Breaking the habit

Some habits are hard to break. Like smoking. Or drinking Diet Coke.

For me, it's shopping for common household goods at Target. Last week, I had a list of items we were out of: dishwasher detergent, trash bags and lunch baggies. The thought to shop for these at my local natural grocery never even entered my mind. Seriously. I always shop for this stuff at Target - it's ingrained in me.

And so, I walked over to Target on my lunch break, happily picked up my items and placed them in my canvas Wild Oats tote bag. I didn't even think about the implications of what I bought until several days later when I popped a detergent cube in the dishwasher.

I could have easily opted for earth-friendly Seventh Generation recycled plastic bags and Ecover Dishwasher fluid when I was grocery shopping (plus saved myself an extra trip) - but it isn't in my buying habits to shop for household goods at Wild Oats or Whole Foods. It's a no-brainer to buy the organic-labeled foods, but when it comes to other goods, I haven't trained myself yet.

So, what do I do now - with my pantry full of toxic goods? Can I take back the unopened box of trash bags (which, it turns out we didn't need anyway)?

I guess I will learn my lesson and hope to do better next time.