How to stop shopping

Need to stop shopping but don't have much willpower? There are plenty of ways to still get everything you want without opening your wallet.

Borrowing, bartering, and taking stuff others want to unload are age-old strategies for getting what you need without spending any money. Luckily, there are a growing number of new twists on these old standbys.

Staying away from the mall is a great way to save money, gas, the resources needed for making new products from scratch, and space in the landfill.

• No need to buy something you won't use very often when you can borrow it from your neighbor. An added bonus: You won't have to find space for it in your house. Check out neighBORROW, Household Network, or Loanables.


• It's well known that you can borrow books, magazines, DVDs, and CDs from your local library, but did you know that you can download audio books and e-books from a nearby library for free?


• In need of a tool that's not in your toolbox? Find out if your town has a tool-lending library.


• There are a growing number of websites dedicated to helping you trade what you no longer want or need. Swap books, music, DVDs, or video games via mail through Swaptree, SwapaDVD, PaperBackSwap, SwapaCD, BookMooch, TitleTrader, and Game Trading Zone. Trade kids' stuff you no longer need at Freepeats, Kizoodle,  Tots Swap Shop, Swap Baby Goods, Hand-Me-Downs, or UandITrade. Women can swap clothing and accessories at Dig‘nSwap and at Swapstyle.


• Swap what you no longer want in person. Invite your friends over to exchange clothing. Get tips on how to host a swap shop. Or see if there is a local Swap-O-Rama-Rama event coming up in your neighborhood. It's a great way to clean out your closet, find cool castaways, and transform your new finds into just the right thing for you.


• Shop in your own closet. You can easily update clothing that's in good shape by adding unusual buttons, shortening a skirt, or dying a garment a new color.


• Log onto Freecycle and other reuse groups, or search the "free stuff" category on Craigslist to find things your neighbors are giving away.

Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green's users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon.com.

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