Shopping with Maisie is a dicey proposition. Most of the time, she’s a delight, enjoying all the sights and sounds in each store. As long as she can sit in a shopping cart, she is happy, though yesterday at TJ Maxx, she nabbed three items off the rack and was chewing on a hanger. If I venture into a store without a shopping cart—dear God— all bets are off. Sometimes, she’s okay in her stroller. Others, she fusses and whines wanting freedom. One time and one time only, I let her out of her stroller in a store, an Ann Taylor. She ran as fast as she could from rack to rack touching every article in sight. Then she hid in the middle of the rack. Luckily, there was only one other customer who thought it was hysterical. The people who worked there? Not so much.
Plus, it takes so much longer to get things done when you are carting a toddler around on your hip. Fasten-her-in-the-car-seat, unfasten-her, put-her-in-a-cart, wrestle-things-out-of-her-hands, back-to-the-car-seat, and onto-the-next-store is not a very efficient way to get stuff done.
Thank God for online shopping. How did my parents survive without it? Of course, the truth is, I don’t need more crap. In fact, I’ve been doing everything in my power to get rid of stuff. Still, I get a little high every time I find just the right thing and now I’ve found something that makes me actually feel good about my little addiction.
It’s called GoodShop.com. Every time I buy something from its more than 1,400 retailers, a portion of my bill is donated to one of the 85,000 non-profit partners. Usually, it’s 1 to 2 percent of my total, but in some cases it can be as much as 30 percent! We’re talking great stores, too. There’s everything from Macy’s to Target to The Children’s Place to—well, you name it. You can even do eBay through the site. And it lists coupons and free shipping deals right there on the site. Escaping your little ones? Rent a car or book a flight through the site. Pretty cool, eh?
And, oh—there’s more. There is a sister search engine (powered by Yahoo) called GoodSearch.com. Every time you search, approximately one penny is donated to the charity you choose. The money comes from the GoodSearch advertisers. It’s not as comprehensive as, say, a Google search, but it’s not too shabby and it’s a great way to make your time on your computer count for something.
You get the idea. Time for me to get back to shopping—and donating. Baby needs a new pair of shoes (and so does Mommy).
