Ponderance? Is that a word? Well, I use it, so I’m calling it a word. Moving on.

The other day I suddenly decided that my life would be much better with glue sticks. I forget exactly what I wanted them for, but I was certain I NEEDed them. As an aside to all of this, I have used them since, and yes, glue sticks have their own category of usefulness, especially with a toddler around. The point though was this: I was not going to be anywhere near a Value Village which is where I usually source craft materials when I can’t get them through swapping or family members’ neglected stashes. I was also not going to be anywhere near a craft store, which, I will admit, I sometimes break down and shop at because they are so shiny and full of wonderful things that I get overwhelmed and buy more than I need and then justify later. So the dilemma was, where do I find glue sticks and what are my values around them? Yes,I recognize they are just glue sticks, but we all know they are probably not ethically made all the way down the line so I had to decide how to justify my purchase to myself. I was in Roncesvalles, so my choices were fairly limited.  After trying a few locally-owned and shops I finally went into the dollar store where, of course, they had a pack of two for $1. I jumped on the deal and came home. However. It got me thinking – where do I draw that line for myself? The people who own the independent dollar stores need to make a living too, and they are a part of the community, so in theory I do want to support them. Plus they usually have things at a price that I’m happy to pay for the quality I expect at that price. Thinking locally, it’s a good buy. Thinking globally, it’s probably not. Where does my purchasing responsibility end here?

What do you think? How do you create your own purchasing rules?