Reusable grocery bags

[Laura Corin]

I use canvas bags that I wash - sometimes.  Maybe once every couple of months.  We have a dog in the house and I suspect that we are surrounded by more nasty bugs than are present in the bags.

 

L

[joannqn]

Here is a report from Berkeley showing increased ER visits and deaths related to bacterial intestinal infections immediately following San Francisco's ban on plastic bags.  They chose San Francisco because it was the first major municipality to enact a ban.  According to the report, other areas enacting a ban has seen a similar rise in illnesses.

I'm not a germaphobe, but I wash my bags.


 

[milovany]

You could make t-shirt bags .... no lining corporate pockets (shop thrift stores), you can throw it in the washing machine and use hot, soapy water, and you could make really cute ones depending on the t-shirts you used. If they wear out, the next one is just another couple of bucks.  :)

[Catwoman]

I am a bad person.

 

When I go to the grocery store, I request that things be bagged in "paper in plastic," which is a brown paper grocery bag inside a plastic bag.

 

If the laws change and I am forced to use the reusable bags, I'll do it, but for now, it's paper in plastic for me.

 

And I should probably feel guilty about it, but I don't.

[Dory]

I have a few of those plastic reuseable bags, but I really like the bags I had my cousin sew for me. They are basically giant purses and I can wash them as much as I want. They close on the top too which keeps out a lot of junk. I tend to use them for my produce.

 

[milovany]

And I should probably feel guilty about it, but I don't.

 

You guiltometer must be broken.  Needs recalibration. 

 

;) :D

 

Whhhhyyyyy both?  The gal at the checkstand gets irritated with me when I say "fill one bag [usually paper, but sometimes plastic] up with everything."  Then they try to double bag, and I'm like, "Um, you're defeating the purpose. One bag."  They say, "It'll break."  I say, "I'll be careful."  They stare at me.  I add, "I promise, I'll have a hand on the bottom" and they eventually acquiesce.  The customer is always right 'n all.

 

I'm kidding about your guiltometer.  Carry on. 

[Night Elf]

You could make t-shirt bags .... no lining corporate pockets (shop thrift stores), you can throw it in the washing machine and use hot, soapy water, and you could make really cute ones depending on the t-shirts you used. If they wear out, the next one is just another couple of bucks.  :)

 

Well, that is just a cute idea. I wonder if it would be sturdy? Tshirts seem like a flimsy material to me. Also, I'm spoiled that my bags sit upright as they are being loaded. When I use my Walmart bags, which don't have a hard plastic thing at the bottom to hold the bag up, the cashiers seem annoyed because they have to hold the bag with one hand while scanning and bagging with the other hand.

 

[VeteranMom]

I've read some studies about the bacteria contamination in reusable bags, so I don't use them. There is no way I'd be organized enough to wash the bags after all my grocery trips. 

[Cinder]

Well, that is just a cute idea. I wonder if it would be sturdy? Tshirts seem like a flimsy material to me. Also, I'm spoiled that my bags sit upright as they are being loaded. When I use my Walmart bags, which don't have a hard plastic thing at the bottom to hold the bag up, the cashiers seem annoyed because they have to hold the bag with one hand while scanning and bagging with the other hand.

 

 

I remember seeing one tutorial for a t-shirt bag that said you need to leave the sleeve seam on--don't cut the seam when you cut off the sleeve--to keep the handle part from stretching too much; it gives a bit of extra strength to that part.

 

I have been reluctant to try this type of bag. I like that the standard store-bought reusable bag sits flat and stands upright. T-shirt bags would probably just flop around like the plastic ones at the store. And by the time I'd be ready to recycle a t-shirt it would be too thin for me to want to use it as a bag. Rags would be a better re-use.

[Mom-ninja.]

 

Whhhhyyyyy both?  The gal at the checkstand gets irritated with me when I say "fill one bag [usually paper, but sometimes plastic] up with everything."  Then they try to double bag, and I'm like, "Um, you're defeating the purpose. One bag."  They say, "It'll break."  I say, "I'll be careful."  They stare at me.  I add, "I promise, I'll have a hand on the bottom" and they eventually acquiesce.  The customer is always right 'n all.

 

 

I'm always telling them to fill up my reusable bags. I can't stand how they want to put in 3-4 items and then get another bag. Fill it up. All the way. They are always so hesitant. Keep going until it's full to the top.

 

 

 

 

Isn't it amazing how humans have survived so long without plastic bags? And how in the world do people in other countries where they don't use plastic bags survive? Europe must be a continent of people just falling over dead from bacteria contamination in their bags and baskets every day.

[milovany]

I'm thinking of those super thick types of t-shirts (mens, maybe, instead of womens). They'd certainly last longer.  But yes, you'd have to be okay with the non-stand-up feature. 

[milovany]

I'm always telling them to fill up my reusable bags. I can't stand how they want to put in 3-4 items and then get another bag. Fill it up. All the way. They are always so hesitant. Keep going until it's full to the top.

 

Isn't it amazing how humans have survived so long without plastic bags? And how in the world do people in other countries where they don't use plastic bags survive? Europe must be a continent of people just falling over dead from bacteria contamination in their bags and baskets every day.

 

Yep to the first paragraph ("It's okay, really" and [in a pinch] "I'll have my husband/son carry it in") and heh heh to the second paragraph. I didn't even know there were studies about the bacterial contamination of reusable bags (actually, the bacterial contamination of reusable bags itself never occurred to me until I read this thread).  I haven't washed ours in the ten years we've had them.

[Night Elf]

I'm always telling them to fill up my reusable bags. I can't stand how they want to put in 3-4 items and then get another bag. Fill it up. All the way. They are always so hesitant. Keep going until it's full to the top.

 

I'm always telling them to not fill the bags so full. I have plenty of bags and I'd rather each one be light than too heavy. I have to walk up a flight of stairs from my garage to the main part of the house and I prefer taking a few light bags at a time. I can handle the stairs a few times, but I'm not so good at lugging super heavy bags up them. :)

[TechWife]

I don't see how re-using plastic bags is helping the environment - they still end up in the landfill. If a sturdy canvas bag breaks and goes to the landfill, then at least it will disintegrate over time.

[Catwoman]

I'm always telling them to not fill the bags so full. I have plenty of bags and I'd rather each one be light than too heavy. I have to walk up a flight of stairs from my garage to the main part of the house and I prefer taking a few light bags at a time. I can handle the stairs a few times, but I'm not so good at lugging super heavy bags up them. :)

:iagree:

 

I hate it when they put too much stuff in the bags! They get way too heavy, and they tip over in the car on the way home.

[zoobie]

You could make t-shirt bags .... no lining corporate pockets (shop thrift stores), you can throw it in the washing machine and use hot, soapy water, and you could make really cute ones depending on the t-shirts you used. If they wear out, the next one is just another couple of bucks. :)

Those work even better if you box out the bottom. (I think the MS tutorial uses a plain straight seam? Her site never loads correctly on my phone.) DD1 made bunches for a Girl Scout project.