My Amazon audit

What I bought over the past 12 months and what I'm doing moving forward

I canceled Amazon Prime a while back; I’m pretty sure it was when stories about their treatment of warehouse employees started circulating. The break up wasn’t hard, maybe because I’m enough of an advanced planner to not need speedy delivery. That said, I did continue to shop there; the convenience and ability to price compare is appealing, as are easy returns.

And then about a month ago I said to myself, “I need to try to get out of here.” Even just being on the site made me imagine Jeff Bezos’ face and left me feeling ill and angry. I have seen some folks share that boycotting Amazon is pointless because Bezos’ tentacles reach so many other brands. However, seeing the plummeting Tesla stock this week is satisfying evidence of the impact of using your voice through your spending. Also, I am the farthest thing from an economist, but I would think that since more of us have everyday purchasing power in little things vs. the budget to purchase something like a Tesla—according to the internet, a new Tesla ranges from $40,000 to $108,000—we have potential for pretty badass collective impact by redirecting our smaller, more frequent purchases elsewhere.

Since folks enjoy when I dive into the details, I thought it would be interesting to share my Amazon audit, in which I categorize the purchases I have made in the past 12 months—yes, I stomached being on the site to document my order history for you! (There’s also one item on the list where I was like “DOH, I am going to share about this?” but I am also all about honesty and breaking down stigma!) In each category I detail the items, then share how I have already changed my shopping habits, how I’m planning on changing them moving forward, and where I have pain points to figure out. It was really helpful to go through this process because thinking through the list made me realize that it really is possible to get off the Amazon train.

I want to acknowledge that this process is possible given that I have the privilege of living in a densely populated area with access to store options. I understand that for many folks Amazon represents access. That said, I hope that whatever your geography, this list will generally help you think about where and how to spend your dollars. This effort to leave Amazon dovetails with my desire to spend at stores right in my community, both to support the existence of those retail locations and also the people working in the stores.

Okay, here goes: