. Look up high to the goods displayed on the top shelves and the pictures hanging on the walls, and look low to the goods in boxes and bins on the ground. Search out hidden nooks and crannies and stock that has been poorly positioned and displayed.

* Bring cash when op and thrift shopping. Op shops in Australia often specify a minimum spend if you want to use a credit or debit card, which may encourage you to spend more. There may also be an extra charge for the use of the card that volunteer staff may not always remember to mention!

* Find out about op shop sales and specials, and take advantage of them. For example, Salvos stores in Australia offer a 20 per cent discount to pensioners on Tuesdays, while at least one Salvos store in Melbourne (Dandenong South ) offers a student discount on Wednesdays. Salvos stores also have daily half-price offers identifiable by a coloured sticker system – ask staff for more details. Savers stores in Melbourne have student and pensioner discount days (Sunday and Monday respectively). You can register on the Savers website for email updates on special offers; Savers also runs a loyalty program with a discount card.

* Don't use op or thrift shopping as an excuse to hoard. Because op shop finds are often so inexpensive, it can be tempting to clutter up your home with cheap rather than overpriced junk. Even if something costs only 50c, don’t buy it unless it feels right – it could be meant for someone else who will be able to make better use of it. And, unless you’re a reseller, pass up that once-in-a-lifetime bargain if you really don’t need it. On one op shop trawl, I found a whole stack of new Sass and Bide designer jeans for $35 a pair; I just didn’t need jeans and I’m not a huge eBayer, so I let them go. I knew there were other shoppers they were meant for!

* Use the resources of the internet to get the most out of op shops. I op therefore I am is a fantastic group blog detailing op shop finds in Melbourne; a similar blog operates for Canberra. There are dozens of blogs that combine op shop savvy with craft skills and repurposing; two of the best US ones are Apron Thrift Girl  and New Dress a Day. The Thrift-ola blog chronicles thrifting adventures in the UK.

* Time your visits so as to get the most bargains. These days, at the op shops I visit, goods are being put on the shop floor constantly throughout the day. This means that getting to the store early in the day doesn’t guarantee the best bargains (unless you’ve spotted something in the window while the store is closed), but it's often worthwhile simply because there are fewer shoppers and therefore less competition.

Regardless of the time of day you go, watch for volunteers putting out the stock, and check any full trolleys hanging around. At op shops you visit regularly, ask the staff if stock is put on the shop floor at particular times of the day or week.

Many people drop their goods off on weekends, so in theory Monday afternoons or Tuesday mornings, when op shop workers have had time to put new stock out after the weekend, should be good times to visit. However, some op shops are so behind in the processing of stock that the day of the week is irrelevant. Still, the same advice applies here as it does to shopping in the morning – there tend to be fewer other shoppers in the store during the week compared with weekends, and therefore less competition for the goods.

* Focus on stores most likely to have good stock. Stores in the wealthier suburbs can offer excellent goods, but also try outer suburbs that are becoming more affluent. And in my experience, it’s harder to find bargains in inner suburbs housing high numbers of students and young people in general.

* To save time, suss out all the op shops in a particular shopping strip and visit them all on the same expedition. If you plan to go early, keep a record of opening times as they won’t necessarily synchronise; one shop may open at 9 am, another nearby one not until 10. If necessary, plan an activity to fill in the time or locate another op shop to go to in between.

* Don't try to haggle with staff. In my experience haggling is a no-no at op shops, unless you think the item is absurdly overpriced. I have seen volunteers throw tantrums after dealing with customers who they felt were driving too hard a bargain. (Of course you’re entitled to complain if pricing signage is misleading.)

* Use your gut feeling to decide whether something will look right in your home and become a seamless part of your decor. Your intuition is a vital tool when buying furniture and knick-knacks at op shops, because sometimes the goods that catch your eye are surrounded by junk (and may be dirty!), and it’s hard to visualise how they’ll shape up once you’ve got them home.

* Check everything thoroughly before you buy. Remember that it’s much harder to take things back to an op shop than to a store run for profit. These shops are run for charitable purposes, and it can be embarrassing to return things, even if they are faulty. However, it’s not wholly a bad thing if you do make a shopping ‘mistake’ at an op shop – you can rest assured that you’ve made a donation to a worthwhile cause!

Think of the clothes and accessories in your wardrobe. Chances are there’s at least one item that you probably shouldn’t have bought and will never wear again.

But chances are there is also a hidden treasure lurking at the back of a drawer or cupboard, or, in my case, at the bottom of a pile of clothes resting on a chair – something that you’ve forgotten exists or simply haven’t worn for a while that you could be mixing and matching with your other clothes for a whole new look.

The hidden dud

Most of us have bought duds at some time or another – something we buy to wear to a special event, or for everyday use, and realise belatedly is all wrong for us. No matter how much you try, a dud will never work in your wardrobe. It’s simply wrong, and it’s better to admit you have made a mistake and get rid of it – either by selling it, carting it off the op shop (thrift shop) or storing it in readiness for the next local government hard rubbish collection.

You could also swap it with a friend or take it to a clothes-swapping event such as those held by The Clothing Exchange.

Why do we hang onto duds for so long? Psychology researchers describe the reason as ‘the sunk cost fallacy’. When a project clearly fails, we humans are naturally concerned about the money and time we’ve already invested in it. Unfortunately, sometimes we’re so concerned about these costs that we use them to justify continuing on with the project, even though to do so just compounds the problem.

An item of clothing that we bought for the wrong reasons is a kind of project – getting rid of it would mean we’d have to admit to ourselves that buying it in the first place was a waste of money.

While the sunk cost fallacy may explain something as trivial as the alligator skin belt that’s tucked away in a bottom drawer in your spare room, its effects are often not so trivial – they explain, for example, why a nation might continue to pursue a war of occupation even though it has clearly failed.

Admitting you made a mistake, bringing your hidden dud to light and getting rid of it can be a huge relief – you’ll probably feel as if a weight has been lifted. Remember, something that’s a dud to you may well be a treasure to someone else, so passing it on to a good home can be an act of altruism!

The buried treasure

Fashion has changed out of all recognition in recent years. It’s no longer dictated from above, with one set of styles holding sway for one season and then disappearing for years at a time. Instead, different looks and styles are worn together, savvy street fashion is relayed across the globe on style blogs such as Facehunter, retro clothes combine with new ones, and it’s all mashed together in a gloriously anarchic way.

It’s very likely that there’s at least one item in your wardrobe that you think is out of date but may not be. An item that may have swung back into fashion, or one that could be given new life by a more recent item that you already have.

Whether it’s a belt, scarf, skirt, top, pair of pants, jacket, shoes or something else, this item may be waiting for you to rediscover and make use of it.

So, why not go to your wardrobe and see if you can find at least one example of a hidden dud and one example of buried treasure? You might be surprised at what’s lurking in there!

I’m thrilled to announce that my new book, The Inspired Shopper, is now available! You can get it now on Amazon as a Kindle ebook.

The Inspired Shopper teaches you how to become a precision shopper, quickly and efficiently locating the goods that are right for you – at the right price. It’s the culmination of many years of research and practice as I refined and developed the techniques of Inspired Shopping.

At only $5.99, it's a real bargain.

You don’t need a Kindle to buy and read this book. You do need to download a free Kindle app first. It’s very easy and doesn’t cost a cent.

If you buy the book, please consider including a short review for the Amazon website, and tagging the book.

More info about the book is available on the Inspired Shopper website.

One of the reasons I became an inspired shopper was because, around the time I became a uni student more than two decades ago, I completely lost the ability to find and choose clothes that suited me. It was partly my increasingly radical political views, which assumed that anything vaguely feminine was oppressive to women, and partly that I had no money to buy clothes. They simply stopped being something I wore for aesthetic purposes.

It would take decades to regain the strong sense of style I had when I was growing up, helped by my mother’s above-average sewing skills (which sadly she never managed to pass onto me, although she tried). I’d have the odd fashion bulls-eye, say for a one-off outfit for a wedding, and then, spurred on to greater confidence by that fluke, would buy something perfectly horrible that did nothing for me.

All during this sartorially challenging period of my life, my older sister stood before me as a beacon of classic style. While all my four sisters have what I consider good taste in clothes, my older sister has better than that: ‘a good eye’. She can pick something a mile off that will last for seasons, and she seems to instinctively know which colours and styles complement her looks, and which to avoid. Nor does she spend hundreds on designer threads, although she’s capable of choosing the occasional expensive outfit for a super-special event; she mainly buys high-end chain store fashion and has been known to wear the same piece for up to four years. With an eye like hers she really should be working in retail.

Anyway, apart from a one-off event during the worst of my particularly bad dressing period when she bought me a pair of fashionable culottes as a Christmas present, and her bequeathing me some decent cast-offs from her own collection over the years, my sister doesn’t normally give me wearable presents. But at my recent birthday she made an exception to this rule because she happened across a bargain that was so outstanding she couldn’t pass it up.

I give you, ladies and gentlemen, one of the bargains of the century - brand-new sandals that are exactly 95.9 per cent off the original price. They were priced at $5, down from the original $120. My sister found them in Myers, a large department store. She was going to buy a pair for herself but the sizing wasn’t right so she bought a pair for me instead as part of my birthday present.

Now, I’m not the sort of person who wears heels every day, but I can certainly handle them on special occasions. There are some instances when heels and a fancy top are just enough to make a pair of skinny jeans or denim flares look something special. And these sandals feel pretty comfortable; they have platform soles, so they don’t result in the excessive arching of the feet that a pair of stilettos necessitates.

Oh dear, it sounds as if I'm rationalising my love of these high heels, a fashion item that is normally not high on my priority list. Let's put it this way instead - like all good presents, these sandals are something I wouldn’t have bought for myself, but I’m extremely glad my sister bought them for me!

While I’m a fan of small business retailers, I don’t normally use this blog to promote individual businesses - that’s not its aim. But when I stumbled upon Second Edition bookstore recently I was so impressed by the stylish fit-out and store concept that I had to include a plug in this blog.

Second Edition is a secondhand bookstore run by the Brotherhood of St Laurence, a Melbourne-based organisation that combats poverty through research; advocacy; and hands-on, innovative programs.

The store, at the quieter end of a well-established shopping strip in whitebread suburban Malvern, boasts a cafe selling Fairtrade coffee, loads of great books, vinyl records and magazines, iMacs on which to check out the associated online bookstore, and a sublime, retro-stroke-nerdy- atmosphere that Gen Ys should flock to.

Wooden display shelves creating a bold, assymetrical pattern perch high above a groovy round table smack in the centre, anchored by slats rather than conventional legs. Behind that you’ll find a comfy seventies lounge suite on which to lounge as you sample the merchandise. The seductive smell of freshly brewed coffee wafts through the air.

This store could become something of an oasis for those who feel a little out of place among the area’s conservative baby boomers and the hundreds of younger, four-wheel-drive-owning families who perhaps once aspired and have now reached their aspirations. And I'd hope that some of the older and cooler of the private school kids who stream down Glenferrie Road at around 4 pm on weekdays might adopt it as their own.

Not only is this groovy place raising money for the work of the good old BSL, but it offers traineeships in retail and hospitality. They’re also looking for volunteers.

So please, if you live in Melbourne, pop in and check it out. And if you don’t, consider buying from the online bookstore.

Second Edition is at 215 Glenferrie Rd Malvern. The opening hours are Monday to Friday 8 am to 5 pm and Saturday 10 am to 5 pm.

Disclaimer: In a previous lifetime I worked for the BSL as information officer. So sue me!

One of the traps it’s easy to fall into as a shopper is to buy something because you think you should. This basically means that your rational mind alone believes you need the item.

It’s fine to have a rational basis for wanting to buy something, but your intuition also needs to be involved in the decision-making process.

It’s amazing how many things some of us buy that we think we truly need, then don’t end up using.

The functions of some of these items can be carried out simply by repurposing. The crafty–frugal movement has lots of great information about this.

The Shopping Shoulds crop up in all kinds of situations, some of which are detailed in my forthcoming book, The Inspired Shopper. One scenario that can give rise to the Shopping Should is when you receive a gift voucher or money as a present.

Recognising the Shopping Shoulds

When you receive a gift voucher or cash as a birthday or Christmas present, three things can happen. Entirely new needs can present themselves (pun intended); you may already have a specific item that you’ve had your eye on for ages; or you may have a general idea of an item but not have the specifics worked out.

In any of these scenarios, you may experience the urge to spend the money quickly – both to let the giver know that you bought something worthwhile, and, if you received money, to ensure you don’t simply fritter it away on petrol and groceries.

If you have a specific item that you’d already chosen before receiving the gift, that’s great. You already knew that you wanted and needed the item, and now, with the help of your gift voucher or money, you can ‘claim’ it. As you’re buying it, you still need to check in with your intuition to ensure it’s right.

But if you only have a general idea of the kind of item you want, it’s especially important to proceed with caution. Remember, there’s no hurry. Don’t fall into the trap of buying something before you’re really ready.

Tips for avoiding the Shoppng Shoulds

• Try to let go of your desire to have the item right away.

• Don't conduct bricks-and-mortar searches just for the one item. For example, avoid going to a mall to look for that item alone. Wait until your unconscious mind prompts you, and visit a shopping centre when you’re on the lookout for more than one thing.

• If you’re browsing on the internet, keep telling yourself that you’re just looking – despite the convenience of buying something right away, there’s no need to rush things.

• As you look around, refine the sense of what you’re looking for – the colour, texture and so on. Think about your lifestyle, and what functions the item needs to have in order to enhance it.

• While you’re going through this process, think about whether or not you really need the item. Could an existing item be repurposed?

• Only buy the item when you receive a gentle nudge from your intuitive self. In the case of money you receive as a gift, remember, it’s now yours – if you want to spend it on something practical, that’s fine.

Bear in mind that wherever safety or risk is an issue, this advice doesn’t apply. Always err on the side of caution, for example if you’re planning to take a trip up the Amazon River(!) or buying a product for a baby or child that needs to meet particular safety standards (especially if you’re buying secondhand).

More on how to avoid the Shopping Shoulds can be found in my forthcoming book The Inspired Shopper, which is out soon as a Kindle ebook!

I recently heard on Radio National's breakfast program that some Australian retailers were considering charging a 'try-on' fee to customers who went to their stores to try the goods on in preparation for buying them at a reduced price on overseas websites. The fee would be refundable if the customer bought the stock.

I have mixed feelings about this shopping behaviour. On the one hand it seems to take unfair advantage of the retailer. On the other hand, human beings are blessed with ingenuity and initiative; we'll naturally seek the cheapest and most convenient way to achieve a particular goal.

As well, Australian retailers have generally lagged behind the world when it comes to online stores; retailers have been warned for years that unless they offer customers a 'bricks and clicks' experience - a combination of bricks-and-mortar and online retail - they'll ultimately be doomed. And recently, following the retailers' complaints about the lack of a sales tax in Australia for online purchases under $1000, they've been accused of price gouging.

When I heard the story, though, I had some sympathy for the retailer concerned. If you go into a fashion store and try something on, you don't have to engage the sales staff and take up their time. But this guy sold sports footwear, so his staff were getting tied up helping customers who never had the slightest intention of buying at the store. He also referred to a retailer of ski gear whose staff were helping people fit ski shoes that they were only trying on for size - a time-consuming exercise, given how specialised this kind of footwear is.

So as a consumer, should you try something out in a traditional store if you fully intend to buy it online? Is it unethical? Here's my suggestion: if you want to use bricks-and-mortar stores to try something on that you'll then buy online, don't do it if it's going to take up staff time (unless the store offers both bricks and clicks, ie they combine online and traditional retail).

If you want to buy something online that you will need help with to try on, bad luck. Take your chances on the internet, and use both your rational mind and your intuition to decide on the right size. Check out the returns policy of online stores before you buy from them so that if a size isn't right you can easily return it.

There is another option. If you enjoy the ambience and service of traditional retail stores, consider haggling once you've decided to buy something. Tell the sales assistant about a lower price you've found on the web, or using a smartphone, and haggle away. In a competitive market, what's wrong with trying to obtain a cheaper price?

What do you think about my suggestions? What's your approach to trying things on that you intend to buy online?

News just in:

The UK’s first ever National Clothes Swapping Week (organised by www.Bigwardrobe.com, the Internet’s biggest clothes swapping website) started last Friday - to coincide with London Fashion Week. Fashion fans everywhere are being urged to dig out their unwanted items and list them on Bigwardrobe.com for the busiest and most successful week of clothes swapping in history! The founders of Bigwardrobe.com hope to show people that you don’t have to travel to a fashion capital like London or Paris or Milan - or even spend a single penny - to be 100% on-trend. Happy swapping xxxhttp://www.bigwardrobe.com

Clothes swapping is a great concept -- good for the environment and great for the purse, it offers fashionistas the novelty we crave when we buy something new without the price tag. If you'd like to know more about clothes swapping in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, please go to the Clothing Exchange website.

The world may be divided into two types of people – those who use and love eBay, and those who don’t. Many of my friends and family swear by eBay. It’s fun to sift through the many categories, never knowing what treasure you might unearth. But it is an online auction and auctions can be addictive, because of the high you get just from bidding on an item and the even greater high if you’re successful. Here are a few tips to help you get the most from online auctions like eBay and avoid overspending.

* Use a debit card rather than a credit card to purchase goods. If you must use a credit card, use one that has a very low limit, for example $500. Alternatively, if you're concerned about buying too many goods on eBay that aren't on your Priority List, create an eBay ‘fund’, only using money you make selling your unwanted goods on eBay to buy any eBay items that aren't on your List.

* Before you start bidding, gauge the suitability of items you're planning to buy. For example, a three-seater couch in club lounge style could be much longer than the couch that you would like it to replace, even if your couch is also a three-seater. You therefore need to get as much information as you can from the seller, including detailed measurements and any other specifications that will help you decide. Write out a list of your questions in advance so you don't need to send multiple emails. To help you decide on how the colour of a decor or furniture item will look in the relevant room,  find a big piece of material in a similar colour and drape it around the room.

* Given that you can’t see and touch the goods you buy on eBay (unless you’re able to inspect the item beforehand), your intuition is more vital than ever when deciding whether to purchase something, and how much you’re willing to pay. Setting a limit in advance on the amount you’re willing to pay for an item you’re interested in will help you avoid being swayed by other bidders’ agendas and the excitement of the bidding process – a technique for doing this is given below. If you’d rather be spontaneous, stay aware of how your intuition is responding in the bidding process.

* Remember that a bargain is only a bargain if it’s something you truly want and need. Sociologist Sharon Zukin suggests that much of the excitement we get from searching for goods on eBay is the feeling that we’re on ‘a heroic quest’, searching for hidden treasure and asserting our individuality – the more amateurish the presentation of the item listing, the more we feel we’ve found something authentic. She suggests that, in our minds, the objects we find ‘have histories and are therefore no longer just commodities’. We need to be careful about our assumptions when searching for such ‘treasure’, ensuring that our excitement doesn’t override our awareness of what is right for us.

* Be a trustworthy eBayer. The feedback system, which is a hallmark of eBay, certainly has its drawbacks, but it does encourage people to be on their best behaviour, and it’s amazing how easily problems can be ironed out when both parties are committed to finding a solution. Make the most of this aspect of eBay – be reasonably accommodating and chances are the other person will be too. And don’t be afraid to jump in first to provide positive feedback if you think the situation warrants it. Of course you may run into more serious problems with the buyer or the seller, and the discussion boards can provide helpful advice in this case.
Don’t overlook other auction websites. For Australians, sites like OZtion are growing in popularity, and their fees are cheaper than those of eBay.

* To save money, try to arrange with the seller to organise your own postage - but do this before the bidding is finalised. According to myParcelDelivery.com, organising your own postage can reduce postage costs and protect you from unscrupulous sellers. If you'd like to do this, you need to drop a note to the seller before the bidding is complete to ask if this is possible. In your note, request the postcode and the likely dimensions of the parcel. If the seller agrees, arrange a quote.  If you're the successful bidder, you can then ask the seller for an invoice, minus the postage costs, and arrange the postage.

Setting your limit
The amount you’re willing to spend on any listed item on an auction site represents a combination of what you think the item is worth and what you’re able and willing to pay – if the item ends up being overpriced, you may be better off trying to find a similar item somewhere else. Here’s my suggestion for working out your limit:

Firstly, get an idea of how much the item is worth – to you, and more generally. Ask yourself how much you want the item, but also how rare it is and how likely you are to find something similar, at a cheaper price, in a reasonable time period. Next, look at your budget if you’ve developed one and get a rough idea of how much you can afford. If you don’t have a budget, you should still have a rough idea of your economic situation, including other spending commitments.

Then, on a blank piece of paper, slowly write down a list of numbers representing dollar values. When writing make the numerals as big as possible, as this will make it easier for your unconscious. The numbers need to increase in increments, eg 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 … or 50, 75, 100 … Do this quite slowly, staying aware of how you’re feeling. Experiment with stopping the list at particular points that ‘feel right’. Is $100 all you’re willing to pay for that interesting walnut art deco bedhead? Is $80 your absolute limit for those rare Honda Prelude taillights?

This may be the end of the exercise if you feel you’ve made your decision. If not, keep going with the numbers, reaching an amount that’s a bit higher than you’d expect to have to pay, and draw square tick boxes to the left-hand side of them. Now, take your time ticking the box that you feel most comfortable with. Let the pen hover for a while. Which box do you feel drawn to? And how does it feel when you tick that box? If it doesn’t feel right, tick another, and so on, until you’ve settled on an amount.

There may well be a discrepancy at this point between what you’re willing and able to pay – your limit – and what you think the seller will obtain. In my experience, this is okay. Being outbidded is not the end of the world. The important thing is to be fairly confident early on that you’re comfortable with your limit.

This is a suggestion only, and you may well find your limit goes ‘up’ as you bid. If you prefer to decide 'on the fly' the final amount you’re willing to spend , simply take note of your intuition and respond accordingly as you type the amount in and before you hit the ‘Confirm Bid’ button. But be aware that it may be harder to know whether this decision is based on intuition or panic when, for example, you only have five minutes left to bid. Taking your time at the outset to find out what your true limit is could help you decide when to let go gracefully.

Do you have any tips on staying centred, and/or using intuition, while shopping on eBay? If so, I'd love to hear from you!

I can't believe how much I learn from a visit to the mall sometimes. About people, shopping and me. Here's a list of some of the things I learned or that happened when I went to my local mall recently.

First, the reason I was there. A cousin of mine has recently become engaged (congratulations C!) and was holding a celebratory 'garden party'. Having bought my fill of summer clothes, I'd decided I was going to do some compacting. I had a perfectly good dress I'd worn to my sister's wedding in October, a gorgeous grey jersey dress with very wide, short sleeves, a high gathered waist and above-the-knee pencil style skirt. I'd wear the dress again, I thought, with a newish long-sleeved black top underneath -- only a tiny fraction of the people there would have seen me in it.

But I was defeated by the bureau of meteorology. It was going to be a sultry 29 degrees. The dress's material would be all wrong, and it just doesn't look right without something long-sleeved underneath. So, despite being an Inspired Shopper, I did a last minute rush out to the mall the day before, hunting, as usual, for a bargain.

My shopping was much more dispiriting than usual -- trying on dresses that looked awful or that I had trouble even getting into. But eventually I found my bargain -- a $40 Witchery dress down from $130. It was black, peasant-style and casual, so I planned to dress it up with a bright necklace. And as my sisters assured me, I'd 'get a lot of wear out of it'.

This experience made me think about compacting. As well as the initial aim, it requires planning -- much more than I'd been prepared to do. I'd also forgotten about the perils of last minute shopping -- although it was fun to finally hunt down my 'prey', I wondered at the time whether I'd still be running around the following morning looking for something.

Other things I learned:

I rarely go 'late night shopping' on Friday nights any more -- but this was one of the fun things in my childhood. When the then much smaller 'Chaddy' -- now 'the largest mall in the southern hemisphere'(by sales volume rather than size) -- first introduced late night shopping, my family and I would often wander round the centre on a Friday night, ending with a visit to the doughnut shop, my sisters eating them in the car on the way home. The only trouble was, I hated (still do!) doughnuts. Parking my car I had a sudden memory of those Friday evenings.

I still experienced a bit of Inspired Shopping magic. A book I'd been thinking about getting from the library -- The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers -- 'appeared' in a bookshop for $3, complete with accompanying short stories. Synchronicity at its best.

Last but not least, the toilets at Chadstone shopping centre have automatic flushing. Melbourne is in the midst of a drought and I was appalled by the waste of water! The toilet actually flushed twice while I was in the cubicle -- I tried not to take it personally. I was gobsmacked at the hypocrisy -- Chadstone has recently announced its efforts to be more environmentally friendly.

But this weird state of affairs also sent me off into a meditation about the kind of society that needs self-flushing toilets. Supposedly we are more selfish than ever before, and we're also encouraged to be more self-reliant. However, this has led to a state where we're losing our sense of social rules and customs to keep the public, communal sphere in order -- we don't have time, it seems, to create reciprocal communities where people know the social expectations and carry them out.

Yet, while we're encouraged to be selfish, it's selflessness that is required to teach tomorrow's citizens basic skills -- like how to keep public toilets clean! (Of course, not flushing 'number ones' for environmental reasons is perfectly OK, an aim that these self-flushing toilets also defeat.) Selflessness still exists of course, but it's highly unfashionable. I'm not blaming working parents here, but the relentless march of materialism and the changes wrought by 'economic rationalism'.

All that from a visit to the mall on Friday evening!

I love sales, I'm not ashamed to admit. And I rarely come home emptyhanded when I go to one (although I'm always prepared to). But sales have certain dangers, and this was beautifully illustrated in an article (aptly titled 'War'!) published recently in The Age newspaper by fashion writer Janice Breen Burns.

Breen alerted readers to a major trap that can beset the bargain hunter. On a shopping trip with her daughter, she bought her a pair of jeans that she assumed were $50 off the original price. After she'd checked her credit slip and gone back to the store to correct the 'mistake' she thought the sales assistant had made, she was told that the pile from which her daughter had selected the jeans weren't on sale -- although they were next to a series of piles of jeans that were all $50 off. Sneaky to say the least.

A similar thing happened when she made a bulk purchase of her favourite undies, lured by a red 'Sale' sign that seemed to indicate they were less than half-price. You guessed it -- not a cent off.

There are a couple of lessons here. Sometimes when we're at a busy mall or a shopping strip full of stores having sales, we go into a kind of fog of consumer delight. That's exactly what the stores want us to do -- the store window displays, layouts, smell, fittings and signage are all designed to encourage us to spend. The red sale signs are particularly powerful, and there's something very primeval about bargain hunting.

But there are two things that can help you avoid disaster. The first is not letting the fog swallow you up -- staying aware of what's going on for you, even if it's just acknowledging that you're salivating at the thought of that shiny black sleeveless top that has a whole $20 slashed of it, and choosing to slow down a bit in your decision making. This is mindfulness.

The second is listening to that 'still small voice' -- your intuition. Mindfulness can help you go slowly enough to do that. Have you ever been about to race into a changing room or to a counter with your booty, yet you felt something wasn't quite right? You felt uncomfortable and you couldn't identify why. It may have been that the clothes item (or whatever else you were purchasing) just wasn't right for you. It may have been that the store's price signs were misleading and you were about to be duped. Or it may have been even more straightforward than that -- you simply couldn't afford to buy the item. Listen to that inner voice -- it may be irritating but believe me, it's your friend!