Comments on: Reusable Shopping Bags – Save the Earth and Your Wallet

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:25:57 +0000

Gates VP, You’re right – the random use factor has already kicked in a few times. I’ve already taken them into other stores and used them to transport things to and from work. It’s nice having bags around. I wish I would have done it years ago!

By: Gates VP

Gates VP — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 09:53:18 +0000

Hey @Ryan;

Welcome to “the movement”. I’ve been using cloth bags from Safeway for 3 or 4 years now. It’s really good to see others jump on the train. For those wondering, I still get plastic bags, I just get a lot less.

It would be great to “go bagless” and not need plastic bags at all, but the infrastructure just isn’t there yet.

And I’m not really a “green freak”. I’m actually a walker (28, never owned a car). As a walker the cloth bags are tremendously useful. They’re square and strong and large, so they hang at your sides comfortably. With plastic bags, I’d always end up with layers of bags puffing out at the sides. But the square bags tend to pack much nicer.

My only caveat is that not every bagger really knows how to bag with cloth. If your supermarket has brown paper bags, they may have some experience. But I’ve often had to give a pointer or two (“it’s square”, “don’t be afraid to load it up”) and sometimes I’ve just re-packed the bags all together.

Plus the bonus on having these bags around is that they suddenly just become “randomly” useful. In fact, I really like the idea of keeping them in your trunk.

By: Imani

Imani — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:07:38 +0000

Use them and love them! To keep from forgetting to take them (I walk to the stores), I hang them on my door knob and keep some others under my house keys.

Stop and Shop gives a 5 cent discount for each bag shoppers bring. It isn’t much but every little bit helps!

Not to mention Mother Earth breathes a sigh of relief.

Imani

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:17:59 +0000

Actually, even our liquor store provides reusable bags now, which is rather convenient.
They are definitely the way to go.
A friend of mine also uses boxes, if he happens to buy alot of food on any given trip.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:26:34 +0000

Good tip, Michael! We only have the regular sized bags, but that is certainly something to keep in mind.

By: Michael @ The Life Insurance Insider

Michael @ The Life Insurance Insider — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:10:10 +0000

My wife and I are addicted to the reusable bags as well.

My tip. Only use the normal sized bags and leave the oversized bags at home. We have a couple of larger ones we got as give aways and we don’t take those anymore. For some reason the sackers at the two stores we frequent will inevitably place all of the largest and heaviest items in the larger bags. Why they think my wife wants to or is even capable of carrying a bag with 2 gallons of milk, 2 2-liters of soda, and 2 2-half gallons of orange juice into the house is beyond me.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:08:59 +0000

@Kristy, some kitty litter brands make flushable litter. Arm & Hammer made a great one that I loved, but they discontinued it. There is a product called Swheat Scoop that is all natural and wheat-based. These litters won’t clog your toilets or harm septic systems.

I used Swheat Scoop for awhile, but at that time we had to keep the litter box in our bathroom, and the moisture from the shower made it smell. Yuck. In our new house we finally have a useable basement where the litter box is, so I’ve been thinking about switching back. It’s much easier to keep the litter box clean with the flushable.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:51:59 +0000

Kristy, I’m sorry, I don’t have any tips – my wife is allergic to cats, so we don’t have one. You can consider using reusable shopping bags for most of your needs and only getting plastic bags when you absolutely need them.