I will be honest. I have reusable bags. Many, many, many reusable bags. It's actually embarrassing when you consider how many I actually have laying around. Therefore, you would think, I would be a reusable bag fanatic.
Alas, in the past, I have not been. I often forget my bags in the house after I unload my groceries, or they simply sit forgotten in my car or Jon's car. I know, I'm shaking my head in shame; you don't have to say anything. So this brings me to my experiment.
We were grocery shopping today. It's our one big shopping trip we do every month or so. I remembered my bags. I was so proud. BUT we had sooo many groceries and it was so busy at the store, Jon said, "They won't all fit (we had 6 with us), just use the plastic bags." So I acceded and allowed the cashier to bag my groceries in her lovely, flimsy plastic bags. And I go home (head hung in shame at not using my bags - but hey! I'll recycle them at least!).
Once I get home, I start to realize the waste. Here is a breakdown of my bags and what they contained:
(each dash represents one plastic bag)
- 15 lb turkey (this is probably the only thing I find reasonable for one bag)
- 64 oz of OJ
- 3 cans; 2 15 oz, 1 28 oz
- head phones, makeup, vitamins
- 2 jars (NOT large by any means)
- half/half (12 oz), s. cream, butter
- 1 package of tupperware (cheap version), 13 oz jar - eggs
- celery, 3 lb bag of apples
- saltines, 3 packs of ready rice
- 4 lb pork chops
- 2 24oz frozen veg, 2 16 oz frozen veg
- 12 oz cranberries, 3 pomegranates
- 46 oz pickles
- 3 lb chicken breasts, 2 lb hamburger, 3 lb ground turkey
- 1 pair earrings
- 7 bags of frozen vegs
- 4 onions
- lb of butter, jar of sauce, sm. jar of olives, Can of Whipped Cream
- carrots, mini carrots, 2 oranges
- pie crust
- box of stuffing, 2 boxes of tea, 2 14 oz cans
- toddler pair of slippers
- 4 cans (3 15 oz, 1 28 oz)
- gloves, movie, Q-tips, white-out
- 64 oz juice
Okay, now that you have scrutinized my groceries and seen what we are eating for the next month approximately - COUNT THE BAGS!! Did you come up with 27?!! Yes, that was 27 bags! I was appalled and disgusted. This made me wonder - How many bags would it have been if I used my reusable bags?
So I did. Take a look and count again. (Don't forget the green bag behind the red one.)
I hope you saw 7. Yes, I swear, I fit them all in 7 bags!!!! This represents a 74% reduction of bag use!
The moral, remember your bags. This is a lesson that I will not forget. Sure, we use the plastic bags for the cat box, and in the garbage cans in the bathrooms but it would take approximately 4 months to use all the bags we got from ONE shopping trip!! I suppose you are saying to yourself - but those bags take up so much space. I agree, I have those type - the kind that stand up by themselves - but I also invested in this style of bag that folds into itself. Look at how much space these 7 bags take up. Keep in mind, we spent approximately $200 on groceries, so imagine that shopping cart with that many groceries (side note: items not bagged - 10 lb bag of potatoes, cat litter, toilet paper) ALL FIT IN THESE BAGS!
I've been doing my own bags for a long time so it is rare I forget but if I do I either elbow the 14 year old bagger out of the way and do it myself or micromanage the cashier (and yes I am aware how much this irritates them but oh well 'cause if you don't you end up with 27 bags!!). DH rarely remembers to bring his own so we do end up with some bags around to deal with the cat litter, etc. I was kind of proud this summer when we had none in the house one weekend...
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