It’s amazing how quickly plastic bags pile up in my apartment. I own reusable
grocery bags, and I tote them as often as I can manage, but the sad fact is that
I often forget them when I’m running out the door. Or I pick things up on my way
home from some destination and I don’t have them with me. Or, more often these
days, I order groceries online and have them delivered (a fabulous Manhattan
perk when one has a new baby), and the grocer bags it all up in plastic.
(Sigh.)
Apparently, some people own them but have trouble taking
grocery-store-logo-emblazoned bags into other stores, so they leave them at home
instead, according to a recent Stanford survey. That’s not my problem—my bags
bear logos from the Bonnie Hunt Show and Overland Park, Kansas, and I’m pretty
sure the checkout woman at the Food Emporium could care less. But it does
suggest that there’s a smart way to shop for a reusable sack.
The takeaway: Don’t impulse-buy the bags on sale at your local market,
because they likely bear that market’s logo, and if you won’t use it elsewhere,
you’re just adding to your own clutter. Buy a bag you like, and you’ll probably
be more likely to use it.
(And maybe I should buy something that scrunches up and will fit in my
purse.)
Some places to start:
You can also read Real Simple’s recent article on The Best
Reusable Bags.
Do you use non-plastic bags, and what’s your strategy for remembering them?
My tip to remember your bags, is right after you put your food away, put them back in the car your your bag. This solves two problems; where to store them and remembering them! I also think that people do really care if you bring a bag that has a logo into the store. The whole point is to work as a “whole” and use the bags. I take all my bags with me, they are different sizes and depending on where I am shoping, I may bring them all!
Come on, don’t be shy, use your bags.
I agree – keep your bags in your car so you have them when you go to the store. (This won’t work in NYC, where I’m sure you walk to the store, but perhaps you could leave them in a strategic spot by the door or maybe where you keep your grocery list.) I can’t imagine anyone cares what logo is on the bag – I have a bunch of different kinds that I bring all together wherever I shop – nobody cares.
In addition to the larger grocery bags, I also have a bag that folds up compactly that I keep in my purse. This is to be used at the drug store or other one-stop shopping trips.
I will also admit that I do occasionally forget my bags, but I re-use the plastic bags as bathroom trash bags, paper bags help collect recycling…
While I’m glad more and more stores are making reusable bags available to customers, it seems like they’ve turned into just another way for stores to make money and compete with each other. All you really need are a few large reusable bags for groceries and large items and maybe one or two smaller bags. I have one small bag from Target that I just used at Wal-Mart today and three large bags from my local grocery store. I have no qualms about using the bags at other stores. Also, they really haven’t caught on that much where I live (upstate NY). I always feel like I’m the only one using them sometimes.
Do other people feel this way? Are the bags more popular in certain parts of the country than others?
Keep them in your car & write something on your door. Sometimes I hang a bag from my door when I unpack everything so I remember them on my way out. I also have a chalkboard next to my door where I write “BAGS!” because I tend to remember when I write things down.
I keep a bag of resusable bags in my car. I usually forget them when I go in the store, but remember them when I get in the check out lane, so I send a kid (they are 14 and 16) out to the car to grab them. After we get home and put the groceries away, the bags get stuffed into one another and put on the front door knob so we won’t forget to put them back in the car.
It sounds like everyone is suffering from Bagnesia (n): a person’s forgetfulness to grab their reusable bags… Luckily there is a solution for that illness- The Bagnesia Reminder Kit. It contains simple, effective products that help you remember to take your bags into the store with you everytime you shop. Something for your house, your car, etc. It even comes with it’s own stylish reusable bag that rolls up smaller than a cell phone but holds up to 40 lbs. Visit http://www.bagnesia.com for more info.
I’m so happy to hear that I’m not the only one who buys these bags then leaves them in the car. http://blog.sweetservices.com/sweetscandyblog/
My mother in law bought me a great little reuseable bag that folds into itself, which I keep in my purse for the times I run into the store for just a couple of items. It’s not very big, but it prevents me from ending up with a bag when I can’t carry all the items in my hands.
Another great place to find reusable shopping tote bags is http://www.bagtodiffer.com. They seem to have the lowest prices on the web and often run specials.