It’s Saturday morning. Opening your eyes, you inhale deeply and envision the weekend ahead, a time of relaxation and rejuvenation filled with laughing children, a smiling spouse, and perhaps even a picnic. Suddenly you exhale sharply. Is this the Saturday that Claire was invited to Zoe’s birthday party? Your mother’s birthday is definitely next week. You still have to find an outfit to wear to Mim’s opening at the gallery, and you must send something to Ellie who just lost her sister. If you don’t get some sort of treatment for the bedroom windows soon, you’ll be dealing with charges of indecent exposure. Oh, and after reading that article on chlorine, you were definitely going to buy filters for your shower heads.
Images of past errand-filled weekends crowd into your head in a hodgepodge collage. You close your eyes against remembered trips to the Toy Barn, featuring frantic fashion doll purchases that make your sensibilities recoil. Snarling traffic and surly drivers creep into your consciousness. Your feet cringe. They have not forgotten the two previously purchased window treatments. You stood in a long line to purchase them, then stood in a line three times that long to return them.
A quick blink and those depressing pictures return to the past, where they belong. Sitting up now, you stretch, slide your feet into comfy slippers and pad over to the hall closet. You select three beautiful, classic, age-appropriate books from the small stash you ordered from the Chinaberry book catalog and set them on the coffee table where Claire can choose the one she wants to give to Zoe.
While waiting for the coffee to brew, you pull out your folder marked "Gifts" and find the clipped catalog pages tagged "Mom." After browsing through the ideas you’ve clipped over the past few months, you settle on a gift from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Your mother will enjoy the stoneware bowl made from Pennsylvanian clay and decorated with hand-picked leaves, and she will also appreciate that the purchase benefits a museum where she has spent so many enjoyable hours. A quick call gets the gift wrapped and sent directly to her. You write a personal birthday wish in a card made from bamboo paper. It is one of many you have ordered from Inside Out because bamboo is a sustainable resource, because the cards are manufactured in socially responsible ways, because the company donates a portion of its profits to charities, and because the cards are simply beautiful.
You pour your coffee and carry it to your desk, where you rummage through your basket of new arrivals. Hmmm, somewhere in the Isabella catalog you had spotted a book that would be just right for Ellie. Check the index. Here it is, A Time to Grieve: Meditations for Healing After the Death of a Loved One by Carol Staudacher. A bit more than a card and more lasting than flowers. Perfect. By this time your husband has joined you for coffee, and you pass him the Smith & Noble Windoware catalog, pointing out the pages you have tagged with Post-Its. You leave him to browse so that he might render an opinion on window shades, and you also give him copies of catalogs from Harmony, Real Goods, and the Catalog of Environmentally Safe Products, with a request that he find and compare shower filters. You place a call to Isabella.
The rest of the day passes as you first imagined upon waking, in a haze of shared moments rather than a nightmare of duties. Nightfall finds you browsing through clothing catalogs while you watch the news. You turn the pages of Garnet Hill, a catalog that concentrates on natural fibers; the Deva Lifeware catalog, committed to comfort, community, and service (and a member of Co-op America and the Organic Trade Council); Fisher Henney Naturals, focusing on organic cotton apparel; and Peruvian Connection, specializing in original art-knit sweaters in an effort to preserve the Andean textile tradition. Surely you will find just the outfit to wear, not only to Mim’s opening, but for many years to come.
If this scenario seems like an impossible dream to you, perhaps you should consider more closely the benefits of catalog shopping. With stores available at every turn and the Internet providing constant consumer access to goods and services, many people have relegated catalogs to the status of junk mail, tossing them immediately into the recycling bin. Catalogs that reflect your needs, values, and personality, however, can serve as useful tools, giving you control over your time, impulses, and purchasing power. They can also offer a wealth of information that comes where and when you need it most — at the point of purchase, before you buy.
Catalog shopping allows you to make purchases on your own schedule, not only by offering extended hours but by offering you the opportunity to take advantage of odd moments. Instead of dashing off to run a gauntlet of errands during your daughter’s karate class, praying that you will finish before she does, you can relax and offer her smiles of encouragement from the bleachers while you secretly plan holiday purchases. Rather than being irritated when detained by tardy friends, clients, or physicians, you can be choosing heirloom varieties of bulbs for fall planting. After working, commuting, and walking your four-legged friend, you can get off your feet and still look for a lamp to replace the one Mutzie knocked over.
To ensure that your catalogs remain a time-management tool, develop a systematic way of avoiding pile-ups. When you call to request a copy or place an order, request that your name not be shared with or sold to any other companies. Take a few minutes while processing the rest of your mail to flip through the catalogs and do a preliminary evaluation. If the contents of a catalog do not seem relevant to your current needs, put it in the recycling container.
Some catalogs are full of possibilities or serve as reference materials; others may have only a couple items of interest. Where it is feasible, tear out the page or pages that catch your eye along with the order form and back page of the catalog. Staple the sheets together and file under "gifts," "clothes," or "home." Make a note, if necessary, as to the potential recipient. If pages fall into several categories, at least jot down the company name and phone number on each one. Marking the date is also a good idea. If you keep the whole issue, discard old issues when the new issue arrives. Or consider keeping a file of phone numbers for companies you order from infrequently. When you are ready to make a purchase, call for their latest issue. And don’t hesitate, when life gets hectic, to pitch unread copies without a glance. Tools should work for you, not vice versa.
Allowing your ideas to incubate before making a purchase helps to eliminate regrettable impulse purchases. Upon pulling out the pages you’ve saved, you may realize your fancies have changed. You may have had time to reconsider the gag gift for your sister and make a more thoughtful, useful, and lasting choice. (After all, you certainly wouldn’t want a seven foot pink plastic flamingo that squawks "Ain’t it Fabulous You’re Forty!!!" at everyone who passes.) Even items you might immediately buy for yourself can be given a resting time by slipping clipped pages in with bills to be paid. When you are taking care of your financial affairs, you can place your order — or not.
Simply having made a trip to the store creates a level of pressure to make a purchase. Especially if you have traveled a distance to a specialty store. Especially if you don’t know when you will have time to return. Add to that the marketing pressures that surround you in any shopping area and it is enough to render even the most conscientious shopper unconscious. Selecting what you want to bring into your life from the vantage point of your own home can be very grounding, and an ideal place from which to make choices. At home you are surrounded by your own tastes and values, your own energy.
Having catalogs on hand from companies whose philosophies are similar to your own makes it easier to make purchases that support your ideals. Back to Basics Toys, Hand in Hand, Hearth Song, Magic Cabin Dolls, and Young Explorers all offer toys that are designed for longterm interest and play value. Animal Town focuses on games that encourage cooperation rather than competition. Sources such as Azure Green, Explorations, The Pyramid Collection, and Well & Good stock selections of alternative products and literature. Nur Natur sells organic products from around the world: teas, coffees, oils, herbs, spices, and natural, non-organic cosmetics. For everything environmental, from insect puppets to soil sieves, Acorn Naturalists is a treasure trove of books and supplies.
Many museums have their own catalogs, and a portion of their proceeds support the institution. Many of the items offered in museum catalogs are based on classic designs that can be appreciated for generations to come. Museum Tour is an efficient way to shop museums; it’s a cooperative publication which supports twenty different museums from around the country. Other catalogs support individual artists more directly. Isabella, for example, sprinkles artists’ profiles throughout its catalog. The Ancient Echoes catalog showcases select items from its jewelry and decorative accessory gallery located in Lincoln Park.
Charities can also benefit from your catalog purchases. Unicef is renowned for its unique line of paper products that benefit impoverished children worldwide. Likewise, every dollar of profit from the nature-themed products offered in the National Wildlife Federation’s catalog supports the federation’s conservation and education programs. Heifer Project International takes that concept a step further. The gift recipient of your choice gets a card — and a fortunate family somewhere in the world gets a cow, a goat, a water buffalo, or another gift of life that will help them become self-sustaining.
Information to be digested at your leisure is a strong point in favor of catalog shopping. Garden catalogs take top honors. You could practically earn an degree in horticulture with a mailbox full of advice from Daylily Discounters, Prairie Moon Nursery, Seeds of Change, Shepherd’s Garden Seeds and Underwood Gardens.The catalog from Prairie Moon Nursery provides extensive notes on how to establish a prairie and specific directions for germinating and growing hundreds of native plant species. Book catalogs come in a close second, with companies like Acropolis Books, Bas Bleu, and Chinaberry Books serving up scintillating book summaries. Chinaberry also includes age recommendations, which can be invaluable. Information on growing organic cotton, on comfortable sleeping temperatures, and on assessing superior mattress construction accompanies Heart of Vermont’s organic bedding products.
While the Net may be the information super highway, catalogs, I predict, will continue to hold their own. The Internet seems to be most efficient when you already know what you are looking for. And anyway, sitting at a desk in front of a computer feels more like work than being curled on the couch under an afghan, sipping tea and turning pages. Nor does the Internet provide the smooth flow of images that engages the creative part of the mind and shifts your consciousness into a more relaxed and playful mode. Catalog shopping changes the quality of time spent shopping. It makes it possible to spend down time rather than prime time considering purchases. Best of all, it allows you to take your focus off of acquiring the accouterments of life and direct it back to living your life.
Now, about that fall picnic...
Resources
Acorn Naturalists, 800-422-8886
Acropolis Books, Inc., 800-773-9923
Ancient Echoes, 773-880-1003
Animal Town, 800-445-8642
Azure Green, 413-623-2155
Back to Basic Toys, 800-356-5360
Bas Bleu Inc., 800-433-1155
Catalog of Environmentally Safe Products, 800-428-2343
Chinaberry Books, 800-776-2242
Daylily Discounters, 904-462-1539
Deva Lifewear, 800-222-8024
Explorations, 800-720-2114
Fisher Henney Naturals, 800-3HENNEY
Garnet Hill, 800-622-6216
Hand in Hand, 800-872-9745
Harmony, 800-869-3446
Hearth Song, 800-325-2502
Heifer Project, 800-422-0755
Inside Out, 888-741-1114
Isabella, 800-777-5205
Magic Cabin Dolls, 888-623-6557
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 800-225-5592
Museum Tour, 800-360-9116
National Wildlife Federation, 800-477-5560
Nur Natur, 800-690-9877
Peruvian Connection, 800-255-6429
Prairie Moon Nursery, 507-452-1362
The Pyramid Collection, 800-333-4220
Real Goods, 800-762-7325
Shepherd’s Garden Seeds, 860-482-3638
Smith & Noble Windoware, 800-248-8888
Underwood Gardens, Ltd., 888-382-7041
Unicef, 800-553-1200
Well & Good, 800-665-6586
Young Explorers, 800-239-7577
MarketPlace by Mail
As you embark on your holidary shopping this year, don’t overlook MarketPlace, one of the grand old-timers in conscience-driven catalog shopping.
MarketPlace begin in 1986, with the formation, in Mumbai, India, of a nonprofit organization called SHARE. At first, SHARE consisted of three women, working together in a hut that was available to them three hours a day. Within two years, the organization included 150 artisans. Today, the artisans of SHARE are involved in design, management, decision-making, and profit sharing. Some have begun to contribute to the catalog itself. Many of the artisans have formed their own cooperatives and businesses, creating a network of providers for the MarketPlace catalog. MarketPlace has even expanded to include economic development projects in Chicago, New Mexico, and other parts of the United States.
This year, wear your values on your sleeve (or table). Buy clothing from MarketPlace, so that your very purchases are gifts to others. — Sheri Reda
800-726-8905, 9:00-5:00 Central time, Monday-Friday.