Archive for the ‘Shopping Stress’ Category
June 5th, 2011 | 
Author: Traveling to and from work can be stressful. Traveling with children can be stressful. Traveling out of the country or on an airplane can also be stressful. To lessen your stress while you are traveling you need to prepare yourself for the trip, for where you are traveling too and you need to keep your stress levels down so you enjoy your trip for the entire time you are out traveling.
To reduce stress while traveling too and from work, leave yourself plenty of time. In allowing yourself an added fifteen minutes, you can easily reduce the stress you feel in traveling to work everyday. Reduce stress you feel so you are not in a hurry all the time. Waking up early or at least on time all the time is going to help you reduce the stress your feel daily. Reduce your stress while traveling to work by turning the radio on, and listening to some soft music, or at least music of your choice. Soothing noised music you love, is going to help you turn that stress away.
Reduce stress while traveling with children. To reduce your stress, you need to travel at night, when the children are sleeping, or bring along activities that are going to keep the children occupied while you are traveling. Videos, DVD’s, board games, music and such as all great way of keeping your children occupied while you are traveling so they don’t stress you out. Children can easily become bored and cranky. Make sure you are traveling in the shortest routes possible, and during the times when children are not hungry or will want to get out and move around in the sun. Traveling is easiest first thing in the morning and late in the evening.
Stress while traveling is going to be less involved, less noticed if you are to remain calm and cool while you are standing in line, standing waiting to eat, waiting to cross a bridge, waiting to get through the tunnels, even while you are waiting to check into your hotel. Be patient. Remember, you have all the time in the world; you don’t have to be any where at any particular time. You are on vacation and waiting, in slow lines is all about part of being on vacation and while traveling. Take a deep breath and read your book, listen to your music, talk to your family and think about all the good things that are bound to come yet. Leave stress behind by preparing yourself mentally to wait and to be more patient.
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Like a shot, it was out the door to the mall to buy some much-needed office togs on mega-sale. Talbot’s, my favorite vendor of grownup-appropriate clothing, provided two pairs of washable wool slacks – 40-freaking-PERCENT off! – plus a beautifully designed blouse and a very snazzy blazer at the same markdown. Chico’s sold me a very pretty gray sweater (also washable) at half price to go with the dressy gray Talbot’s slacks, and of course no trip to the Biltmore is complete without a stop at the Apple store. . . .
So smug do I feel about these little coups that I presume to offer my pointers for saving dough at the mall:
1. Shop the sales around major holidays, especially the post-Christmas season. Never pay full price for anything.
2. Reconnoitre your wardrobe before leaving the house. Have a clear idea of what items you need and in what colors. If more than two or three items are needed, make a list. Shop only for those things; don’t spend time window-shopping or browsing through racks of tempting but irrelevant items.
3. Go straight to stores where you have had success before. Avoid departments or shops whose clothes don’t fit well or aren’t your style, and stay away from stores where staff have been rude, pushy, or inattentive in the past.
4. Never shop when you’re feeling especially cheerful or blue; either cast of mind can lead you to overspend.
5. Shop alone. Shopping is a herd activity – you may find yourself buying things for no other reason than that your friend bought something.
6. If it fits and you really like it, get it. If it doesn’t quite fit right or you’re not so sure it’s the most gorgeous thing you’ve ever wrapped around your body, leave it.
7. Learn to embroider and appliqué. With a needle and some colored thread, you can make a $20 pair of Glorias from Costco look like a $200 pair of designer jeans.
How do you feel about shopping for clothes, and what do you do to minimize shopping angst? What are your strategies for getting the best value for your clothing dollars?