Just a quick post today, as we are on a school break week and have out-of-town family staying with us.
If you’ve been reading here for long, hopefully you have made the move to bringing your own bags when you go shopping.
Our family uses a variety of bags, including canvas tote bags from various events and organizations, woven-plastic bags sold for 99 cents at local grocery stores, and my personal favorite, Chico Bags, the compact nylon bags that I carry in my purse to whip out at a moment’s notice. I even use reusable produce bags at the grocery store.
We use various strategies to remember our bags:
- Keep Chico Bags on hand so we always have a bag with us.
- Keep bags in the car so we are prepared for a sudden stop.
- Keep the grocery list and/or coupon organizer on or near the stack of reusable bags at home so we remember to bring them with us, whether we are going on a walking or driving errand.
- Put the bags on the front seat of the car so we remember to take them in with us. (My aunt said she puts them on top of her purse, so she’ll have to touch them to get to her purse, ensuring she remembers them.)
Still, plastic bags have a way of seemingly multiplying of their own volition. Take the photo above, for instance — I only had to step outside to find a bag lost on the sidewalk near my house.
Recently, I wrote an article for Matador Life titled How to Overcome the Curse of the Plastic Bag. I encourage you to check it out if you have a stash of bags and want some ideas of what to do with them.
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Comments ( 6 )
The grocery store, that I shop at, gives everyone plastic bags that are recycled. I reuse these for my trash bags and also take extras to the grocery store to use again.
denise bolin-clark added these pithy words on
Feb 16 10 at
2:29 pm
I’m finding that I’m still coming home with plastic bags. The last three grocery trips, I brought my own bags and the check out lady still insisted on bagging my stuff in plastic before putting them in my bag. What’s worse, she bagged three candy bars in one bag, cheese in another, then put them in my bag with another item. There was no reason to bag things separately. I was just dumbfounded that I still got plastic after saying (twice to the bagger) that I brought my own bag, and had it covering my groceries when I got to the checkout.
*sigh* I’m going to go crush some cans to vent my frustration. I think I’m just dumbfounded at the store employees, and frustrated that I went three times and all three times, after presenting my bags and reminding them I had my own bag, came home with my items in a plastic bag, inside of my chico bag.
grr.
Ashley added these pithy words on
Feb 16 10 at
7:02 pm
Well as for me, I have to keep a couple of bags, chico or otherwise in the variuos vehicles and my main scooter or I will forget!
Rob added these pithy words on
Feb 16 10 at
7:14 pm
Note to Ashley- Don’t get too discouraged- happens to all of us. I just stare down the clerks that think they are helping me by doing that and saying something smartass like- “Is it your store policy to make me take the damn plastic bag??? Let’s ask your Manager”
Rob added these pithy words on
Feb 16 10 at
7:17 pm
@Ashley – That has happened to me, too. Sometimes it’s a well-meaning clerk who wants to be SURE my chicken juice doesn’t get on my bag (even though I could wash it! But she must not know that). Sometimes it is the staff at our local grocery, where they employ many checkers who have cognitive disabilities. I suspect for those workers, it is more challenging to rapidly switch from the rules (this # of items per bags, these types of items get their own bags) when a customer brings their own. If it happens occasionally, I just suck it up and save the bag — they came in handy recently when we were delivering Girl Scout cookies. If it happens all the time, maybe have a conversation with the store manager to ask if they could officially change their policy.
Cheap Like Me added these pithy words on
Feb 17 10 at
8:40 am
my local grocery stores charge a nickel a bag to encourage shoppers to bring their own. i am proud to say that i have influenced two of my adult children to buy reusable bags
smikette added these pithy words on
Feb 17 10 at
7:45 pm
