Happy Earth Day Everyone!
It's been over a year since I started exclusively using my canvas shopping bags.
I am a convert! If you haven't already made the switch - c'mon what are you waiting for?
I actually bought several canvas shopping bags before, but it didn't work out and
here's why.
* I didn't buy enough, so it seemed more of a hassle to take the 2 or 3 I had with me, and kind of dumb when I got there that I was also still taking paper or plastic.
* I always forgot them.
* I am a little OCD - every time I used them I felt like I had to wash them.
* Washing them made them crinkly - so then I had to iron them.
Last March I decided that I just had to make the commitment and get over it. If you know me and my personality at all, letting go of the washing stuff that was preventing me from full commitment was no small thing. I just knew I had to do it for my children & grand children's futures.
Here's what has helped;
* I bought enough bags that I can pack a CART LOAD of groceries into them. Knowing I had a significant financial investment (about $150 for all the bags I have) made me initially more committed to actually using them, and now it's a habit.
* I have 12 of the regular bags and 5 string bags, which I use for apples, oranges, grapefruits, etc. Then I have 6 of the grain bags, which we use for loose nuts, grains, and smaller things like ginger, limes, garlic, etc. This also makes checking out faster - because I just lift the string bags right from the belt to the cart.
* I keep them in my car.
* AS SOON as I have finished unloading the groceries, I fold them, and put them right back in the car. The exception is, if any are damp (wet veggies) I hang them on the back of the dining room chairs to air dry - then re-pack them.
* I only wash them for visible soiling, and when I do wash them, I air them dry - then fold and re-use. I tell myself the few faded spots and crinkles are evidence of how much I use them, and all the help I'm giving the earth.
Some unexpected & happy benefits;
These suckers are STRONG. I can load several up on my shoulders and arms, and make way fewer trips from the house to the car. Also, they never tear and spill food everywhere.
* Mine have no logo's or advertising on them, just plain organic cotton canvas. I have had many people compliment me on what nice bags they are, and ask where they can get some.
* I get entered into the Trader Joe's BYOB (bring your own bag) drawing on a regular basis (I'm expecting to win, eventually.)
* I get money back from not using a store bag at many places (Whole Foods is the best.)
* I love that my kids are seeing this example when we shop. It gives me such a good feeling when I think of what we have prevented going into land-fills.
I have even started taking them into Target, Bed, Bath & Beyond and other non-grocery places we shop. I use one of them as a library bag for our books too. So many uses. So go get yourself some. I love the one's I got from eco-bags, go here to order your own.
For the remainder of earth day - we played all morning with friends at the park, then ordered our caterpillars to hatch to butterfly's. We have done this every year for the past 13 years, and it never gets old! We wait until spring to order them, so we can release them when they hatch. They have such a short life span, I want them to enjoy it!
I have been wanting to order worms for our compost and garden for ages also, and was hoping the nursery where we buy our ladybugs each year would tell me where I could get some. Yesterday after ordering the butterfly larvae, I searched online and ordered 4,500 worms! I'm so excited. Then Oprah had a segment on composting and worms last night too!
Then we also orders Rick a new Sigg water bottle (like the one's the kids and I have been using for ages) as a late birthday present. He confessed that goes through several bottles of water every day at work, so now he can re-fill his Sigg and save all that plastic.
In the next year, I hope to do more. My next goals for improvement are;
* Keep turning off lights and using less energy (using a programmable thermostat and setting the temp 2 degrees lower than we were used to saved energy - and money - each month of the past winter.)
* Ride bikes or walk whenever we go to the library (it's close.)
* Replace all cleaning products with eco-friendly one's, as the existing supplies are used up (we've already started this and I'm happy with the changes we've already made.)
It's only a start, but if all of us make a few small changes it can have a big difference, and put us all on the track for a better future for those who will come after us.
It's been over a year since I started exclusively using my canvas shopping bags.
I am a convert! If you haven't already made the switch - c'mon what are you waiting for?
I actually bought several canvas shopping bags before, but it didn't work out and
here's why.
* I didn't buy enough, so it seemed more of a hassle to take the 2 or 3 I had with me, and kind of dumb when I got there that I was also still taking paper or plastic.
* I always forgot them.
* I am a little OCD - every time I used them I felt like I had to wash them.
* Washing them made them crinkly - so then I had to iron them.
Last March I decided that I just had to make the commitment and get over it. If you know me and my personality at all, letting go of the washing stuff that was preventing me from full commitment was no small thing. I just knew I had to do it for my children & grand children's futures.
Here's what has helped;
* I bought enough bags that I can pack a CART LOAD of groceries into them. Knowing I had a significant financial investment (about $150 for all the bags I have) made me initially more committed to actually using them, and now it's a habit.
* I have 12 of the regular bags and 5 string bags, which I use for apples, oranges, grapefruits, etc. Then I have 6 of the grain bags, which we use for loose nuts, grains, and smaller things like ginger, limes, garlic, etc. This also makes checking out faster - because I just lift the string bags right from the belt to the cart.
* I keep them in my car.
* AS SOON as I have finished unloading the groceries, I fold them, and put them right back in the car. The exception is, if any are damp (wet veggies) I hang them on the back of the dining room chairs to air dry - then re-pack them.
* I only wash them for visible soiling, and when I do wash them, I air them dry - then fold and re-use. I tell myself the few faded spots and crinkles are evidence of how much I use them, and all the help I'm giving the earth.
Some unexpected & happy benefits;
These suckers are STRONG. I can load several up on my shoulders and arms, and make way fewer trips from the house to the car. Also, they never tear and spill food everywhere.
* Mine have no logo's or advertising on them, just plain organic cotton canvas. I have had many people compliment me on what nice bags they are, and ask where they can get some.
* I get entered into the Trader Joe's BYOB (bring your own bag) drawing on a regular basis (I'm expecting to win, eventually.)
* I get money back from not using a store bag at many places (Whole Foods is the best.)
* I love that my kids are seeing this example when we shop. It gives me such a good feeling when I think of what we have prevented going into land-fills.
I have even started taking them into Target, Bed, Bath & Beyond and other non-grocery places we shop. I use one of them as a library bag for our books too. So many uses. So go get yourself some. I love the one's I got from eco-bags, go here to order your own.
For the remainder of earth day - we played all morning with friends at the park, then ordered our caterpillars to hatch to butterfly's. We have done this every year for the past 13 years, and it never gets old! We wait until spring to order them, so we can release them when they hatch. They have such a short life span, I want them to enjoy it!
I have been wanting to order worms for our compost and garden for ages also, and was hoping the nursery where we buy our ladybugs each year would tell me where I could get some. Yesterday after ordering the butterfly larvae, I searched online and ordered 4,500 worms! I'm so excited. Then Oprah had a segment on composting and worms last night too!
Then we also orders Rick a new Sigg water bottle (like the one's the kids and I have been using for ages) as a late birthday present. He confessed that goes through several bottles of water every day at work, so now he can re-fill his Sigg and save all that plastic.
In the next year, I hope to do more. My next goals for improvement are;
* Keep turning off lights and using less energy (using a programmable thermostat and setting the temp 2 degrees lower than we were used to saved energy - and money - each month of the past winter.)
* Ride bikes or walk whenever we go to the library (it's close.)
* Replace all cleaning products with eco-friendly one's, as the existing supplies are used up (we've already started this and I'm happy with the changes we've already made.)
It's only a start, but if all of us make a few small changes it can have a big difference, and put us all on the track for a better future for those who will come after us.
5 comments:
Tan, you are such an inspiration. I'm planning on ordering butterflies today too and starting that fun tradition. When Brian come home last night I showed him the butterflies and whales we made and he made some comment about all the trees we killed to celebrate Earth Day. Well, at least they'll get recycled.
you've inspired me. i've got to take the canvas bag plunge. i love the idea, but similar issues are stopping me from embracing it. how many bags do you use on an average shopping trip?
Way to go Tania. I'm a big fan of the canvas bags too.
I used mine for the first time at Target today and it was great. I always feel like I have to shout out to the bagger "I brought my own bags!!!" But, the small amounts of attitude I still get from baggers occasionally are worth it. I love them for all the reasons you cited above...when my current stop and shop and TJ's bite the dust I would love to get some like yours.
I also loved in Newsweek a couple of weeks ago, Target provided an ad where you folded the cover of the magazine, made it into a pouch, filled your pouch with plastic target bags, mailed it postage paid...I should get a nice Target reusable bag in the mail soon!
if you don't have any plastic grocery bags in your house, what do you use to line your trash can? i would happily go to canvas bags, but this is the obstacle i can't figure out. you can just tell me the answer when i see you next. i have a couple that i always take to the mall with me, though. who needs a gap plastic bag?
also, post on which cleaning products you like. or again, just tell me. i'd love to know. i've tried the method stuff and like some of it, but some of it doesn't work at all.
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