Re-Useable Shopping Bags

[Miranda]

How many of you shop with re-useable shopping bags?

OK... I confess... I have owned one since x-mas (gift from a GF) but not used one til now.

I had an extra one I picked up at my local drug store as a 99cent promo for Earth Day and thought... "hey, I'm gonna just rip the tag off and fill this baby up right now as I shop the rest of my list...". Worked out nicely.

I decided the best way to remember to use it is by leaving it stored in my vehicle. Today I was headed into the grocery store and actually remembered to use my bag.

Only having one bag kept me from over-buying stuff I really didn't need either since I was at the store 'hungry' (always a bad thing).

Now, I'm hooked... Go Team Green Bag.

[sbctwin]

We keep our bags in the car and use them all the time. Ours are getting kinda well used and look it...We take ours with us to the farmers market in the summer, too...

[Jolt]

I do! I agree about the best way to remember being to keep them in the car (except when you're doing errands on the bike...).

[oxysback]

Here's the bag I use.

[Possegal]

I've acquired quite a stash of them. Some are in the house but the goal is to return them to the car as soon as possible so I always have some there, otherwise I'd never remember to use them until I got to the store and had none. I am great with them at the grocery, still getting used to bringing them to any and all stores and foregoing the plastic. I am anal about recycling the plastic back at the grocery though. But I'd prefer to not have any at all. The last time I remembered to bring mine into CVS the kid at the register was trying to charge me for it. I was puzzled - said to him, really? You think this DC-area CVS is selling these PITTSBURGH STEELER bags? He still didn't understand why I wasn't buying the bag. I had to explain that I thought they'd be more likely to sell Redskin bags here.

[AnnieBikes]

I have a bunch of the bags. One is from Adventure Cycling for making a donation , three from Appalachian Trail Conservancy (donation) and one of them is insulated, which is very handy for cold stuff, and two that I got at REI for $1 each. They are made out of a tyvek-like material and very nice and heavy. I keep them in the car all the time so that I have them when I shop. Walmart doesn't like them much as it is inconvenient for them but I don't care. I like the "green" bags and always recycled the plastic ones in the past, anyway, or used them when picking my garden.

I volunteer at our local hospital and each year they have an appreciation luncheon and give a small gift to us. The lunch was last week and they gave us each what looked like a little clutch purse but it turned out to be a reusable grocery bag all folded up. ...very nice, and useful, but now I am getting too many bags!!! Oh well, when they wear out, I will have some more to use!

[ZenSojourner]

When I go grocery shopping, I buy 2 or 3 weeks worth of groceries at the same time. I'm pretty sure I couldn't afford that many reusable bags.

I do save the plastic bags I get at other stores and use them when I go shopping at Aldi's, where they don't give you bags. I also use them as trash bags.

[GLC1968]

I have a couple of these:


http://www.envirosax.com/products/graphic_series/

I bought them at Powell's when I visited Portland prior to moving here, and I love the silly things. They are so compact when rolled up that I've got them stashed everywhere - one in my purse, one in my pannier, one in the glove box of the car, etc, so I am never without one. It's amazing how much will fit in them and they are super strong, too. We also keep a collection of fabric bags (some are mesh) in the car for larger shopping trips, but that's usually easier to remember. I find it's the little trips to the market or hardware store where you have too much to just carry out, but not enough to warrant bringing in the whole shebang...

[lunacycles]

I keep them in the car all the time and develop amnesia whenever I go grocery shopping....fortunately, I mostly shop at a co-op that has recycled paper bags at your disposal if you left your fancy bags in the car.

[malkin]

I have a bunch and use them often, and have done so for decades.

I used to wash those plastic produce bags and hang them on the clothesline before reusing them, but I don't anymore.

[shootingstar]

We have several nice strong cloth bags..but confess I rarely use them. Why is it the handles of totes are usually too long for short people to walk along without dragging whole bag on ground?

I shop with my bike panniers in hand with 1/2 of the time, throwing in the bags of weighed veggies/fruits into pannier and other times throw in, bagged groceries. I like to keep the bike pannier interior relatively clean and hence, would never throw in a pair of shoes without also putting worn shoes in a plastic bag first.

We use the grocery plastic bags to bag our trash, pack clean clothing when commuting/travel or to cover the bike seat parked outside on rainy days. I always keep a stash of clean plastic bags that were used to bring home new clothing purchases and will reuse a couple for clothes packing.

[Kimmyt]

I have two cheap canvas type ones that I use, which works for me because for the most part I shop 2-3 times a week and just get small amounts. That number of trips will probably even decrease since I joined a CSA for veggies.

I keep them in my car, you can fit so many more things in a reusable bag than a disposable plastic one, so that works for me since I hate to make more than one trip from the car to the house when bringing in my groceries. If I forget them and The Boy is with me, he usually runs out and grabs them while I'm waiting in line

[surgtech1956]

I have a couple, keep them in my vehicle. They actually hold quite alot, so its kind of nice not having all those plastic bags to haul in.

[crazycanuck]

Psst Surgetech..Happy Birthday

[OakLeaf]

I hang them on the doorknob as soon as I unpack the groceries. Then I can't forget them next time I go out to the car.

Yesterday the checkout clerk at Whole Foods thanked me for re-using the plastic produce bags. (It was obvious since I had a collection from several stores.) Mostly a rinse is enough to get them clean; if not, they're easy enough to wash and dry on a clothesline.