I'm not really because I don't do much to help the environment but I have good intentions. I have been considering switching to cloth grocery bags. Thoughts? I get so many of these and while I do take them back to Walmart to be recycled I still wonder if it would be better to just give them up. You can buy cloth bags online that are inexpensive so it there wouldn't be a big cost involved. I just wonder how the checkers at Walmart would react when I whipped out my cloth bags?
On a totally different subject, we have a crazy fly in our house at the moment. Usually flys just buzz around and don't really bug you much but this one is insane! It follows me into different rooms only to buzz around my head. It's kind of freaking me out.
9 comments:
So we bought some reusable bags a while ago but I always forget to take them with me to the store - just need to get in the habit.
Also encountering fly problems here at the library. Good luck with that. Seems like maybe you are scraping bottom for blogging topics.
Becky
Sorry I'm not entertaining you enough. It's not easy thinking of fabulous things to write about. My life isn't all that exciting.
I agree with you on the bags. I hate all those stupid plastic bags and now I don't even have the cat poop to pick up and put them in. I know you can get them really cheaply at Whole Foods. I'm waiting for the new one near us to open.
Kim
Thanks Kim. Unfortunately the nearest whole foods is in Salt Lake but we do have a local health food store in Provo and they said their Orem store had bags for sale. I'm thinking the internet might be a better deal. I wonder how many I'll need? I'm thinking 4-6.
My friend Amy sent me these replies on Facebook and I wanted to post them here for anyone who is interested in the cloth bags. She has a wealth of knowledge.
Shea, call me a west coast hippy envirofreak, but
I've been using cloth bags for years! I walk to all my grocery shops, so carrying my own bags actually makes it easier to carry more. The handles are easier on my hands, and I usually pack my own bags at the store, so I know that precious things won't get crushed.
Sometimes, if I am purchasing a lot, I will actually use one of those "granny carts." I know it's funny, and I always have said "hey you don't need to be 65 to push one of these!" and I can really load up. I walk because it is more of a hassle to drive two blocks, load and unload the car, etc. Door to fridge in the cart!
When you do get cloth bags, hang them on your door, put them in your car to remember them. If you car shop - bins like what you get at Superstore are good! Superstore has been charging for bags for years, and I use to take my backpack with me in Edmonton because that was the best way for me to get groceries home. I just got in the habit, as I was paying to say I don't need a bag. Even when I am shopping for clothes and things, if I have a shoulder bag that it will fit in, I say no to a bag!
This is one of the best websites with all the facts and links to other great sites! They also sell all types of cloth bags!
http://www.reusablebags.com/facts.php
Who cares what the clerk at wallmart thinks, tell them you are saving the wales!
A GUTFUL OF PLASTIC
In August 2000, an eight metre Bryde’s whale died soon
after becoming stranded on a Cairns beach. An autopsy
found that the whale’s stomach was tightly packed with
6m2 of plastic, including many plastic check-out bags. Such obstructions in animals can cause severe pain, distress and death.
Bryde’s whales, like many other types of whales, feed by swallowing large amounts of water. If the Bryde's whale had died at sea, it would have decayed, releasing the plastic to kill other marine life for hundreds of years to come.
Sorry if I got a little out of hand there, but also working in the retail grocery field for a few years I get excited about it all! Paper of plastic? niether!
I think short handles too! I use some long handles bags for walking with a load! If you are often in a car, and for a heavy bag full of groceries short handles are the best bet! One of the benifits to cloth is that you really can load them up, unlike plastic, which is why you end up with so many - you just can't load them up! So you will find that you fit more in, using less bags. The trick if you end up loading you own grocieries, is how you unload the cart on the belt. Put all your heavy things out first, chip last, etc - so it is easier and quicker for packing when you are trying to get your wallet out, count your kids, and make sure the eggs are in!
all my different sized bags are by the front door in a bin, and I choose one on the way out depending what errands I'm running! It works!
Good luck! Amy
Good for you Shea! I actually find a lot of use for my plastic bags and when I run out that tells me I need to go back to the store. If I didn't use them as much then I would definnitly try cloth bags. Yes, let me know what Wal-mart thinks when you use them for the first time! Good Luck!
Wow. Your friend Amy sounds like quite the expert. Now I feel extra guilty for not doing anything!
We also have a fly in the house and it's driving eli insane. It's amusing to watch.
Kim
Shea, let me know where you find the best deals on the cloth bags. I have been meaning to get some for a long time now. I do take my extra plastic bags to the community food bank where they use them to distribute the food donations. But still, I have so many that it is just crazy.
i agree with your friend amy - once you get used to them there's no going back. it drives me crazy when i get offered a bag for things already packaged in bags. since i've been over here i've used reusable bags, but most of the grocery stores here sell them for about 80cents.
good luck with that, and i also agree who cares what the walmart peeps think. all they need to worry about is ringing up your purchases....
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