How do you feel about re-usable shopping bags? Love the idea? Hate it?
I hate it.
Yup, I'm a hater I guess.
Here's why:
1. Inconvenient. I don't want to have to guesstimate how many bags I need to lug into the store with me! Listen people, I'm not shuffling through a street market with bare feet, wearing a dashiki, looking for exotic fruits. I'm bringing home pizza boxes, cereal, gallons of milk and juice, a ton of 2 liters and 6 packs and all other matter of odd shaped heavy stuff. I hit the Kroger HARD.
2. Green-ness. I love birds, and air, and mountains and yes.... even trees. I dig fresh water, warm days, and pretty flowers. I GET IT. But if you're trying to convince me that I'm going to save the planet by using these bags,, you are totally full of crap.
3. Customer Service. Anyone remember what that is? You know, an actual cashier to check you out, a bag boy to help with your packages, BAGS FOR YOUR GROCERIES? I'm sorry, I'm paying HUGE bucks for groceries these days,, don't you tell me that you can't offer up 5 cents worth of flimsy plastic bags for my things.
4. Making me buy something I don't want. Oh yes, it'll happen. Soon you HAVE to buy these deplorable sacks of fail. Are you short one or two bags? No bother,, pick up a few for $1.00 a piece. Did you forget your bags? No bother,, pick up one. Pretty soon, you have 46 reusable shopping bags in the back of your car and you don't know how it happened!!! Now, explain this to me,, we have to pay for the bags that we once got for free? (or the bags that they rolled into the price of my food?)
There are a few reasons I should LOVE reusable bags.
1. I love bags, totes, sacks, storage containers, purses, etc. You'd think I'd jump at the chance to have a wide array of cute reusables.
2. I knit and crochet. There are a ton of great patterns out there to make your own. I've avoided making these. I will NOT CONFORM! LOL
3. I don't like waste. I really don't. I'll reuse anything that is within reason. These bags really piss me off though.
At Kroger the other morning, they forced a bag on me. Yes, I now own one. At the self check out, all they had were reusables. They were free, I didn't have to pay for it but it was a promotion by some pet company. The companies logo is on it.
VERY CLEVER.
I can see this happening a lot in the future. That's another thing I hate. SUBVERSIVE ADVERTISING!! I am not a billboard!!
Ugh,, I may have fought as long as I can though, it may be time to give in.
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How do people on used Harleys do their shopping?
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8 comments:
I agree that it would most likely be difficult for a large family that does a lot of shopping to use the bags. But for me and my husband? Perfect. No matter how much stuff we buy (and sometimes it's a lot) we rarely need more than 4 of the wal-mart reusable bags. I hear you scoffing, 4? Ha. That's like nothing. But honestly, we condense what would fit into 12 or more plastic shopping bags into those 4. They seriously hold a freaking ton. By the time I get done stuffing them, they're barely liftable. :P
I'm not trying to convert you, just giving my experience. :) My one problem with them are the cashiers themselves. Most often, when I tell a cashier that I have my own bags they do one of two things. They will either tell me I can bag my own items then (Wal-Mart)or they will continue to only put 2 or 3 things in each bag (Kroger) even though I keep saying, Please fill the bag completely, it will hold it. :( But it's totally worth the trade off for me.
Well there are 5 of us and when I go to the grocery store (once every two weeks)I walk away with ALOT of groceries. So even if I can't estimate how many I'll need I can still use those that I have.
Yes, I admit that I have some of these. I DO reuse plastic bags around the house too. But I can only reuse so many.
And the 'green' bags are so good for other things too, like when we go to the library and leave with a bizillion books that are heavy to carry? These bags are awesome for that!
don't like the ads? Turn them inside out ;0)
My only complaint is I have a hard time remembering to take them with me! LOL!!
Taking my own bags is not a problem for me. Been doing it for years at Aldi. I love the reusable bags my S-I-L made from old jeans. Can load them up full of cans, no problem, but I still get the plastic bags at other stores. I need the trash can liners! :)
We have 6 or 8 reusable bags for our grocery store. It was hard to remember to bring them, but now it's a habit to grab them when we leave for our shopping trip. They are so much easier to handle than a gazillion plastic bags.
I can't really say I like them, either. :-p
But I do dislike the plastic ones too.
When I go to Aldi, if I forget to grab a box (I always forget LOL) I just toss the groceries in the car. It is no big deal really. Or not that I have ever noticed, anyhow! LOL
I have been trying to get the Walmart cashiers to NOT bag most of my stuff too. It really irks me when they put gallons of ICE CREAM with HANDLES on them in the bags!!!! Grrr! haha
I bet they think I am nuts when I ask if they can just no bag my stuff, but I don't really care.
I don't really like the canvass billboards either! LOL Subversive ads bug me too!
I was given a reusable bag (the free ones WalMart gave out on Earth Day) and I actually took it to WM once. The check-out clerk was very helpful and friendly about it and even asked me what types of things I wanted in that bag. She loaded it up! They do hold quite a bit more than the plastic bags. Since I'm too lazy to actually remember to bring the reusable one(s) (I have a 2nd one now - a plain one, gift from a friend) in, I keep them in the van and then put the plastic bags of groceries into the reusable ones and don't have to make as many trips back and forth to get my groceries out of the van.
Ok, apparently I'm cantakerous. LOL I guess I'm fighting a loosing battle! I appriciate all your comments!
I know I'm late but I HATE those bags too. Or more accurately, I hate what they represent, environmentalists trying to force their choices on everyone else. You can mess with the stupid things if you want to, but don't tell me to do the same. It's amusing to me that these same people will buy plastic bags and carry them home in their "earth-friendly" bags. What a crock!
Sorry, you obviously hit a nerve with me. LOL
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