Mothering Forum banner

Using reusable bags.

7K views 80 replies 53 participants last post by  Buddhamom 
#1 ·
Do you take your cloth bags to places like Target, Khols, Walmart? Anywhere that uses a plastic bag? why do somepeople only think they have to be used at the grocery store? Is this the "trend" part of it speaking?
 
#27 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by OceansEve View Post
The only reusable bag I've seen at target lately is ugly, it has a bunch of their plastic bags sewn onto it. I can hardly ever remember mine either, but sunday I used the new bags I just bought at Macy's $3.95, no tax and a dollar goes to natnl parks. I got kudos from three different people for using them, talk about exciting.

I've seen those too. Not only are they ugly, they are almost $6 a bag.
 
#28 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by chirp View Post

does anyone else do this? just get the plastic bags and use them for trash bags?

We do too, so my goal is to use cloth at all stores, and at the grocery store get the majority of our stuff in cloth and maybe take home a few things in plastic so I can recycle them for the trash. To be honest I don't even have enough bags to fit all my groceries anyways so I always will have some that will need to be put in plastic.
 
#29 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by chirp View Post

i know there are "green" trash bags, but i can't justify buying plastic to throw it away, even if its recycled and whatever.
But those bags you're using don't biodegrade. You'd be much better off buying the biodegradable (not the recycled, I agree with you on that point) trash bags to give your trash some hope of potentially breaking down at some point, no?

oh yeah - nak
 
#30 ·
Another thing that I do in the hot phoenix summers, is I bring a cooler into the store and put my cold/frozen foods into it. They get scanned at the checkout and put right back into the cooler for the trip home. Milk can literally spoil on the way home here!
 
#31 ·
Chirp, we have started just throwing everything into the garbage pail and then taking the pail to the dumpster, it really doesn't make that much difference. If something gross sticks to the pail, then rinse it out in the sink or shower before putting it back out.

Laff - I know ugly and expensive! I am getting more and more annoyed with target.
 
#32 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by OceansEve View Post
Chirp, we have started just throwing everything into the garbage pail and then taking the pail to the dumpster, it really doesn't make that much difference. If something gross sticks to the pail, then rinse it out in the sink or shower before putting it back out.

Laff - I know ugly and expensive! I am getting more and more annoyed with target.
you're right, it doesn't make that much of a difference, the animals (we have cats and turkeys around here) just rip into the bags anyway. The only thing is that "technically" we're not supposed to put anything in the dumpster that's not in a bag. also, with our kitty cats, something about having kitty litter in the garbage can directly would gross me out.

on what someone else said about the bags not being disposable..maybe a good compromise (although it still uses bags from a limited natural resource) would be to use the paper bags, but still take the whole can (which is a really small can) to the dumpster and voila...

then we don't run the risk of the paper bag ripping on the way out to the dumpster and we don't use plastic bags. and if anyone says anything we can say...well, it's in a bag, right?
 
#33 ·
I bought mine at reusablebags.com, after I saw the link on a previous thread on here. They clip into the cart, so I just leave my cart at the end of the checkout and the bagger normally sees them. I did have to explain a time or two that no, I didn't want them in plastic bags first.
It's not quite as popular here as it seems to be in some of your areas, but I have high hopes! I'm trying to get better about taking them with me everywhere, I decided to buy some other prettier ones to take to places like the mall since there are no carts there. I try to just leave them in a bin in the back of my car, and then they are always there and I can pick one out for the occasion
. The best part is, every person that asks about my bags is another potential person who will start using them, I actually have had to spell out the website I bought them at because people liked them so much.
 
#35 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by chirp View Post
you're right, it doesn't make that much of a difference, the animals (we have cats and turkeys around here) just rip into the bags anyway. The only thing is that "technically" we're not supposed to put anything in the dumpster that's not in a bag. also, with our kitty cats, something about having kitty litter in the garbage can directly would gross me out.
Use your cat food bags, cat litter bags
reuse everything
:
 
#36 ·
I do not normally bring my reusable bags to stores other then the grocery because I so infrequently shop in a brick and mortar store. I just did the other day and after I got to the car I thought to myself "Now why didn't I bring my bag in with me." It is a habit I need to start though.

Sometimes I take the paper & plastic bags from the supermarket. I use the paper bags for my paper shredder recycling and the plastic bags get reused as garbage bags.
 
#37 ·
I think I'm the only person in my county that uses cloth bags. The cashiers just cannot seem to get it. I've had a few young girls comment on how cool it was, etc, which is GREAT!!! Just today my DS & I were at the grocery store & the man behind us said "Going green, eh?" My 4 y.o. said "Yep!" lol!!
 
#38 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by OceansEve View Post
The only reusable bag I've seen at target lately is ugly, it has a bunch of their plastic bags sewn onto it. I can hardly ever remember mine either, but sunday I used the new bags I just bought at Macy's $3.95, no tax and a dollar goes to natnl parks. I got kudos from three different people for using them, talk about exciting.
which should be free with purchase imo:

http://www.notcot.com/archives/2007/...rate_rebag.php

My neighbor says they are folded up like wallets and maybe that's why I never saw them (I don't shop at Target much).
 
#39 ·
We've had, and used on and off, a huge stash of canvas bags for a long, long time. I've tried leaving them in the back of the car but always forget to take one in for non-grocery trips. Recently I purchased some string bags and love them. I keep them in a small nylon stuff sack and it fits right in the pocket on the drivers door so I see them as I'm getting out of the car. I can grab one and stick it in my pocket or throw my wallet into it as I'm leaving the car. It's been a fantastic system for me and has *significantly* reduced the number of plastic bags coming into our house!
 
#40 ·
After posting on here yesterday, I went into the store and upon checkout, got into the merits of cloth bagging with the checker and those around me. A manager walking by actually heard and stopped to put in her two cents, and then said to the checker, after telling me that she was always so glad to see conscientous customers, put in code something something something. He did, and poof! Almost four dollars off of my purchase because of my cloth bags! She told me to remind them from now on to code it in. Plus, on the way out to the car, my little bagger girl said she always loves helping me out because she loves my bags.


Who knew going green could feel so cool?
 
#41 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by AidynElyMama View Post
After posting on here yesterday, I went into the store and upon checkout, got into the merits of cloth bagging with the checker and those around me. A manager walking by actually heard and stopped to put in her two cents, and then said to the checker, after telling me that she was always so glad to see conscientous customers, put in code something something something. He did, and poof! Almost four dollars off of my purchase because of my cloth bags! She told me to remind them from now on to code it in. Plus, on the way out to the car, my little bagger girl said she always loves helping me out because she loves my bags.


Who knew going green could feel so cool?
Ahh, it feels so good to be appreciated and validated - doesn't it?
 
#42 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by AuntLavender View Post
which should be free with purchase imo:

http://www.notcot.com/archives/2007/...rate_rebag.php

My neighbor says they are folded up like wallets and maybe that's why I never saw them (I don't shop at Target much).
Ohhhhhh.... The only bag other than the plastic bag sewn on one at target was one a little smaller for like $2-3. I thought the .99 things were change wallets
And I'm a vendor at target, I walk by those things 4 times a week
I'm quick

Aidyn - Yeah! Good for you! Your bags will have paid for themselves before you know it
 
#43 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by AuntLavender View Post
which should be free with purchase imo:

http://www.notcot.com/archives/2007/...rate_rebag.php

My neighbor says they are folded up like wallets and maybe that's why I never saw them (I don't shop at Target much).

At my store they had them unzipped and hung up so I was able to spot them. I also noticed they had them advertised in their Sunday flier in the newspaper, which I though was cool.

We ran into Walmart last night and I used my bigger target bag
 
#44 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by LaffNowCryLater View Post
How do you all deal with the bagging at places like WalMart where they have the carousel thing? I have some greenbags and some chicobags.

Everywhere else is easy, but when we do big grocery shopping it seems hard to deal with cloth when we have a over-flowing cart of groceries.
One of our stores is like that. My bags fit the footprint of a paper bag so they just set them up in the slots of the carousel like they would a paper bag. That's if I've got a cart full. If I just have a few things I either use a self-check or I tell the cashier that I'd prefer to bag my own. They just set the stuff on the top of the carousel and I put it in my bags.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AidynElyMama View Post
After posting on here yesterday, I went into the store and upon checkout, got into the merits of cloth bagging with the checker and those around me. A manager walking by actually heard and stopped to put in her two cents, and then said to the checker, after telling me that she was always so glad to see conscientous customers, put in code something something something. He did, and poof! Almost four dollars off of my purchase because of my cloth bags! She told me to remind them from now on to code it in. Plus, on the way out to the car, my little bagger girl said she always loves helping me out because she loves my bags.


Who knew going green could feel so cool?
That's awesome!! Some stores give a credit per bag but its only .05 per bag...and usually they forget. I don't bother to remind them since it usually amounts to less than a quarter but I'd be sure to remind them of a $4 discount!
 
#45 ·
I've gotten better at remembering to take bags out to the car since I put a little hook near the front door. (Hanging them on the knob just meant that I opened the door and couldn't see them.) I second finding other bags around the house to use for trash. At my office the stack of newspapers come in a bag that's just the right size for a small trash can.

My favorite bag is one my DH got at a function. It is a stiff mesh, zips up, and has a little pocket where I put reused veggie bags. My next favorite is one I bought at the Container Store that has a little snapped holder that attaches to my purse. (Seduced by cuteness on that one.)

Most of the rest of my bags are from conventions from over the years. I've bought a few store bags recently as penance when I've forgotten mine. (I also want them to know their efforts are appreciated.)

Another recent innovation is to snag plastic bags from the recycle bin at the front of the store!
 
#47 ·
I made a resolution to not bring plastic bags home anymore if I could avoid it and have been doing really well...I even feel funny when I forget and end up bringing some home.

I use some I bought at our local grocery, the tiny zippered Target one, and some I bought at the thrift store. I keep them all in one of the bigger bags to grab on my way out. I guess I should put them in the trunk all the time. I use them at the grocery, Walmart, thrift stores, you name it. And I've NEVER gotten any negative reactions from checkers...actually usually positive reactions. I love that you can pack lots into them and they're easier to carry.

Now, for our garbage, I occassionally get a few groceries in a paper bag and use it for trash. The wet stuff is a little difficult, but I'd like to get a trashcan and line it with the paper bag and then rinse out.
 
#49 ·
I am trying to get into the habit of taking them everywhere. I also found a good way to keep them near the door which helps me remember to grab them on the way to the car. Even if I do forgot, I remember enough that the amount of plastic bags coming in is a reasonable amount. What does get brought home gets put to some other use.
 
#50 ·
Somebody mentioned reusing veggie bags - did you know you can use cloth for that, too?
I started using mine about a year ago and love them. At first I'd still get plastic for wiltable items, but now I put them in cloth and when I get home, I prep them and put them in glass containers in the fridge, and they're ready to eat or cook.
 
#51 ·
I use my cloth bags at all stores. I rarely go to stores other than Kroger and the natural foods co-op. I keep a chico bag in my purse for the rare trip to the mall. Nobody has ever been anything but cool with my bags. We have a new, huge Kroger here in town, and well over half the people I see there use cloth bags.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top