Thrifty Thursday: Don't be sucked into the hype...

A few years back (and still going strong today), anything sold in a brown paper or cardboard package with green font on the label was playing into the latest "Green" trend.  Consumers were...well...consumed...with the need to buy green goods.  Manufacturers caught on quickly and started packaging products in a way that fed the fire of the trend, and prompted folks to buy their wares (which were exactly the same as before, but in a new package that duped you into paying more money for the same old stuff, and think they were getting a planet-friendly karma boost).  Currently the of-the-minute trend is Urban Farming.  Go me!  I'm on trend!  Super...

So, here's the deal... Most established "urban farmers" are pretty clever and are already in the dirt DIY'ing the hell out of stuff.  So they're probably pretty safe from hype-mark-up products like this "Chicken coop predator kit" from Williams-Sonoma (yes the place with the fancy plates and coco mixes is now selling "supplies" for your chicken coop)...

Source: williams-sonoma.com  

But for those of you just starting out (like me), who may not know any better, please educate yourself before going shopping, or you're sitting ducks.  Folks, please just visit your local farm, feed, or hardware store and buy the stuff from this "kit" for a fraction of the price.  That wire material is otherwise known as hardware cloth, and is usually sold by the roll in wider and longer lengths than the one above, for about a third of the price.  And I've yet to set foot in a single hardware store that doesn't sell nails and washers...

Other current trends to be aware of:
~Organic and natural products for babies (since those little buggers happen all the time, and people just can't help but throw mad amounts of money their way, I think this one's here to stay)
~Local (I have mad amounts of respect for this one, but for the love of God, please scream with me next time you hear something like, "buy local; support your local Walmart").
~Anything made from a pallet (this one was super creative in the beginning when you could still scrounge them up for free, but now that you have to pay solid gold for a one to destroy to make a coffee table out of, it's not really the same, is it?)

Thanks for stopping by,
-Lindsey