Shopping & Bags

[amandabarugh]

Originally Posted by lauren grier

I have cloth bags.. my market had a promo going for a while and they were like 99 cents.. so I bought a billion of them lol.. before that I only had one or two, and it was a pita.

That's what we did. They went on sale for a dollar at our local store and so I bought like 15. I also bought one that's sectioned to hold wine bottles, and I have one from La Leche League. And I bought one from the library.

[scrapperjade]

I bought mine for 0.99 each at the store I shop, plus I've picked up a lot of free ones along the way.

We got 1 at Once Upon A Child for free, we just got 2 from H&R block for having our taxes done there, and I got a great deal at a store (buy a certain item & get a hot/cold bag free - they have a silver lining that keeps your food hot/cold - so awesome), and I got 2 more at a buy this product, get a bag free deal. I own about 8, and have only paid for 2 I think! Woohoo!! Saves me a lot of money when I shop (when I remember them).

[livelys]

Like Stacey, we prodominantly use reusable bags which always live in the car and only use plastic ones if we forget - which we reuse and/or recycle.

Some stores offer reward loyalty points for bringing your own bags too.

I was impressed to find out US stores pack your bags for you! You have to really ask for help over here, otherwise you just have to try and keep up with the teller zooming the products at you. Mind you, I like packing my own so that I can only blame me for squashed bread and broken eggs.

[EveRecinella]

We have canvas bags..paying for bags and carts is the norm here and pretty much the whole of Europe, if I am not mistaken. We have a bunch of coin things that hang on a keychain that I use for the carts, so I don't have to have change on me...

[pbumbaca]

I do both, I have the canvas bags and if I can remember to bring them in I use them, if not we get the plastic cause I can't hold up the line to go get my bags.

[HeatherKS]

Ditto to Pam. I use my canvas bags if I remember to bring them along. If not, we use plastic. And my favorite reusable bags are from Wal-Mart - those things are huge!

[ditzyscrap]

LOL, well...we went to the store but...FORGOT the bags we bought the other day. So...I grabbed a couple more (lucky for us they're keeping them at the end of each till AND the cashier has a stack too). Now we have 4 large and 2 small ones, lol...it's all good though.

[bderby]

Originally Posted by EveRecinella

We have canvas bags..paying for bags and carts is the norm here and pretty much the whole of Europe, if I am not mistaken. We have a bunch of coin things that hang on a keychain that I use for the carts, so I don't have to have change on me...

We lived in France for 2 1/2 years and it was the same way there. You bring your own bags, you bag your own groceries, use a coin to get a cart (I guess I never thought of it as paying for it, because I always got my coin back!). I am not a huge environmentalist, but once we got back to the states, it did feel like we wasted a ton of bags, just because, like someone said before, the cashiers tend to put only a few things in one. I loved the bags that we had there too--they were big and really strong and we used them to haul stuff everywhere--not just for groceries. The most frustrating thing for me here is that even though they have started offering the reusable bags, the checkout stations still aren't really set up for using them and the cashiers where I live anyway, seem kind of frustrated when you pull them out, because it does make their jobs more difficult.

[4noisyboys]

I use the reusable ones. I have some from many different stores that I shop at, but my Trader Joe ones are the ones I use the most.

Just FYI...if you have a Costco, they sell a 4 pack for about $5. There are two GIANT bags and two LARGE bags...and they are big!! I can put almost my entire Costco shopping in one or two of the bags! Ask about them there if you can't find them. They are really worth the purchase...even two packs if you do major bulk shopping! They can be used for so many things too. My son took some to hold all his things when he went paintball shooting with friends, he takes them to school when he has to bring a change of clothes for band, we take them to the beach with us to hold our snacks, towels, etc....

I just keep them in the car with me, and once you start bringing them each time, you won't forget. I like that Trader Joes has a sign out side their door that says there is still time to run back to your car and get your bags!!