I hate plastic shopping bags!

I'll never forget the time that I was really pregnant with my first and went shopping for some essentials. I decided to buy the really big & economical super huge jar of strawberry jam. But when I was bringing the groceries in, the plastic bag ripped open and the jar fell and crashed on the sidewalk. You can only imagine the flood of tears that followed this tragedy!

Don't let this happen to you! You can save your jam, your sanity, and your planet by using useful canvas shopping totes. That's what I use now and I will never go back to plastic. Paper and plastic shopping bags are offered free at almost every retail store, but many stores will offer a credit of five or ten cents for each bag that you bring in to reuse. Even if you don't get that five-cent credit, using your own shopping bags is more convenient. "Wait," you ask, "how is it convenient to haul around dozens of canvas bags every time I go grocery shopping?" I'll tell you. Reusable bags are stronger and therefore will hold more than a disposable bag. I cram my shopping bags full of groceries; a ten-bag trip for most people is only a two or three-bag trip for me. I make fewer trips to haul my groceries in and out of the car. And my canvas shopping bags are easier to carry (great for when I walk to the store). Instead of plastic handles that cut into my hand, these bags have nice long fabric straps that I throw over my shoulder.

Now my growing pile of plastic shopping bags under the sink grows much more slowly (I'm still trying to teach my husband to take the bags every time he goes shopping). I frequently bundle up extra plastic bags to take to the bag recycling drop at some grocery stores, or I drop them off at a thrift store that will re-use them. But neither one of those options is convenient. I know that's why some people shamelessly throw away every plastic bag that enters their home (that means their trash fills up sooner and they have to take the garbage out more often). Don't let yourself be shameless with single-use shopping bags! You probably have some nice tote bags lying around your house that would work great for shopping. You could also make your own tote bags or buy some at the thrift store. Or visit ReusableBags.com for all kinds of handy shopping bags. Their site also has lots of facts and figures about the world-wide problem of single-use shopping bags. Or visit my favorite website: Etsy.com and browse through thousands of beautiful handmade shopping totes. Go grocery shopping in style!

Now that I have gathered a collection of bags, I hang them on a hook by my front door so I will remember to bring them with me when I go shopping. I try to stash a couple in my car to use for unplanned shopping trips. And if I am purchasing just one or two items that I can easily carry, I just say "I don't need a bag." (The cashier looks up in amazement as she tries to stuff a 99-cent paper-wrapped burger into a paper bag. "I'm just going to eat it," I explain.)

Besides being more convenient, reusable shopping bags help me sleep better at night because I know that I am doing my part to save the earth!