As you know, I’m a big ol’ grocery geek. I love to score big on food costs. Plus, feeding a family of 8 requires that I buy a lot. My children are hobbits, and I think we have a meal every hour. Seriously.
Needless to say, with all my shopping, I was getting buried under a pile of plastic grocery bags. Yes, I faithfully saved them. And then I faithfully forgot to take them back to the store each week so that they could be recycled.
A few months ago, I invested in some reusable bags and I never looked back. I absolutely LOVE these bags. Let me count the ways.
1. They hold so much more than your typical grocery bags, even the paper variety.
2. They aren’t going to break on me. Can you say broken glass jar of apple juice in the middle of the parking lot?
3. They are a way for me to practice good stewardship in that I’m not using aforementioned ton of plastic bags.
4. They get me a discount on my grocery purchases.
5. They’re cute!
6. ‘Nuf said, they definitely work for me!
Do you use cloth grocery bags? Why or why not?
P.S. See that purple and black Envirosax bag? You can win one! Go here for the details and an in-depth product review.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes and no. I do use reusable bags every other shop. The other times I use paper bags that we then use to put our recycling in (we are in a townhouse and need to carry it out to a big dumpster). I would love to know a green and frugal trash/recycle bag alternative!
I had an incident with a broken jar of pickles in a paper bag when the handles ripped off. It was a quite smelly mess. We did “save” the pickles, they were the expensive ones, and had to check for glass before eating them : )
I love my reusable bags. Plastic bags are a waste and create clutter when you try to store them. We recycled all of our plastic bags and try to only use reusable bags. My son & I have a challenge when we go shopping not to bring home any plastic bags.
I always bring ours out too. I keep finding free coupons for them (when you spend so much) and then companies offer them for free. So I am stocked up. I even bought 8 target red ones for Christmas gifts (instead of paper bags). I love them too!
I just started using these bags and I really love them. They hold so much more and are alot easier to carry into the house!
I absolutely adore reusable shopping bags! I love that they can hold more and they are easier to carry. Plus, of course, I’m so glad when I can use five of these instead of 15 plastic bags.
I have tons of reuseable shopping bags and they go every where with me. I even have two small folding bags from Target that fit into my purse! My only issue with using the bags is the look of frustration and annoyance I get from some cashiers when I say, “Oh, here are my reusable bags”…of course that’s not going to keep me from using them!
I love my resuable bags too! I love that they hold so much and are much easier to carry.
I actually blogged about this yesterday here:
http://frugallyblonde.blogspot.com/2009/04/tuesday-tip_21.html
At what stores do you get discounts for bringing your own bags? I’m trying to compile a list.
I use them.. I have quite the stash of them..But occasionally we get a couple plastic bags, as we use them for small trash cans in the bathrooms. But we keep the plastic to a minimum. That is a very cute bag. I have them from all stores in various colors. I like to see the faces of people in Wal-mart when I walk in with a “Publix’s” bag.
I use a few of the plastic bags at home for dirty diapers, trash can liners etc. so a couple of times a month I’ll not use my reusable bags when shopping to keep us supplied.
I love my reusable bags for all the reasons you mentioned plus they look nice for carrying other stuff, too. I think they’re easier to carry when full of groceries than plastic bags with the handles that often rip.
I love my reusable grocery bags. They do hold so much more and are a lot sturdier. I remember to take them with me about 95% of the time, and need to do better.
I really like my reusable bags…..when I remember to bring them into the store! Seriously, I keep them on the floor of the front passenger seat of the van, where I supposedly can’t miss them, yet find myself halfway through the store and remember they are still in the van. That said, I’m doing better at using them consistently.
I love my reusable bags… Baggu has ones that fold up into a tiny square — it seems that way I always have one with me.
I use them when I remember them. How do you always remember to take them with you?
I love my cloth bags! I do not know how I got along with out them. I do forget to take them into stores like Target though. I do try to reuse those few plastic bags I do get.
I love my reusable bags. Mine are from various grocery stores, bought whenever I find them for under a dollar. Not nearly as stylish as yours, I must admit!
I seem to forget them on a regular basis, though. I try to keep them in my car, but they don’t always make it back to the car after unloading them after a trip to the store. I see the Envirosax fold up small – might be worth investing in so I can keep them in my purse!
i do use them for a couple reasons 1) i don’t need any more plastic bags ever in my entire life because i already have so many 2) because they’re better for the environment 3) because i already have them lying around from promotional giveaways so they don’t even cost me anything and i get a discount on my grocery bill
i actually blogged about them last month
Reusable Grocery Bags
I do for groceries always. Sometimes I only grab one bag out of the trunk because I’m only expecting to pick up a couple of things but end up getting too much to fit in one bag. What I do in that case is NOT bag the bigger things like milk and meat etc. I put all the loose things in the bag like cans and fruit and small packages, cram in as many big things as I can, and then put the stuff that won’t fit into the cart and when I get to the car, put it in a second bag then.
I have a very thing and lightweight bag that I try to keep in my car or bag for non grocery store trips but I’m only half good at remembering that.
Last summer I went on a sewing spree and made myself, like, 20 bags. I take them with me to Aldi since you have to pay for bags there. I must admit though, I’m not as good as I should be about taking my bags to other stores though. I promise I’ll try to do better!
I absolutely do use reusable bags – which started because we live in a town in Canada where the very first “bagless” Super Store was built. It was tough for about 5 minutes, but then it really caught on. Most people have a dozen bags in their trunk at all times. I have half a dozen Walmart bags, and at least a dozen black Superstore bags. They are indeed the perfect size for everything! We even take them to the beach, or cart toys around in them when traveling. They also make great yard waste bags that you can tote around with you as you weed, then dump into the compost or green bin (here in our town we have not only blue boxes, but green boxes for compostables, which is AWESOME. We have less than a single garbage bag at the curb, every 2 weeks. Recycling is picked up weekly). We have also stopped buying bottled water, and rarely purchase pop (soda) anymore either. Green is GOOD!
I work for Wal-mart so I have lots of reusable bags. After shopping and unloading them I fold them all back into one of the bags that stays in my truck for the next trip. I also use one from target to bring my lunch. Mine is the only red one in the break room. lol