That's my CARBON footprint, not my regular footprint because my feet are really very nice and pretty and dainty, thank you very much. Hence the shoe obsession. Which is not the same at all as a shoe fetish. One is simply stylish while the other is. Well. Weird.
So, my carbon footprint. I am guilty of leaving a larger one than I should. We keep our house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I have been known to drive somewhere just FOR FUN. And I used plastic grocery bags. I say USED because look!
I bought these the other day. I bought two to see how I liked them, thinking I would buy more later and I TOTALLY need to go buy a dozen more because I LOVE THEM. LOVE THEM. Not only do they easily hold more groceries, they don't tear at an inopportune moment and I don't end up with dozens and dozens of plastic bags which can take up to 1,000 YEARS to break down in a landfill. Which makes me feel a little guilty about my great-great-great - OK, insert about ten greats here - grandchildren.
When I first got home with them, my container of watermelon pieces had tipped and spilled watermelon juice in the bag and I was horrified - my new grocery store tote bags! My fabulous, help heal the hole in the ozone layer, tote bags! But then I found that the bottom piece of the bag comes right out, I rinsed it off and we were good go.
When I went to the grocery the other day, I tried to buy more but they only had some black ones from a different company, which would TOTALLY not match my blue Kroger ones, so of course I had to wait until I could get to a store with more blue ones. Because, even though I am all about saving the planet and all, I do have an image to uphold as a fashionista and that image does not include grocery tote bags that DO NOT MATCH. I shudder at the thought.
You also get a rebate when you use these bags. It's only 5 cents, but it's better than those plastic shopping bags which are reproducing in my pantry as we speak. Seriously. Every time I open that door, I swear there are more of them.
So, grocery store tote bags. That's what works for me. Now I just have to remember to take them with me when I go to the grocery. And I will remember to put them in my truck just as soon as I remember where I left the keys.
Go to this site to see how many plastic bags your family uses in a year. It's scary.
14 comments:
I'm glad you made the plunge into reuseable bags! We made the switch last year and it wasn't hard to do. We now have 12-15 bags that we carry in the car at all times. After carrying the groceries in each week, we return them to the car so we'll know where they are.
Of course, all ours don't match, but what the heck - I'll never live up to your "divaness" standards! LOL!!!!!
good for you - I hate the plastic "flimsy" bags, but have yet to make the switch. I need to get on that! Thanks
I bought some but I keep forgetting to put them back in the car to take them with me. I do like them though. They hold a lot more than the bags which means a lot less trips to the car!! Yay!
I've got a bunch of those, too. Lately, some stores have started taking a little money off your order if you use them--I saved 25 cents today just for using cloth bags! Hey, a quarter's a quarter and I'll take my money any where I can get it.
Does anyone know if Walmart or Winn Dixie offers these? I've looked into buying some bags online but they are very expensive. I'd much rather use a store brand. Thanks!
Found your link from WFMW. I use my kids' old canvas school bags. They don't match, other than the fact that they're canvas, but I'm proud to say that they have become my habit - I just unload the groceries, stuff the bags inside one bag and hang them on the back door so I can take them to the car the next time I go. They live in the car so I take them to Target, the library, walgreens and anywhere else that uses the plastic bags.
And, for Christmas presents for some of my hard-to-buy-for folks, I found some great reusable bags at www.delight.com. I would never buy them for myself, but feel good about encouraging others to 'be green,' too. Happy shopping!
i used them for the first time this week and was so excited i had to blog about it to! :) the bagger was able to fit a 10 lb bag of sugar + the rest of my groceries for the month in ONE bag!
I like to used by bags at walmart and the grocery stores. I just hate when I forget to take my bags with me.
I heard that grocery stores are going to start charging .25 for every plastic grocery bag. It's trying to get passed in San Francisco. Why don't the stores give you .25 for every reusable bag you bring, especially when they put about 4 plastic bags' worth of groceries into ONE reusable bag!
I got my reusable bags at Trader Joe's for .99 each and they're really cool looking. It just drives me nuts when ALL of the heavy stuff goes into one bag at the store. Have to hold it by the bottom, or the handles break off.
Thanks for the post!
I LOVE my reusable bags! I use them for lugging my kids' stuff around on car trips too, because you can fit so many things in there!
I love them! I did not want all the same bag though, so I started buying one bag at each store that I went to (grocery stores, drug stores, and even book stores) that way I had all different colors and sizes. So what I do is I keep them in my van so that I always have them when I need them, then after I buy something and take it into my house I unpack it and hang it on my front door knob. That way the next time that I go out to my van I just take them with me. Super easy and I have rarely forgotten them that way.
As a fair project last year, my daughter made a very large bag made out of "recycled" jeans. It is cut into squares and sewn back together with the seams on the outside - looks a bit "rough". All different colors of jeans. She then sewed on webbing for handles that went all the way around the bottom. The bag is just huge, hold lots of things, and even lots of weight. I have been using it for a year, and the clerks at the stores still comment every time they see it - wish we saw more of these - I want one, etc. I will be making more - as soon as I find more jeans to recycle! PS - She earned a blue ribbon on it too!
Alice B.
Let me try this again something happened and an error came up. I love mine I have 10 from various stores and it doesn't matter they don't care what bags you are using you can have a couple from them and a couple from other stores. My reasoning is as long as I'm helping by not getting plastic then why should they care. They hold up so well and the uses for them is endless. We use them to carry library books, to sort recyclying like newspapers in one, small boxes in another, kids use them for snacks and stuff when they are going to the park. Even if they are heavy you can carry them so much easier. I just wish someone would have thought of this years ago. I also have made a couple t-shirt bags that I saw on the Martha Stewart show several months ago. Love them to take to the gym or pool you can just throw them in the washer and dryer anytime and don't have to worry about them getting smelly. Take Care :)
I love my cloth bags. Instead of buying the nylon mesh type bags at the store for $1 -- I pick up some cloth totes or bookbags at the Goodwill or our local thrift store. Most of mine are in either a dark blue or a natural canvas. I even found a bag that has a draw string and is kindda insulated (quilted) - perfect for hauling frozen items and things that need to be kept cool.
We have a coat rack that I hang my purse on and I hang my bags on the same hook as my purse - that way, when I get ready to go, there they are, front and center.
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