Skip The Bag! A More Earth And Money Friendly Way To Shop
I'm sure most of us now can walk into a grocery store and see a few racks full of reusable grocery bags like the ones at my local store with their logo that sells for a dollar. Practically all the stores in my area have them.
They are only a dollar, but chances are the first time you use it, you will leave the bag at home, and the next time you go shopping, you will forget to bring it with you. So you buy another two. Eventually you get smart and buy a bunch of them. You keep half of them in the trunk of your car, and so if you forget to bring the ones from your last shopping trip, you still have those. But that is still a cost you do not have to pay.
I have found that using these bags sometimes slows me down, most of the time. In my local grocery store, there are clerks who handle the bags like a pro, affixing them to his or her turnstyle with ease, but others who have no clue how to pack them quickly and efficiently.
Certain stores that sell food items in bulk solve the problem by not offering any shopping bags at all. They transfer the food and other items from your cart in to a new cart, and you push that cart out to your automobile and load up the trunk with the items. Then you have to make several trips into the house with your goodies.
So what do we do? Use cardboard boxes as carrying cases. Keep them in the trunk of your vehicle, and when you unpack your food from the cart, just place them in the box. Once you get home, carry the entire box inside.
If you are going to a grocery store where you are going to buy loads of little items, basically take the box in with you. Ask the clerk at the checkout to place the items in that box. It goes a lot quicker than trying to hold open a cloth bag and trying to pack that! If the clerk should object for some reason, have a little chat with the manager.
If you are only purchasing a few things, and you have no cardboard box, consider not getting a plastic bag, either. Basically carry the items in your arms out of the store, holding the receipt ready to be checked by a clerk. Do not be upset if this occurs, it is the nature of things. If you shop at Sam's Club, you are used to it.
A side note, have you ever noticed that most people seem to leave their shopping carts (or buggies or baskets, depending on which part of the country you are in) in the middle of parking spots, instead of jogging a few extra feet to return them to cart corrals? Get some exercise and show a little courtesy, return your cart to a corral. If you are going inside the store, snag a cart on your way in, in case there is none inside. Although this happens seldom, when it does happen, you will be glad you had the foresight to bring a cart of your own.
They are only a dollar, but chances are the first time you use it, you will leave the bag at home, and the next time you go shopping, you will forget to bring it with you. So you buy another two. Eventually you get smart and buy a bunch of them. You keep half of them in the trunk of your car, and so if you forget to bring the ones from your last shopping trip, you still have those. But that is still a cost you do not have to pay.
I have found that using these bags sometimes slows me down, most of the time. In my local grocery store, there are clerks who handle the bags like a pro, affixing them to his or her turnstyle with ease, but others who have no clue how to pack them quickly and efficiently.
Certain stores that sell food items in bulk solve the problem by not offering any shopping bags at all. They transfer the food and other items from your cart in to a new cart, and you push that cart out to your automobile and load up the trunk with the items. Then you have to make several trips into the house with your goodies.
So what do we do? Use cardboard boxes as carrying cases. Keep them in the trunk of your vehicle, and when you unpack your food from the cart, just place them in the box. Once you get home, carry the entire box inside.
If you are going to a grocery store where you are going to buy loads of little items, basically take the box in with you. Ask the clerk at the checkout to place the items in that box. It goes a lot quicker than trying to hold open a cloth bag and trying to pack that! If the clerk should object for some reason, have a little chat with the manager.
If you are only purchasing a few things, and you have no cardboard box, consider not getting a plastic bag, either. Basically carry the items in your arms out of the store, holding the receipt ready to be checked by a clerk. Do not be upset if this occurs, it is the nature of things. If you shop at Sam's Club, you are used to it.
A side note, have you ever noticed that most people seem to leave their shopping carts (or buggies or baskets, depending on which part of the country you are in) in the middle of parking spots, instead of jogging a few extra feet to return them to cart corrals? Get some exercise and show a little courtesy, return your cart to a corral. If you are going inside the store, snag a cart on your way in, in case there is none inside. Although this happens seldom, when it does happen, you will be glad you had the foresight to bring a cart of your own.
