Mindful shopping – guest post by Antonia, Tinker Tailor Online

This weekend we have the first Lucky Things Meet Up of 2017 where Dr Tamara Russell is chatting about mindfulness. I didn’t realise that we could practice a bit of mindfulness to so many everyday things. As Tamara says, it’s not about going off and meditating on a mountain. So I asked Antonia from the lovely lifestyle blog Tinker Tailor Online for her views on how we can be mindful when we’re shopping. The sales are still on so I’m sure a few of us are still on the look out for some last minute bargains. So over to Antonia…

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Mindful shopping

I really enjoyed catching up blogs and social media over the Christmas holidays and I spotted a common thread: to buy better, to support small businesses and to make more considered purchases. It got me thinking about my own shopping habits and how January is traditionally a month when we all tighten our financial belts.

Since we’re talking shopping habits, resolutions and money I’ll come right out and tell you that I am a compulsive shopper, I am extremely suggestible and delighted to be swept up in any retail experience. It gives me a real buzz!

Shopping is a very physical thing for me. I feel a heady excitement when I enter certain shops or spot an item that I love, I make snap decisions then gleefully head to the cash desk without giving my shopping list or my budget a second thought. If you are anything like me the festive season can leave you with a bit of a financial hangover come the new year.

Those of you who regularly read my blog Tinker Tailor Online will know that I took my first steps towards practicing mindfulness this year and whilst I am no expert, I do believe that the practice helps to improve your quality of life so I do my best to spend a few minutes a day with my mindfulness app. Mindfulness helps you to experience the moment, to be aware of what is actually going on and to see the bigger picture. It is the opposite of being on autopilot which incidentally, is exactly how I shop.

There is some evidence to suggest that mindfulness training can be an effective tool in combating the compulsive shopping behaviours that lead to overspending. I would definitely benefit from being more in control of my emotional shopping habits so I spoke to mindfulness expert and founder of No More Shoulds, Amy Malloy who identified being on autopilot as the principle cause for some of the challenges that lead to overspending. Between us we put together some simple and helpful tips on how to be more mindful when shopping and how to make considered purchases that will help you to stay on budget and potentially save you money.

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Ways to practice mindfulness tips in your daily routine

We’re hearing more and more about mindfulness. Life is getting more complicated, with and without the use of technology. Lots of people spend time living online. I’m looking forward to hearing Dr Tamara Russell chat about mindfulness at the next Lucky Things Meet Up at the end of January. So I thought I’d share a few tips on how you can use mindfulness in everyday life and weave it into your daily routine. Continue reading

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Will my daughters love how they look?

Through my eyes, my two daughters are of course beautiful. I will always see their beauty. But how will they appreciate their own beauty as they grow up? What will they be thinking about when they look at themselves in the mirror? I’ve started to think about this more for a number of reasons. Three-year old Big Munch starts school next year. She will enter school life and be exposed to all of the body-image issues it brings with being around so many other girls and boys. She will start building her own identity. She will become more aware of her personality as well as her looks.

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Time to Shine: 7 ways you can help someone going through a bereavement by Jeni Whitchurch

I met Jeni at the BritMums bloggers’ conference in June 2016.  I love Jeni’s writing over at Where I Write blog. Jeni writes stories, pieces of creative writing, and articles to express her joy and pain, fear and faith. To question. To examine. To celebrate. To express. She writes as she journeys through loss, marriage, motherhood, vocations and seeing the beauty of life that threads through it all.
Jeni and I have shared our personal stories with each other. I respected her honesty. We have both been through our own forms of bereavement. So, I asked Jeni to write something for Time to Shine (where people can borrow my blog). I wanted to feature something that we rarely talk about – what can we do or say to those suffering from a bereavement. My view is that a bereavement may not always be about death. Bereavement can be about the many losses we may sadly encounter through life. Someone who is no longer there or something that is no longer there. Over to Jeni…

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Lucky Things Wellbeing: Why it’s important to drink lots of water all year round

We’ve been lucky enough to enjoy some really hot days over the past couple of months. The hotter it was, the more I realised I needed to drink more water. I’m usually quite good at reminding the girls to drink extra water when the days have been warmer.  Now Autumn is definitely here. I no longer need to freeze my water bottles to keep them cool in the sweltering heat. Room temperature is just fine. Whatever the season, we still need to stay hydrated. We all know that water has so many health benefits but somehow we don’t get round to drinking quite enough. So here’s 7 reasons why it’s good to drink lots of water all year round… Continue reading

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