Bag Lady

Here's what I brought with me to the co-op yesterday to go grocery shopping:

• Two large, empty oatmeal containers to fill up (one regular, one quick oats)
• An egg carton to load up with eggs (4 year old loves that job!)
• Two empty plastic bottles for refills of body care products (liquid soap and sweet almond oil)
• A bunch of plastic bags to use for produce and bulk items (I really need to get me some of those reusable produce bags!)
• A big bag of plastic bags to recycle (the have a bin you can stuff them in)
• And last but not least, my reusable shopping bags.

I felt like a bag lady hauling all that stuff into the store!  But in the end, I'm always glad that I made the effort.  How do you feel about the extra work that it takes to bring your own packaging to the store?  I thought I'd try out a poll - my very first!

 

Comments

[Terry]

Hi Micaela,
I often go to the grocery store on the way to or from another activity,therefore, I do not always have bags with me. I am so glad that my local co-op has a place where people can bring bags for others to re-use. They also have an area where they put cardboard boxes that goods are shipped to the store in that people can use for their groceries. I wish all stores would do this.
I have a friend from Belgium who told me that the grocery stores in Belgium do not supply grocery bags. Most people bring their own from home and if you forget they have cloth bags that you can purchase. What a concept!
Your sis Terry

[Quadelle]

Here in Australia co-ops don't exist. However, the reusable grocery bags are definitely catching on, and they are testing charging 10 cents a bag for the plastic grocery bags in a few areas.

[Micaela]

Terry - that's so cool that your co-op has bags & boxes available for people to reuse - such an easy thing to do! I wish my co-op would consider it.
Quadelle - Do you think charging for the plastic bags will help? If anything it will help bring awareness to the issue.
Ikea is the only store around here that charges for plastic bags. They also have reuseable bags available for a very cheap price. It seems to be working well for them - I think it's smart!

[InWomenWeTrust]

Micaela - I end up carrying tons of bags and boxes and stuff to the store as well, all of which ended up taking up a lot of cart space. I also found it difficult to dig around for the right sized bag/container when I needed it. Consequently, I started clipping the bags to the cart and then after others asked me where I got the clip, I started a site for them. (bagbiners.com) It makes bag management much easier.

The other side effect of this is by displaying the hanging bags while I'm shopping, I'm educating other shoppers to use cloth bags. Afterall, shopping carts didn't take off until the inventor pushed them around the store. People need to see cloth bags in use beyond the co-op walls.

[Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish]

Micaela, please label this post as "plastic" so it will show up in the plastic-free posse link on Fake Plastic Fish!

I just got back home from buying 8 pounds of ground chicken in my stainless steel container. Ingredients for homemade cat food. I have no problem bringing my own containers each time. On my bicycle, no less. I wish others knew how easy it is!

Beth

[Lisa]

I shop over an hour away from my home (yes I know but it's only once a month). So I end up with a very full cart so I need a lot of bags. I carry them all in one big bag along with produce bags, bulk bags, butcher bags, and reusable mugs to get ice cream or coffee in as a treat while shopping. I feel good carrying them all around. :)

[Lynn from Organicmania.com]

Micaela,

I love the idea of re-using the oatmeal container! I simply had never thought of that. We usually buy bulk organic oatmeal, but sometimes we run out and have to buy Quaker Oats. I do love the sturdy container it comes in. Great idea!

Thanks for participating in the Green Moms Carnival! Glad you "snuck" this one in!

Lynn

[Steph @ Greening Families]

One of the things that I enjoy about bringing my own bags is the conversations they spark. I figure the more the people talk about these subjects, the better!

[Mother Earth aka Karen Hanrahan]

i just started taking in some of my beloved old jars and filling them with turbinado, oats, spices etc and I like the idea conceptually however i had a 25 yr old jar slip from my hand and break --this was a tad upsetting...and i didn't have any more jars to tout my oats home - darn another plastic bag...maybe i also shouldn't be so sentimental about jars, eh

[Green Bean]

Totally worth it and, once it becomes habit, it's no big deal at all.

[Diane MacEachern]

We put our bags right by the door after we've emptied them, then take them out to the car so they're always there for the next shopping trip. Works like a charm, and I love not having a million extraneous grocery bags cluttering up my kitchen!

[Micaela]

lots of great ideas guys! Thanks for taking the time to share. sorry about your glass jar Karen - Yikes!

[arduous]

I'm with GB, once you get used to it, it just becomes second nature and you won't forget your bags!

[Tricia]

Thats great you can buy so much in bulk....I have a local organic co-op where i can buy some things and use my own containers but its mainly limited to dry goods like flour and beans. I can be a little slack sometimes remembering my re-useable shopping bags. I have recenly bought some that fold up very small to leave in my hand-bag so that i cannot forget! Cheers, Tricia

[Alline]

You are a very IMPRESSIVE bag lady - fantastic! I especially like the Oats containers and that you can bring your own egg cartons. Yay for you (and the store)!

[Good Girl Gone Green]

Is there another way? I feel like a bag lady all the time....;)