Re-Useable Shopping Bags

[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.

[Tuckervill]

I don't use any produce bags, unless I'm getting a lot of small stuff like green beans or something. I just pile up my tomatoes on the cart and on the belt. I know there is bacteria on the cart, etc., but I wash my veggies, you know? I just think the plastic bags are a waste. I use the self-check at the grocery so I can put everything in the bags the way I like them, so I don't have to worry about the checker being upset about piles of unbagged vegetables. (And I don't have to talk to the checker--because I don't like to talk to them...or listen to them talk to their co-worker while they're ringing me out. Actually, I'm quite crumudgeonly about the grocery store!)

Karen

[FlyingScot]

I use them all the time although mine are just the plain store kind. I love them. They hold way more groceries than the plastic ones and stuff doesn't roll around and fall out of them. I love the longer handles as they allow me to put at least 2 or three on my shoulder when unloading plus the ones over my arms. It makes for quicker unloading especially because I have to walk up two flights of stairs to get to my house. A couple of mine are thermal lined and zip closed which is great for frozen things. I usually bike to the store with my cargo trailer and they make for easy loading and unloading into the trailer as well. The thermal ones kept ice cream frozen even in 90+ degree weather. I hate it when I forget them!

[smurfalicious]

I have three from Safeway that I got on my first ever shopping trip in Boulder. It felt like the thing to do. I love the Safeway ones because they're tall, but the handles are a little too long to comfortably carry at my sides. I usually end up with a collection of them at work because we have a kitchen and I bring my groceries in weekly.

At the pet store we have biodegradable bags made of corn. They suck because they're really weak, but it's Boulder so we rarely use them.

I want that green "my bag makes me better than you." That, is sooo Boulder!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I have about 17 or so of them (bought for 99 cents each, a few at a time as I needed more).
I keep 12 in the car for the big supermarket trips. Used to forget to bring them in at first, but now I'm used to it and never forget anymore.

I have I think 3 in the hall closet, use them for overnights or for bringing potluck dishes to events, or for transporting a plant, etc.

Then I keep two more in my Rivendell's panniers for errands and shopping. The panniers stayed secured on the bike (they fold up flat against the bike when it's locked up) and I just take the shopping bags in with me:


My daughters borrowed a couple and got hooked on them and I got them each a few too.

I use them over and over and over.....

[Zen]

I've got loads of them and when I forget to take them in the store i just get bags out of the big recycle bin in front of the store.

I also have one of these.

[msincredible]

I have a few, sometimes I forget them but I love using them.

[ZenSojourner]

I have about 17 or so of them (bought for 99 cents each, a few at a time as I needed more).

Where do you get them for 99c? Every time I see them for sale, they're $7 or $8

[PamNY]

At the pet store we have biodegradable bags made of corn. They suck because they're really weak, but it's Boulder so we rarely use them.

??? Dogs don't poop in Boulder?

I've been using fabric bags (or more likely my backpack) for shopping for years. The idea that this is all new is somewhat comical. I don't use a car, so that changes the equation; I don't always have a bag with me, though I usually do.

The only advantage to the bags sold specifically as replacements for the standard plastic bag is that they are great for hanging on my Xootr. Paper or plastic bags get banged up and more than once I've lost a lemon or two. If I have a really heavy load, I use a backpack because I can hang it with the bag facing me. Putting weight forward makes the scooter unbalanced when I hop off. Messes up my perfect curb jump, and the rear wheel could swing around and bang someone in the ankle.

ETA: If you don't want to buy a new reusable bag, thrift shops usually have plenty of the bags given away at conferences, etc.

Pam

[smurfalicious]

??? Dogs don't poop in Boulder?

They do, but those warrant a different kind of biodegradable bag that's on a small roll and has a handy clip on dispenser.

[badgercat]

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.

I re-use produce bags too! I never use them in the first place for things like avocados or other things you don't eat the peel--but apples, pears, peppers, etc I always save the bags for next time.

A couple Christmases ago I started wrapping my gifts for family in old newspapers, and asked my parents to also do recycled/recyclable packaging for my gifts. My mom at first thought this was the most ridiculous thing she'd heard (which she tends to do, when I mention things like not leaving the water running the whole time I'm in the shower, taking the bus to go out to dinner when it would be much easier to drive, etc), but she acquiesced and just stacked my gifts in 2 reusable grocery totes from the supermarket she normally shops at. I was very pleased.