Progress, progress! (paring down & reusable bags)

Well, the pile of garage-salable stuff in one bay of the garage is stacking up nicely. I've managed to work my way around 2/3rds of the kitchen or more, and only have two major areas left to declutter, pare down and reorganize. It's amazing how much you can get rid of if you really put your mind to it. My guess is the trick will be keeping it pared down!

After several months, I am finally getting the reusable bag gig down pat. I have actually started to amass an interesting collection of different types of reusable bags. I have five of the general cloth bags that are analogous to the plastic ones. I also have one bag with partitions that I got for free at Fred Meyer - it's great for holding six bottled items in a way that they don't clank around and crack. Then there is the insulated bag for frozen things. I also have two longer handled standard canvas totes I've accumulated from somewhere, and some new cotton mesh drawstring bags for dry produce items like fruits, winter squash and roots. Finally, there are the reusable "life extending" ziplocks for the wet stuff like lettuces and such. All of this fits into a lightweight compact foldable backpack, which is roomy enough to also hold my wallet, keys and cell phone.

I like this system so much that I've ordered four more of the basic bags, and after trying (unsuccessfully) to figure out how to fit two full size pork loins into them (I finally had to haul the loins out to the car unbagged, and the end of one split open in the car on the way home) I ordered an extra large duffle type bag for oversized items. I think this should allow me to have bags for pretty much every purchase that really needs to be bagged. I got almost all of my bags from http://www.reusablebags.com.

Beyond the enviromental impact, the best thing about using these bags instead of the plastic bags supplied by the store is that these don't rip and spill all your stuff onto the ground when you are least expecting it. Not only that, they hold twice as much by both weight and volume as the flimsy plastic ones, which means fewer bags to haul in when I get home. Yes, they often do weigh twice as much, but so far it has not been an issue. I mean, we're only talking at the most 10-15 pounds each even when they are loaded down with canned goods. I believe the maximum carrying capacity of the basic bags is well over 20 pounds each, so they can handle pretty much any type of normal grocery items.

The response I get at the store has overwhelmingly been positive. I have had some baggers look a bit confused by the bags at first, but no one has ever given me the impression that they would rather I hadn't brought them. I do try to speak up early to let the checkers know I have my own bags and that I prefer to use them, plus I open them up from their stuff sacks and lay them out on the counter so they are easy for the bagger to reach and load.

Oh, another way I've found to save on bagging is to have the baggers not bag things that really don't need it. For instance, gallon jugs of milk, which come with their own handles. Having gallon jugs of milk in bags really isn't necessary, so I told the baggers this week not to bother, unless it would be violating store policy. The young man who was helping me said 'No, it's not a problem - what YOU want IS store policy!" Wow. You don't often hear that sort of thing these days, do you?