Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Works for the Earth: Reusable Grocery Bags

In the midst of my moaning and groaning about my trip to Wal-Mart with two children (a pain but a blessing), I mentioned my reusable grocery bags. Well, those bags are going to make a repeat appearance here at savethephillipsfamily in my "Works for Me" Wednesday, hosted by Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.If you don't know that Green is the new black, than you must live under some sort of non-organic rock. Seems like people are finally understanding that we do indeed leave behind a footprint on Earth and these rather large footprints are slowly eating away at this cozy little place God has provided for us. Here are casa de phillips we live by the motto, "Every day is Earth Day" and strive to do our best to leave behind the smallest footprint possible.


At the beginning of the year, I decided to stop using the plastic bags given at stores and bring my own instead. I intended on researching which reusable grocery bag would suit our needs best, but I never was quite motivated enough. Fortunately Target solved the problem for me by selling handy reusable bags that are cheap, durable, and can be easily stored. For a mere 99 cents one can purchase the smaller reusable bag that zips up into itself, becoming smaller than a cosmetic purse. If you are feeling a bit more loose with your money, you can dish out $1.49 and get the larger bag. It too folds up and stores easily.



Although the reusable bag has recently become common in the American marketplace, it has been a staple in the rest of the world for quite some time now. I have found that cashiers put more in my reusable bags than they did in plastic (I seriously believe some large grocery chains instruct their employees to put a maximum of 3 things per bag....thus causing the customer to leave with no less than 72 plastic bags). My reusable bags also have large handles that can actually go over the shoulder, thus allowing me to haul two large bags of groceries, a 13 month old, a lone shoe, two sippy cups, and a half-eaten box of raisins into the house at the same time. This definitely works for me.



Make your footprint a bit smaller and pick up some reusable bags today. You can purchase the ones from Target here. Here are some others that look cute. If you have a lot of spare time today while the maid mops the kitchen and the nanny tends to the children, you might want to head over here and read all about reusable bags (then send that maid and nanny over to casa de phillips).

As seen below, the bags also serve as a way to entertain the children. Works for Me!




10 comments:

Robin said...

Bravo! Thanks for sharing a great way to lessen our impact on the Earth. And both your children look fabulous in red. :)

My mom recently bought me a fabulous reusable bag at a farmers' market. It was made by a local mother/daughter team and would make a great birthday/Christmas/housewarming gift. They can be reached by e-mail at marketbagsATSYMBOLlive.com

Robin

Kelly said...

Alright, alright, alright! I've been thinking for awhile I probably should do this, but you've finally motivated me. :) I have a Target trip planned soon, so I'll have to get some bags.

How many did you start with?

Jennifer said...

I love mine too! I got mine at Sprouts and they hold soooo much. I agree that the cashiers put much more in these. I've been really impressed at how well they hold up and how strong the handles are. I have 5-6 and it's a good number because sometimes I'll forget to put a few back in my car so I always tend to have some in there!

Phillips Family said...

Currently, I have two large bags and four smaller ones. This number seems to work for me. As a general rule, I never have the cashier bag milk, detergent, or diapers...they just use up too much room and are easy to carry in the house. Also, all meat is put in plastic bags. I don't want any icky raw meat juice to leak out onto my reusable bag. However, I do save these plastic bags which are reused at some point.

Marlene McGarrity said...

I stopped using plastic as well and I am glad to see the fabric bags, but some aren't as strong as they should be so I am glad to see the target ones are strong.

Heart of Wisdom said...

I am trying to stop with so much of the plastic. I just forget my reuseable bags so often...
Thanks for this thoughtful post.

robin@heartofwisdom.com
http://www.heartofwisdom.com/heartathome/

Alison said...

Hello! We have never actually met, but I am Debra Hughey's (used to work with your hubby) daughter, Alison. My mom forwarded me your blog and it's been so much fun to keep up with your family through it! I also love that you cover everything from "go green" tips to the challenges and joys of parenting. You're really an inspiration for those of us considering motherhood in the (very distant!) future.

Oh, and since the post is about grocery bags, I am in South Korea right now where they charge 5-50 cents for every plastic bag you get to encourage bringing your own reusables. Wonder how that would go over in the States?

Ashley said...

I love that Green is the new Black. it just like this is the year of the accessory for me. Maybe next year will be the year of the environment....hmmmmm

Missed you guys on Sunday. I looked for you but figured you headed home early. Hope the family visit was good

Amy said...

Okay, I am finally writing about this too! Funny enough, I told my hubby just the other day that I think store clerks are trained to only put 3 items in each plastic bag! For each plastic bag we do accept from Wal-mart, I definitely reuse them or take them back for recycling. My reusbale bags are from Whole Foods. I'll check out the Target ones as I like how they collapse. Thanks for the tip:)

GPaty said...

This has honestly been tugging at my heart for awhile now, so thank you for the small nudge...I'm anxious to see how the Sweetwater Wal-mart clerks react to my reusable bags...they aren't exactly known for their...um...cultural awareness.