the 3 year old grocery bag

[praeclarus]

Yesterday I was at Trader Joe's and the guy in
front of me had brought his own grocery bag.

It was a Trader Joe's grocery bag he had been
reusing for a while with a date he had put on
it. The date was Sept 2004.

The bag was reinforced with some magic tape but
overall looked pretty good to me. On this day it
got filled up with a large watermelon.

That is all. Carry on citizens.

[hlthe2b]

1. yes... but how (and with what) does he "pooper scoop"

after his dog? I use great reuseable bags I got from (appropriately enough), www.reuseablebags.com, but I live in fear of the time I can't recycle my neighbor's plastic bags for my pooch. Seriously!

[China_cat]

3. When I lived in Oakland

we had a neighbor who had a St. Bernard. This was in the days before plastic bags in the supermarkets. (Yes, there were responsible dog owners before plastic) She had a small shovel and a lidded pail that she carried on their walks in order to clean up after the dog.

[burythehatchet]

2. one step at a time. I have yet to turn on my air conditioner this summer

Fans, creating drafts with open windows has gotten me through so far. I think I'll make it all the way through.

[DesertRat]

4. I love my Go Again bags

http://www.go-againbags.com

[Codeine]

5. It's so frustrating.

We sell those exact same bags (differently branded, but the identical bag) at our store for $.99 and we'll give them away free to anybody with a $20 purchase.

Nobody ever takes them. They want the damn plastic bags.

:eyes:

[sandnsea]

13. Change your pitch

If you really want people to take them home, just tell people it's a special promotion and just put them in the bags of the over $20 purchases. Maybe they won't use them for groceries next time, but at least it plants the seed for next year or even five years down the road.

[Codeine]

18. Not a bad idea at all. nt

[DesertRat]

15. That's crazy

I would certainly take them! Start charging people per plastic bag (IKEA charges 5 cents each), or give a bag credit for bringing your own bag and people would come around. :thumbsup:

[NYC]

6. Those are quite inexpensive.

I just checked the link.

[DesertRat]

14. $20 for 10 bags, including shipping.

I couldn't find anything of the same quality for less. These have a removable "stiffener" piece at the bottom so they can stand up. I love that feature.

The store where I shop gives you a 5 cents per bag credit whenever you bring your own bag. So eventually they'll pay for themselves. ;-)

[NYC]

22. I was getting three cents credit at the Gourmet Garage.

The last time I went, they didn't give me three cents. I don't know if they changed their policy, or the cashier forgot. I hope they didn't change their policy. The three cents isn't much, but the offer should act as inspiration.

[movonne]

7. These are the greatest bags...we have them and they carry much

more than the plastic and you don't have to worry about them breaking...

[merbex]

8. Funny this topic is here today; I brought 2 of mine to the Supermarket

for a quick shop this morning and picked up another "reuse" bag.

At the checkout the woman and man behind me noticed that the bagger was zipping up my bags( they are lined for hot/cold items and I could here her say

"Look at those John. They are so cute and it looks like they are for hot and cold. I want some."

Without waiting for a response she says to the cashier " Where can I get some of those bags?"

"They are at the front of the store as you walk in"

"Why didn't I see them? John, go get some."

Sometimes it is as simple as wanting what other people have that will help the environment.

I laughed as I left the store.

They are "cute" though.

[proud patriot]

9. I finally remembered my canvass bags Today

long story short ..

Last Christmas I received some reusable canvass grocery bags...Thanks Mom ..

Months go by as they sit hanging/waiting on a special hook in my kitchen .
I kept forgetting to bring them with me .:dunce:.So I decide it would be better
to keep them in my Truck :think: But still I'm forgetting to grab them
before going into the store :dunce: :spank: :dunce: Well Today I needed
to get some groceries , I got into my truck and put the bags on my purse :think:

I remembered them :woohoo: Wow they hold a lot more than I thought :bounce:

I will use this technique of putting the bags on my purse ..:hi:

[Longhorn]

11. That was my biggest problem, too, but I'm finally getting into the habit.

I love how much easier it is to pack my trunk with groceries. You're right -- you can get much more into them and they're easy to carry with the handles. Yesterday, I used the child safety strap on the grocery cart to hang them until I was ready to check out. I normally hate grocery shopping but I actually look forward to using those bags. Go figure! :)

[proud patriot]

20. It's is creating the habit of thinking a bit before going to the store

Old habits die hard , but I'm committed to creating this new
habit . :hi:

[knitter4democracy]

16. I forget mine all the time, too.

I'm working on it.

[proud patriot]

19. keep trying

:hug: it took me months to remember the things x(

[knitter4democracy]

21. My best friend's better at it.

The one that makes the least sense is when I go somewhere other than a grocery store. I don't need bags from Target or Bed, Bath, and Beyond in my house. I need to use my good bags there, too.

[bigwillq]

10. Good for him.

My mom and sis use their bags whenever they go shopping. They have like 10 of them. I hardly go shopping but when I go into a store that wants to give me plastic, I say no, paper, please and sometimes I don't even take a bag.

[devilgrrl]

12. I reuse my Trader Joe's bags all the time...

I still have some from the late 90's! :crazy:

[Raine]

17. I just bought a really nifty

bag at Trader Joe's. It's heavy duty and it's for hot and cold stuff it's also attractive...red with a zipper across the top. It held just about everything I purchased and it cost $4.99 and I can tell it will last forever. Next time I go in I'm going to buy another one! :-)