Plastic Bags

In case you haven't noticed, single use plastic is quickly becoming public enemy number one out there. While plastics still have their uses, there is no denying that sometimes we opt for them simply out of convenience, and not because we need to. It can be a tricky habit to break, but I've found a few ways to use fewer bags in our household. While it does also save us money in the big picture, I think the environmental savings is greater, here. Also, I know I still have a long way to go in reducing my plastic consumption, but I do really feel like every little step, here, is a step in the right direction. No one is going to be perfect overnight, but small changes can make a big difference.

First off, no more blue bags.

When we moved into our house, almost 6 years ago, our builders left us a gift basket that was packaged up inside a big, blue recycling bin. For the better part of 5 years, the bin sat in our basement full of junk I was too lazy to sort and put away. Then, one day, while I was in the bag aisle at superstore trying to figure out which box of blue bags was most economical (and also which ones were the right dang size), I said "forget it" (or maybe I used a different F word that's more fun to say) and decided I wasn't going to buy any bags at all. Blue bags were the bane of my existence. We had a stand set up for the blue bag in our house, and we would just dump everything in. We didn't flatten anything or group together stretchy plastics; everything just got dumped on top of everything else, and we usually had more than one bag filled up with recycling every week, just because we weren't bothering to make the most of the space in the bag. Bye, money. Pretty much we were tossing an extra fifty cents a week in the garbage just by using these bags. That's $26 in a year. On something you buy literally just to throw away.

When I got home, I emptied out the blue box I had been using to store old junk I didn't need (this took me maybe 4 minutes, so I can appreciate why I avoided the task for 6 years), and started using it to collect my recycling. First of all, using the blue box pretty much forced us to flatten any boxes or packaging we were intending to recycle, and we could fit way more stuff into the box than we were managing to get into a single bag. It also made it easier to keep the stretchy plastics all together, as we are requested to do, here. Often, we can go 2 weeks before we need to set the box out, as opposed to setting out 2 poorly filled bags every week. If you don't already have a blue box, you can get one at Superstore for $8. If you're on the 2 bag a week schedule like we were, you will pay for your box in 4 months. I know it doesn't seem like a huge financial savings, but it's also an environmental savings. If you don't want to buy a new box for recycling at all, you can use any storage tote you already have, and label it "recycling" and set it out every week. Also, if we do need to set out a bag for recycling, guess what? The recycle person still takes whatever coloured bag I set out in or on top of my recycle box, so I can buy whichever bags are the most economical, instead of spending extra money on the blue one.

Eliminating the blue bag from my life has been suuuuuuuper satisfying. It's possible that I need to get out more.

Also, I found that I was using the blue bags for non-recycle things, and paying a premium for it. When I did the math at the store when I made this change, the blue bags I was buying (the Glad ones with the drawstring because the no name ones were both small and thin) cost more per bag than the clear bags, and were smaller! I was paying extra for the colour that meant "this is for recycling" and then using the bags to haul things to Goodwill or collect empty cans and bottles. I keep a box of clear garbage bags on hand, now, for things like that, but the box lasts us way longer now that we don't use any bags for recycling.

Side note: My kids collect cans and bottles for Disneyland. It's pretty cool to see a three year old spot an empty water bottle in a parking lot and scream, "mom! Ten cents!!" Money is everywhere. The sooner kids realize it, the faster they can develop good money habits, and a positive attitude toward money.

Next, no more plastic grocery bags. In my past three grocery trips, the shopper behind me in line asked for 8 to 10 bags each time! Again, it's easy to rationalize a bag purchase as "it's only 5 cents" but 5 cents x ten bags x 100 grocery trips is $50 and 1000 bags that are going to end up in a landfill. I used to struggle with this one, a lot, because while I wanted to love and use reusable grocery bags, my efforts were a never ending fail. Most of the time, I would forget the bags at home or in the car. When I did remember them, I'd spend way too long at the till fumbling with an armload of bags or varying sizes and usefulness. I used to pack all my bags into the biggest one, and stick them in my cart. But then when I was ready to pack, I'd want to use the biggest bag, and have to dump all the rest all over the place to get to it. It was a nightmare game trying to find the bags with flat bottoms, or straps that allowed me to carry the groceries on my arm, or the one that would fit a carton of eggs without having to stand it up on its side. It was the worst. I knew I was supposed to get on the reusable bag bandwagon, but actually packing the reusable bags at the till was almost more stressful than using the plastic ones. I wasn't motivated to make the change because the whole experience was so unpleasant.

Eventually, I flat out forbade myself from buying plastic bags at the till. If I forgot my own bags, I'd just load everything individually back into the cart and then into my car (or into the bags if they were in my trunk). In my head, as I packed my groceries one at a time into the car in -40 weather while my kids screamed at me from their carseats, I told myself that this would be a lesson I would only have to learn one time. I thought for sure that would motivate me to bring my bags to the store and use them. I was mistaken. After a few more -40 outdoor pack jobs, I bought one of the Superstore Green Bins. This thing worked okay, but I couldn't fit an entire grocery trip into one bin, and when it was loaded up with groceries, it was heavy and awkward to carry. For $6, it was pretty okay, but it took up a lot of space in my house or car when I wasn't using it, and still managed to forget it pretty frequently.

Not a terrible alternative to plastic bags, but not the best solution I've found. Especially if you have to carry your groceries up the stairs.

Finally, recently, I've found the answer to my grocery packing woes. In September, I got a Large Utility Tote from Thirty One gifts, and it was a total grocery game changer for me. I have two, but I can almost always fit an entire shopping trip into one bag, and even when it's full, I can still carry it easily. The straps are long enough that I can sling it over my shoulder if I need to, but not so long that I can't comfortably carry it like a regular person, too.

It fits perfectly in the cart, too! Also does anyone else's kid refuse to touch celery in real life but insist on manhandling it in the shopping cart, or just mine?

Not only am I able to eliminate plastic bags, it also helps to keep me organized at the store and till, too. I usually bring both of my totes with me on a shopping trip and designate one tote for the items I need to price match at the till, and the other for the items that are already priced at the price I'm willing to pay. This way, there is no mad scramble at the checkout to make sure I'm not missing any of my price matches, and I can be organized and not worry about holding up the line. I mean, I don't worry about holding up the line, anyway, but I know some of you do, and this helps alleviate the checkout stress.

With room to spare!

Speaking of checkout stress, I know many people have told me they don't shop at Superstore/bring their own bags is because they hate packing their own groceries. With this thing, it is legit so easy. The tote stands up on it's own, so you don't need a free hand to wrestle with a bag and keep it open. I pretty much just have the cashier hand stuff back to me as she scans it and I plop it right back in the tote! It's so easy, and my kids can help. Everything just gets blooped right back into the tote. The bag is usually packed back up with all the groceries before I even pay! This is a huge difference from the stress packing I used to do fumbling with one hundred reusable bags in the name of the environment. Even if you have a screaming kid in your cart (I sometimes have had three at one time), you can still get this thing packed up quickly, and (relatively) calmly, and maybe not break out into a panic sweat.

The most annoying part of packing up these groceries was that the diaper box was too big to fit neatly in the cart for my picture. Also that this picture is blurry. Whoops.

At $44, this tote is a bit more spendy, but it has really been a game changer for me. Being able to keep my price match items separate, and also the ease of re-packing really sold me on these things. It doesn't hurt that they also come in fun prints and patterns and they store flat when you're not using them. Best of all, being able to fit a whole shopping trip into one or two of these means I can get all my groceries into the house in one trip. Without the risk of cutting off my circulation from stubbornly hauling in 100 bags on one wrist. I almost never forget to bring these with me when I go to the store, now, and they've taken on roles in other areas of our life as well, like keeping all the kids' winter gear contained in the car, or hauling all their loot back and forth to friends' and relatives' houses.

Of course, in the interest of disclosure, I do want to mention that I am an independent consultant for 31 Gifts, and do earn a commission on any sales that I make through this post. This post is not sponsored by 31 Gifts, and I did pay my own, real, money for the totes that I have, and I truly do think these things are the best. Anyway, if you do think you want to order one, they are on special until the end of tomorrow (February 28), where you can get one for $12 with every $40 you spend. So, you could get 2 for $56 instead of $88 (plus shipping and tax), which is a pretty sweet deal. Maybe you can find a friend to split the deal with you, and each get one for $28. If you want to, you can order them here, and place your order under the "party" called "Grocery Guru".

As always, I appreciate all the support this little blog has gotten, and I hope that you've been able to implement some small changes to make a difference with your grocery spending. If you like what you're reading, please share the blog with your friends. You can also follow me on Facebook at YEG Grocery Guru.