May 29th, 2007 - Cloth bags
I’ve long been a fan of cloth bags. One of my problems, however, was remembering to bring them along. I didn’t want to store them in the car, as I use them to take things from the house to work or in the car. A couple weeks ago, when I saw a cheap bag at a garage sale, I had an inspiration: If I had a few more bags, I could store some permanently in the car! That day, I found two for 35 cents total and I’ll keep my eye out for more. They have been in the car since, and have already saved us two bags at the store. I think I should sawp for one of the larger ones I’ve had for a while, however, as neither one will hold very much.
I’m going to keep my eye out for more cheap ones. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner!
Oh, and Eric said that while he doesn’t like these bags in general (the type you carry on one shoulder), he’d willingly use his backpack. Unfortunately, on that trip, we came up with too long of a list to use it. But it’s another great idea.
Did I mention that our second-hand grocery store, The Bargain Bin, is moving? It will be about SIX BLOCKS AWAY! Woohoo! We’ll probably actually make the weekly trip I’d always wanted, and we’ll walk or bike. We almost went yesterday, until I told Eric (it was his idea) that while we could walk over there, we’d have to walk right back as they aren’t opening till Friday. So we have a date for Friday after work. (I never know how to describe this place succinctly. It sells stuff grocery stores would otherwise toss: dented, labels ripped off, boxes torn open, out of date, spilled on, etc. Some is great, some isn’t. We get cheap pasta, great deals on powdered milk (rarely in), good price on Campbell’s soup (Eric’s preferred brand) and tuna, etc.
May 29th, 2007 at 4:17 pm EDT
Or you could make your own!
canvas bag
knitted-plastic bag
May 29th, 2007 at 6:46 pm EDT
I hear ya on the cloth bags. My wife and I pick ‘em up at yard sales, too. I like the smaller ones, because they seem like they handle the misc items from Wal-Mart pretty well. The cashier’s almost always stare in disbelief as we bag our on groceries in our own bags.
May 30th, 2007 at 7:43 am EDT
[…] As Michael noted in a comment, you can make your own canvas bags, as his friend Mike did: canvas bag directions. (I strongly encourage you to read the entire post. You can skip the sewing directions if you aren’t interested. The cool part is what they did with all the bags they made. Go Mike! Okay, I think need to Bloglines* his blog finally. Don’t know why I haven’t before.) […]
June 13th, 2007 at 2:48 pm EDT
I’ve been using canvas bags to pack my own groceries for some time now, but sadly, i have never seen anyone else do it!
I have 4 or 5 of them that i keep in the trunk of my car. I’ve accumulated them gradually over the years (for free), as various businesses use them as promotional items. So, let’s see, i’ve got one from John Hancock Mutual Funds, Petco, and World Wildlife Fund. Only thing is, i once tried to wash one in the washing machine and it shrunk greatly.