Looking for that perfect gift or need to hire house cleaning services? With a little research, you can find specialty businesses and skilled people within your local community to fulfill many if not most of your product and service needs.
Research.
Once you have your list of planned purchases, start searching for several local options in each category. For groceries, you could research when the local farmers' market is open or check out any specialty bakery shops. Many towns have locally-owned hardware and lumber stores. They could be good options for your home improvement projects. If you live in a community that has a co-op supply store that is typically for farming customers, check it out if you've never been there. For services, if you don't already know somebody you would like to hire, ask around to get recommendations from friends and neighbors or check your city's chamber of commerce web site.
Plan.
Determine the frequency of your planned purchases, such as produce shopping once a week, hardware shopping once a month, clothes shopping every four months, etc. With the list of your intended purchases in categories, it may seem like going to lots of different shops to purchase your items will be a waste of time and gas, but if it's in your plan, you can arrange your route and timing to coincide with other errands. This will help with your household budget, too, by preventing impulse buying.
Choose local.
There are all kinds of big brand stores that carry the types of products you intend to purchase, but when you have a choice between a national brand and a local store, choose the local store. Not only are you putting your dollars straight into the local economy, you may get more information on the product you're purchasing and better customer support. Try to find sources for your household needs in your town first, then branch out to county or region, depending on what is available in your community.
List.
Make a list of the kinds of items you buy on a regular basis and also include anticipated purchases that are infrequent, such as gifts or items for a specific home project. Break your purchases down into categories so that you will be able to search for local specialty shops that carry those items. Include any services for which you are considering hiring, such as accounting, lawn care or house cleaning.
Get involved.
Join an organization that is involved in efforts to improve your local area, such as funding scholarships, cleaning up area parks and working together as a community. You will get to meet interesting new people and learn more about your town, what it has to offer and how you can help.
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