Reusable and Plastic Bags

OK I’m not going to preach to you why plastic bags are bad. I want to focus on what you can do to be better. I’ve been using reusable bags a lot this past year and I’ve learned a little bit about what I like and don’t like. I’ve purchased a few store brand reusable bags and they worked fine, but I kept thinking there must be another way. I’d always leave them in the car. They were these big bulky things dangling off my shoulder in addition to the diaper bag I’m always carrying these days. I found some bags I truly love. Everyone I know that has them LOVES them and I’m not kidding. I get comments every time I’m in the grocery store from one of the checkout attendants. My favorite reusable bags of all time is the Olive Smart Sack. It is 6 bags in 1 stuff sack. The Smart Sack that holds the 6 bags is smaller than the size of a water bottle so it’s totally portable. I keep mine in the diaper bag, but they work great in your cupholder. That way they are always in your car reminding you to use them when you shop. Each Smart Sack carries 6 colorful bags. Each bag can hold 20 lbs. I have personally used it to hold milk and orange juice or 3 juice containers in the same bag with no problems. These things are made of nylon and are very strong. Another great perk is that if you use them to carry meat or if they get dirty you just throw them in the wash. They come out looking good as new. Each Smart Sack has 6 colored bags and they can hold an entire cart worth of groceries. Many times I only need 3 bags so I can just grab my Half Sack (also made by Olive Smart with 3 bags instead of 6). I just love these bags. I’m not trying to just push a product though. If you’ve got bags you like better please share them with me. I’d love to hear from you.

Now that I’ve sung the praises of my Olive Smart Sack reusable bags, let me tell you what you could do with the plastic bags you may already have. Let me first say I am not perfect. Occasionally, on my bolt to freedom to run errands (sans kids) I forget to bring my bags. Target plastic bags give you great ideas on how to reuse their bags. I personally reuse most of ours for litter box and dog land mines in the backyard. When we have extra bags I’ve run them to our local Wal Mart b/c they have a bin near the door or in customer service that will recycle them for you. Two weeks ago I worked the soup kitchen for my church in downtown Atlanta. We fed over 500 people that morning and they had to close the doors b/c we ran out of food. I have learned that the guests of the soup kitchen highly value plastic bags. They are like gold for them. So now I’ve been donating our plastic bags to our local soup kitchen. Whatever you chose to do, know that there are so many more options than just throwing them in the trash. We all can make a difference one tiny plastic bag at a time!