Tips for Using Reusable Shopping Bags
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This is part of the Going Green series. Join me as we explore ways to make green living more convenient.
Back in my youth, I worked at a grocery store. It was my very first “real” job. I bagged groceries for two years during high school. And since I was a perfectionist, I became “expert” at packing bags.
Woe to the box boy today who tries to pack my tomatoes with my canned goods!
And I’m soooooo old that I remember when the plastic grocery bags first came out. They said that they were going to revolutionize our world. Or something close. But in reality, they were cheaper than paper.
When I was new on the job I asked customers which they would prefer. It didn’t take long before my manager called me over and told me not to give them a choice. Plastic is cheaper, so bag in plastic unless they ask otherwise.
Today, nothing drives me up a wall more than those fifty-two million plastic bags that seem to reproduce overnight in the pantry. Thankfully, reusable shopping bags are on the scene.
I first started building my collection about three years ago and I haven’t looked back. I love it that my grocery bags won’t break on me, won’t clutter up my pantry and reproduce like bunny rabbits, that they get me cash credit at the store, and that they are being reused instead of going to waste.
Using reusable shopping bags has been the number one easiest means for me to reduce waste in our home. But, it did take some getting used to. And I’ve yet to perfect it. As always, still a work in progress.
Here are some tips to make it easier for you to use reusable shopping bags:
1. Find bags you love.
I have over 20 shopping bags, accumulated over a number of years. Some were given to me. Some I bought. Some I bought again because I forgot to bring some to the store.
I have some favorites, for different reason. I’ve got durable, heavy duty bags for canned goods. I’ve got thin, easily washable cloth bags for meats and produce. I’ve got some all-purpose bags just cause.
If you like the function and fashion of something, you’re more likely to use it.
2. Keep the bags in the car.
Probably the biggest downside to using reusable bags is forgetting to bring them with you when you shop. One solution is to keep them near the front door or even in the car. If you have your bags with you all the time, you are more likely to use them. There are even bags that roll up into tight little packages to pack in your purse.
Some objections have arisen to this over the last year due to the evidence that bacteria is present in the bags and can grow at a tremendous rate in a hot car.
One solution is to make sure that items like dairy, meat, poultry, and produce are packed in washable bags. That way you can make sure to wash the bags after shopping and then return them to the car in clean condition.
3. Wash the bags regularly.
For the reasons mentioned above, it’s important to wash the bags on a regular basis. I have a small laundry basket in my kitchen for corralling wash clothes and kitchen towels. After a shopping trip, I add to this any bags that might have been contaminated by meats or dairy. They wash up easily and can be returned to their posts.
4. Designate bags for other uses as well.
We use our reusable bags for a number of uses, including toting library books to and from home, carrying picnic lunches, packing beach supplies, and anything else where a tote bag is handy. Keeping them in the car makes it easy to carry stuff around town.
In fact, since I started collecting reusable shopping bags, transportation of stuff has been simplified manifold. Not only am I reducing clutter in my kitchen as well as in the local landfills, but my life is made a little bit easier.
Carrying groceries in from the car is made easier because I know the bag is not going to break. And I make fewer trips back and forth since more can fit in a reusable bag than it can in a plastic one.
How do reusable shopping bags help your life as MOM?
This is part of the Going Green series. Stay tuned all week for daily giveaways and ideas for small ways to go green.
Love my reusable bags for grocery shopping and so many other things (library, pool, etc.)! I do still put all meat into plastic bags, first. The non-grocery stores around here look at you funny if you bring in reusable bags, but I guess that’s ok because I need plastic bags to clean out the litter box every day. I really, really need to run the reusables through the laundry – I don’t know the last time I did!
I use mine for all sorts of things — even for storing outgrown clothes. I love the little foldable ones that I can keep in my purse for groceries.
Some people are not very smart. “Bacteria can grow on [anything] reusable!” Sure, so that’s a reason to use all disposable stuff? What did we do 30 or 50 or 100 years ago before we had anything disposable? Are we suddenly at seriously increased risk of problems from bacterial growth??
That said, my bags are washable, and anytime they’ve held meat or anything that has leaked or otherwise seem like they might need to be washed, they get washed. I have enough that I never need all the ones I have for any one shopping trip, so a few in the laundry is no big deal.
Forgetting them is definitely my biggest problem!
Great tips – we have been using our cloth bags now for about 5 years. I like to keep some in the trunk. I have an insulated bag that I reserve for meat products when shopping and another bag with an apple that is strictly for produce. All the bags get regular washings. But we use our bags for more than just grocery shopping. The are used for gym bags, lunch bags, laundry bags, pool bags, etc…. Keep them handy and easy to use and they soon be used by everyone in the house.
i love my reusable bags. like you, my first real job was at a grocery store in high school (before the days of plastic bags!) and i too became an expert in packing bags. my goal with the paper bags was to “keep them square.” to this day, i still unload my cart with intent to keep like items together so they get bagged together. and heaven help the sacker/bagger who puts fragile products on the bottom of a bag!
There is a new company called Thirty One that offers many sizes and types of reusable bags that can be used for any and all types of storage and organization.
Check out my website. I am always looking for new recruits and buisness.
Email me with questions!
I use my reuseable bags a lot. I keep them on hook in the laundry room that goes out to the garage. It’s easy to grab them as I go out the door. I also have a couple of those foldable ones that I keep in my car for the unexpected trips to pick something up.
I have not been good about produce and meat, though. I always get the plastic bags, but I’ve been eyeing some mesh produce bags on Amazon. I’m saving Swagbucks to get them.
Like the previous poster, we use plastic bags for picking up after our dog. I guess I should find a greener alternative.
@Cheri, I’ve been eyeing the mesh bags, too. I’m not sure I want to use them for meats. I’m a germaphobe. But, I definitely want to invest in them for my produce.
I have heard of people choosing to buy meat only from the butcher or deli counter — and then they use their own reusable containers. It’s definitely cutting down on the waste, but also a lot of convenience.
@Cheri, I bought a couple of mesh laundry bags at the dollar store and cut them up and sewed my own mesh produce bags. I was able to get six bags from each. I’m not that great at sewing so they didn’t turn out as pretty as some of the ones you can buy, but they’re much cheaper:)
I was thinking about the same thing. Great idea!
@Sheri, Oh, that’s a great idea!! Thank you!!
@Cheri,
I found mesh bags for my produce at Dollar Tree – a package of 4. Can’t beat the price. Cashiers have asked me where I found them.
I love my reusable bags! I have 5 heavy duty, reinforced bottom, thermal bags that accompany me on my grocery trips! I used to have 6, but I was at Aldi weekend before last and someone stole one right out of my cart when I was checking the eggs to be sure none were broken (glad I had my purse on my shoulder!). I have some lighter duty ones that get regular use too, but the heavy duty ones are the best for hauling my groceries! http://gettingusthere.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-do-people-do-stuff-like-that.html
We still end up with some of the plastic ones, but I save those for bagging icky smelly garbage (like chicken fat or bones) before it goes in the acutal garbage can bag or cleaning up behind my pups when we go for walks.
Just this past weekend, while grocery shopping, I started thinking about getting more reusable bags, I have a few though I always forget them at home so I actually never used them for grocery shopping. I also hate plastic bags I just need to commit and remember to use my reusable bags when I shop. I like the tip of keeping in the car.
I only have two, or maybe three of those kind of bags. I use them for things like carrying books, etc. to church. I am a Sunday School teacher. I use one to carry my mail to the post office, so I don’t drop any and loose it! I take one to yard sales, to carry my “stuff” around in. But I have never used them to go grocery shopping, because I like my plastic bags for scooping my cat litter in and lining my trash baskets. I think I will have to try to cut down on this and at least use the cloth bags for some of my groceries. I just have not gotten into the habit. Thanks for the ideas! I love your posts!
@carla, I find that even though I use reusable at least 75% of the time, I still have enough plastic bags coming in the house. Hubs usually doesn’t have reusables with him — and sometimes I forget.