Bag Lady
California is going to ban plastic bags
I'm all for this. I've been using re-usable bags for quite some time now. I think if more stores had discounts for using them, more people would be using re-usable bags. I do a lot of my shopping at Henry's, where you get a 5 cent credit for each bag you bring. I think Whole Foods and Trader Joe's also have similar policies, but I don't know since I don't shop at either place. Buffalo Exchange gives you a token every time you decline a bag, you drop the token into the box of the charity of your choice, and Buffalo Exchange will make a donation to that charity. IKEA charges for each bag you use.
I find it funny when I go to Camarillo and use reusable bags. In San Diego, so many people use reusable bags that the checkers/baggers don't even blink when you hand them a bag. In Camarillo, the baggers look at the bags with a "What the hell is this?" look and never really pack the bags well. I'm hoping that Sprouts (the grocery store my parents just found in Thousand Oaks) will do the same thing as Henry's, since it sounds similar.
I still use plastic bags from stores as trash bags, but I have to get them from my parents when I visit. (They don't use re-usable bags.) So, really, the only downside I see for me personally is that I'll have to buy actual trash bags. I'll have to try to find the Earth-friendly trash bags the National Park Service has volunteers use when picking up trash.
Then again, this support from me might be just because I love tote bags. I've got quite a lot. One that I use daily for carrying stuff to work, one that I use for the library, one for my dance stuff, one for my gym stuff, another for my softball gear, another for volleyball, two for grocery shopping... I just got the nifty, packable ones from the Sierra Club and I think those are going to go in my purse or my car - haven't quite decided. I also just bought some discontinued home fabric samples from Micheal's to turn into quilted bags. One's almost done - I just have to decide what I want to use for the lining. Having my life in bags is proving to be very useful. The only thing that I move from bag to bag is my purse, otherwise, I just grab the bag I need for wherever I'm going.
Having so many bags is also makes me aware of the different quality of bags, too. The black ones that Vons and Ralph's sell? (Or did. I don't actually know if they still sell them.) I don't like them. The straps are too thin and can easily start to cut into your fingers or shoulders when there's something slightly heavy. It also seems like it's the same material as my old car cover, so I can imagine them eventually breaking. Wider straps mean more comfort when carrying groceries and you can pack a surprisingly large amount of groceries into each bag.
Canvas bags are so far the best. My Armani Exchange bag has had daily abuse for the last five years or so and is still in one piece. Plus, I love that I can just toss it in the washer with my jeans. (Hrm... Maybe I'll make my next one out of an old pair of jeans...) The wider bottomed reusable bags are best for sports equipment. One of the bags from Comic Con is now holding a pair of shoes, flashlight, and emergency radio by my bed since it closes with a rope I could tie to my bed. My bag from the Bridal Bazaar is perfectly sized for holding TPBs when I lend them out to friends. (I find that if you put all the books, TPBs, etc. you're lending out in a bag, you're more likely to get them all back in a better condition than if you had just handed them over.)
If you have a sewing machine, reusable bags are easy to make. (At least, I think so.) You can buy patterns from the same place you buy fabric, but there are also many free patterns online. TipNut has a bunch of free patterns for sewing, knitting, or crochet HERE.
If you don't already use reusable bags while shopping, would you if someone just gave you one? Most places have you buy them and I'm wondering it there would be more incentive to use them if they were just handed out.
Or do you already have the bags, but forget to use them? Or do you use the bags and can't imagine ever not using them?
=Sassi
I'm all for this. I've been using re-usable bags for quite some time now. I think if more stores had discounts for using them, more people would be using re-usable bags. I do a lot of my shopping at Henry's, where you get a 5 cent credit for each bag you bring. I think Whole Foods and Trader Joe's also have similar policies, but I don't know since I don't shop at either place. Buffalo Exchange gives you a token every time you decline a bag, you drop the token into the box of the charity of your choice, and Buffalo Exchange will make a donation to that charity. IKEA charges for each bag you use.
I find it funny when I go to Camarillo and use reusable bags. In San Diego, so many people use reusable bags that the checkers/baggers don't even blink when you hand them a bag. In Camarillo, the baggers look at the bags with a "What the hell is this?" look and never really pack the bags well. I'm hoping that Sprouts (the grocery store my parents just found in Thousand Oaks) will do the same thing as Henry's, since it sounds similar.
I still use plastic bags from stores as trash bags, but I have to get them from my parents when I visit. (They don't use re-usable bags.) So, really, the only downside I see for me personally is that I'll have to buy actual trash bags. I'll have to try to find the Earth-friendly trash bags the National Park Service has volunteers use when picking up trash.
Then again, this support from me might be just because I love tote bags. I've got quite a lot. One that I use daily for carrying stuff to work, one that I use for the library, one for my dance stuff, one for my gym stuff, another for my softball gear, another for volleyball, two for grocery shopping... I just got the nifty, packable ones from the Sierra Club and I think those are going to go in my purse or my car - haven't quite decided. I also just bought some discontinued home fabric samples from Micheal's to turn into quilted bags. One's almost done - I just have to decide what I want to use for the lining. Having my life in bags is proving to be very useful. The only thing that I move from bag to bag is my purse, otherwise, I just grab the bag I need for wherever I'm going.
Having so many bags is also makes me aware of the different quality of bags, too. The black ones that Vons and Ralph's sell? (Or did. I don't actually know if they still sell them.) I don't like them. The straps are too thin and can easily start to cut into your fingers or shoulders when there's something slightly heavy. It also seems like it's the same material as my old car cover, so I can imagine them eventually breaking. Wider straps mean more comfort when carrying groceries and you can pack a surprisingly large amount of groceries into each bag.
Canvas bags are so far the best. My Armani Exchange bag has had daily abuse for the last five years or so and is still in one piece. Plus, I love that I can just toss it in the washer with my jeans. (Hrm... Maybe I'll make my next one out of an old pair of jeans...) The wider bottomed reusable bags are best for sports equipment. One of the bags from Comic Con is now holding a pair of shoes, flashlight, and emergency radio by my bed since it closes with a rope I could tie to my bed. My bag from the Bridal Bazaar is perfectly sized for holding TPBs when I lend them out to friends. (I find that if you put all the books, TPBs, etc. you're lending out in a bag, you're more likely to get them all back in a better condition than if you had just handed them over.)
If you have a sewing machine, reusable bags are easy to make. (At least, I think so.) You can buy patterns from the same place you buy fabric, but there are also many free patterns online. TipNut has a bunch of free patterns for sewing, knitting, or crochet HERE.
If you don't already use reusable bags while shopping, would you if someone just gave you one? Most places have you buy them and I'm wondering it there would be more incentive to use them if they were just handed out.
Or do you already have the bags, but forget to use them? Or do you use the bags and can't imagine ever not using them?
=Sassi