Ready, Set, Green, Week Two: Bag It

I am so over plastic bags. Ever since the day the cashier used four bags to pack three items, I've been trying to avoid using them whenever possible. The only problem is, I can never remember to take my own bag along with me. So this week I've been working on carrying a medium sized canvas tote: big enough for a few groceries, a stop at the library, and a run to the drugstore, but not ridiculously oversized.

It's not going so well. I take it to the supermarket while getting dessert for the family birthday we're hosting, but since dessert is ice cream and whipped cream with strawberries, I take a plastic bag anyway to prevent the bag from getting soaked with condensation. I stop at the mall to get a present for the party as well—it's a tote bag, which they put in a plastic bag. When I try to stop them, the salesman tells me that without the plastic bag, security will think I'm stealing the tote. I do better at Target, where one of my buys is a plastic storage bin and I convince the eager bagger to put all the smaller items into it. The next day, I walk to a market down the street from my apartment for a few fresh veggies and, while I'm proud of myself for choosing the local food and walking instead of driving, I get there and realize I've forgotten the canvas bag completely. Sigh.

So now I'm thinking I need to get a few shopping bags—preferably lined in case of leaks or spills—that I can keep in my car, or by the door, always at the ready. But isn't buying more plastic bags still going to increase the massive amount of stuff already in the world? I could use some help: feel free to leave your suggestions for eco-friendly, easy to clean, inexpensive shopping bags in the comments. For now, I'm off to find a way to recycle—or, better yet, reuse — all these plastic bags that keep piling up.

More about Plastic Bags:
Bring Your Own Bag
Recycle Plastics By Number

Paper or Plastic?
Q&A: Retail Carry Bags

Reusing Plastic Bags
Best Use of Plastic Bags

Buy the Book
Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living

Blythe Copeland is a freelancer writer living on Long Island. Read more about her foray into the green life in her previous columns as she follows the plan set out in the book Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living.