Why it is better to buy used than to buy organic...

I love organic. I love organic food, cotton, bath essentials...I really do. Organic food tastes better, bedding feels better and lotion smells better. But when faced with the choice between organic or buying used, what do you do? Not even two years ago I would have laughed in your face and felt secretly disgusted by the prospect of purchasing anything, especially for my baby-to-be, at a yard sale or on craigslist. Why, I am far superior to the buying habits of THOSE people that have to buy secondhand goods! Fast forward. WHAT WAS I THINKING???

A friend of mine (a neat-freak if you must), told me about buying a toy off of craigslist for half the retail price. I thought, "Gross. For your BABY?" She told me how she cleaned it and that it was probably cleaner now than it had been out of the box. Hmmm. Not long afterward, I was driving to my pickup site for co-op fruits and veggies at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning and realized I was free! My husband was watching the baby and I could go get Starbucks and...well...nothing. There is nothing open at 7:30 in the morning except WalMart and I won't even tell you all the reasons I refuse to step foot into that place. So, with nothing but time and Starbucks, I began following colorful signs around various neighbohoods. My first bounty was a toddler climb and slide set - for $10. Soon, I got all my girlfriends involved and we had Saturday mornings in the car together with coffee, conversation and bargains. At first I only bought larger, easy to clean items. We still have and use daily the $200 art easel I picked up for $8.

Then, on craigslist, I found a retired Pottery Barn Kids quilt and sham set for my son's "big boy room" for $45. Now here is where I struggled...and rightly so, as several of you reading this just shuttered at the thought of me putting "used" bedding on my son's bed. I had no doubt in my mind that a couple of hot washes would take care of any germs lingering in the bedding but harder to wash away were my concerns about whether people would think I was a bad mom. I mean, it's not like I couldn't afford to buy new bedding. I was just making a conscious choice to buy this used (And did I mention, very cute?) set. I stashed the bedding away in a closet and even thought about selling it.

I happened upon an article one day explaining why you should not buy organic. Well, I just had to read it, claws ready and waiting. The article detailed the production process of organic and the environmental impact of distribution in comparison to purchasing items secondhand. In short, they were not saying that buying organic was bad, just that if your purpose was environmental friendliness, one was better off to buy an item that would be on it's way to crowd our landfills. The more I mulled over the ideas and thought process of the article
(which of course I cannot locate to link it right now) the more I liked the concept. Every item I purchased from a person, rather than a store, put money into the pockets of individuals, saved me money, reduced the amount of packaging being thrown away (had I purchased new instead) and only created the emissions from my vehicle in picking up the item rather than commercial truck emmissions.

When I began to look at buying secondhand as a win-win for everyone involved (except of course, big box retailers) I began to let go of the guilt that maybe I was a bad mom or bad wife for buying some of our goods previously owned. There are some items, like mattresses, that I will never buy used, but for the most part, the bargain shopping has become fun. Pointing out the cool leather chairs I picked up for $25 and the toy bins for $5 gives me a sense of accomplishment. When I decide I want something I always try to find it secondhand, first. Invariably, when I have a hard time finding something and lose my patience, it pops up everywhere for half the cost of whatever I purchased it for new.

I can't imagine that five years ago I would guessed the future as to the woman I am today, but when I look back at who I was, I am proud of me now. I know for certain I wouldn't be good friends with the Amy of five years ago. There are things I still want and am occasionally tempted to buy just because I want to and I can. In fact, I would still love to one day replace my linens with comfy organic cotton, but I have decided for the conservation of my planet and my wallet that I can survive a few more years with the ones I have.