Book Recommendation:

“Not Buying It – My year without shopping” by Judith Levine.

A fascinating read. A challenging read. Made more enjoyable because the author is no anti-shopper/anti-consumer. She struggled with the year and even failed a couple of times. But that really makes the whole book a little easier to digest. Let me quote from near the end of her year without shopping:

“...If I am a consumer first and last, all I can do to better the world is consume more responsibly - “buy green,” invest in socially responsible businesses, and buy less.
The other choice I have is to reject consumer as my sole role and reclaim my other public identity: citizen. During our year without shopping, Paul and I had extra time, energy, and money to act as citizens. We also felt more personally the need to do so. Self-exiled from the shops and eateries, we had no place to hang out but the olde publick square. There we found much that was rich and surprising, but we also discovered that what our nation owns in common is in critically bad shape. Libraries, schools, and bridges are falling down;.....”

Order it from the library. It's well worth the read.