No more plastic bags for us. Clint and I ran into County Market for a few New Year's items yesterday, and realized that we left the cloth bags in the back of my car.
It was 12 degrees outside, and no one really wanted to run back to the car, parked in Timbuktu. Still, we were determined to turn over a new leaf! We'd made resolutions! On our honor, We will do our best, to do our duty, to God and our country...
...we bought 2 more cloth bags. Yeah, I see how this is going to work.
We bought 2 bottles of (cheap) champagne, chicken, veggies, dishwasher soap, bread, peanut sauce, and oh, I don't know what else. What I do know is this:
All of that stuff was packed into ONE cloth bag.
We calculated the number of bags we would have otherwise walked out with: Each bottle of champaign wrapped in a bag, and placed together in another...there's 3. Soap separate from everything else, there's 4, and the rest would have been split into probably 2 more.
One cloth bag versus 6 plastic ones! We felt so smug and self-righteous upon leaving the store, carrying one stuffed bag, and 1 empty, for future use.
So, 2008 will bring recycling back into my home (it's not offered in my neighborhood), and heightened awareness of all things green, and some things organic.
Any resolutions for you?
I really like the cloth bag idea. I wonder if it works as well at all grocery stores or if some are better equipped to handle it. Did you bag your own stuff or did a store employee do it?
ReplyDeleteAlso, you must live outside CU city limits if recycling isn't offered in your neighborhood. I live outside CU city limits and while the trash company we use does offer recycling pick-up service, they don't accept glass. Which irritates me since it all goes to the same place! So I save my glass and take it to people's houses where their service does accept glass.
I have an 16 day resolution to try to get Bush to release $3.7 billion in "emergency" funds for veterans programs.
ReplyDeleteWhy 16 days? Because that's the deadline for him to authorize it.
More info here: Time to Act
a2116: I don't live outside of city limits; I live in a zero-lot house that shares a dumpster with other residents on the street. I love the dumpster deal, no having to take the garbage out on any certain day. But no recycling; I'm going to look into a recycle-only curbside service, or start doing the drop off.
ReplyDeleteGlock21: Thanks for the head's up. I'll contact the president, since that's what I have to do.
a2116: Oh yeah, and I know some stores will give you money back for using cloth bags; Meijer used to be one of them, not sure if they still do that or not.
ReplyDeleteWe have a 100 litre bin for rubbish each week and two 240 litres bins for green waste and recycled waste collected on alternative weeks by the city council. Recycled is all paper, cardboard, plastics, tins, and glass.
ReplyDeleteEveryone in the country has this service.
I have to recycle 75% of everything I own. I'm trying to downsize. Let me tell you, it's tougher than it sounds.
ReplyDeleteI have the same resolution...going green....I'm doing the drop off and found some cool cloth bags online....
ReplyDeleteI am also on the cloth bag bandwagon. I have found many uses for them other than shopping, too! I even bought one at Trader Joe's the other day :-).
ReplyDeleteI have not made up any resolutions yet. However, I am going to step back and think a little more about everything I do or before I do it.
ReplyDeleteWe've been using cloth only bags for all our shopping - to Walmart, Walgreens, the grocery, the farmer's market - everywhere - since last spring.
ReplyDeleteI found a bunch of book bags a retired teacher was selling at a garage sale for less than $1.00 each - a really frugal way to get great cloth bags!
We've found that most stores don't care if you use cloth - although some do get a bit irritated if you use cloth bags that advertise a competitor.
We're doing LOTS of "green" living things - if you want some hints, tips or ideas or want to see how we're doing things, please come by for a visit! Happy New Year!
I have the cloth bags too, only wish i could have bought ones "made in America".Managed to buy gifts only USA for Xmas.If we buy American we are supporting American jobs.Thats my resolutions, green and American made.
ReplyDeleteYou can find some fantastic handmade cloth bags on Etsy - etsy.com. It's an online marketplace for crafters and artisans. Get a bag for every season!
ReplyDeleteI'm not much for resolutions, but I do resolve to keep recylcing, using cloth bags and composting (at least when the composter isn't completely buried under 3 feet of snow.
ReplyDeleteDid you say Green? AHHHHH..I love green. Going green..I love it. Have been making changes for quite some time now and am happy with most all of them. Meijer does give bag credits at 5 cents per cloth bag. Try reusablebags.com They have a great selection. However shipping is a little sketchy.
ReplyDeleteDid you say organic...oooooo....I love organic.
Meijer still gives the credits. The produce cloth bags also are awesome. I suggest them as well, I also used mine when I went to the farmers market this past season. Here is the site: http://www.reusablebags.com/store/organic-regular-cotton-mesh-produce-bags-p-689.html
ReplyDeleteOh, good for you. I used to do the cloth bags, and these mesh ones for the farmer's market, and I don't know where or when exactly I fell off the wagon, but I'm all plastic again.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard! I remember to take them into grocery stores, but then forget at Walgreens, World Market, bookstores...
ReplyDelete