Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 2: Today's tip is to take stock before you read stock
Speaker 2: before you go shopping. Be sure you know what you
Speaker 2: already have so you don't wind up with stuff that
Speaker 2: you don't truly need.
Speaker 1: So perhaps you have already heard the advice to check
Speaker 1: your fridge and check your pantry before you go grocery shopping,
Speaker 1: and to check your closet before you buy something new
Speaker 1: for an event. But just because you have heard that advice,
Speaker 1: does that mean you always follow it. I know that
Speaker 1: I might have good intentions, but then someone goes to
Speaker 1: the store without looking, and next thing we know, we
Speaker 1: have six boxes of cheerios and none of my almond milk.
Speaker 1: I recently bought several potential new shirts for a TV
Speaker 1: appearance because I assumed that none of my existing stuff
Speaker 1: was going to work. But then I realized I had
Speaker 1: a blue shirt that would work just fine. Not only
Speaker 1: can checking ahead of time save you money, it can
Speaker 1: also spark ideas. Maybe, thanks to a pantry scan, you
Speaker 1: find that tamarin paste you bought months ago and decide
Speaker 1: that this is the week for stir fry. You may
Speaker 1: discover a skirt that you've somewhat forgot you owned, but
Speaker 1: that looks mysteriously like what people are wearing fashionably right now.
Speaker 1: Stuff does come around again, and honestly, using what you
Speaker 1: have is just greener. One of my kids went off
Speaker 1: to an academic camp for a few weeks this summer
Speaker 1: and they gave us a list of school supplies to
Speaker 1: My first thought was to go to Target to get
Speaker 1: these things, but then I realized that I was having
Speaker 1: this conversation with my kid while he was sitting at
Speaker 1: a desk with an unused three ring binder sitting right
Speaker 1: on top of it. We hunted around and were able
Speaker 1: to pull together almost everything he needed by checking what
Speaker 1: was unused from the school supplies we bought last year.
Speaker 1: It was good to take stock before we restocked. By
Speaker 1: taking stock, you might even get a head start on
Speaker 1: your holiday shopping. If you have a gift closet or bin,
Speaker 1: or if you have hiding places for storing gifts that
Speaker 1: you have gotten through the year, see what you already
Speaker 1: have before you make a shopping list. I'll note that
Speaker 1: taking stock can also mean taking stock of what other
Speaker 1: people own. If you are throwing a party and your
Speaker 1: dining room table is the same size as your parents
Speaker 1: dining room table. Maybe they have a nice tablecloth that
Speaker 1: you can use. No need to go shopping. You can
Speaker 1: avoid acquiring things you don't need if you discipline yourself
Speaker 1: to see what you have or perhaps what you can
Speaker 1: borrow before buying anything new. No need to spend money
Speaker 1: or bring in clutter. You just have to be a
Speaker 1: little more organized in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b the number four then Breakfast pod. You can
Speaker 1: also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at
Speaker 1: iHeartMedia dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled out with
Speaker 1: all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward
Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
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