I made grabbing the bags part of my routine. I can remember anything when it is part of my routine.
In England we call them “bags for life” which I imagine is because they will just stay around forever and multiply because you keep forgetting them.
Me putting 6 (3 more than I'm sure I'll need) in my backpack (which is storage overkill now) and then since I'm like a primitive creature or something where if I don't see it it doesn't exist, I forget that I have the bags after checking out.
Where I live Aldi is the only store that actually has any workflow that makes sense for reusable bags. All of my reusable bags have been repurposed for storing contents of "ADHD doom boxes" so I now just have multiple bags of Aldi paper bags which float between my car, my office and the reusable bag storing spot at home, and I'll either buy a couple more bags when I forget or just keep reusing them until they're entirely worn out and get tossed into the recycling bin. I think I may have accidentally stumbled upon the best possible solution for my situation because I end up reusing single-use paper bags dozens of times before they get recycled (and because they're paper they'll actually break down within my lifetime unlike the single-use plastic bags that hold less)
The spice must flow...
On reusable bags
**The occasional plastic carrier bag is fine **
A single-use plastic bag: the sin of any environmentalist. Many of us know the agonising pain of turning up at the supermarket, then realising you’ve left your reusable shopping bags at home. The next 10 minutes is a comedy show, seeing how many items you can stuff into your pockets, clutch in your arms, and even grip between your teeth. You will not let the team down by asking for a plastic bag. I do the same. Even though I know better: the data shows us that the occasional plastic carrier bag is not that big a deal. In fact, in many ways, a single-use plastic bag is better than some alternatives. At least when it comes to the carbon footprint, it’s much lower than the rest. You’d need to use a paper bag several times, and a cotton one tens to hundreds of times to ‘break even’ with the plastic carrier.35, 36 This is also true for other environmental impacts such as water use, acidification, and the pollution of water with nutrients such as nitrogen. This doesn’t mean you should switch back to using single-use carrier bags: it just means you should make sure you’re reusing the other types of bags a lot. If you’re buying a new organic tote bag every second visit, you’re really making things worse. And as seen in previous chapters, you should be focusing much more on what you put in the bag than the bag itself. It will have a much bigger environmental impact. The problem with plastic bags, then, is that they can pollute our waterways. But, like any other form of waste, only if we don’t manage it properly. In rich countries, unless you’re littering near a river or coastline, they’re probably not going to end up in the ocean. Even sending it to landfill is not a big deal. This is a problem in low- to middle-income countries where the use of plastic bags is on the rise but the infrastructure to deal with the waste is not. That’s where tight rules on single-use plastic bags, and the availability of alternatives, really make a difference. So, be conscious of how much you’re using. Take a rucksack or a sturdy bag and reuse it again and again. But you don’t need to stress out if you reach the supermarket till and realise you’ve left it at home.
"Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet" by Hannah Ritchie
I just throw it all in my car and transfer it to bags when I get home.
Too real
I’ve never really had that problem, because I almost always carry a large-ish backpack with a cotton bag folded inside, but it would be neat if stores had a box near the checkout where you could leave your extra bags for other clients to use for free.
One of the libraries I go to does something like that, they keep some bags near the front desk and give them to users who need something to carry their books. I’ve given them two bags I had no use for. And I know a bulk food store where you can leave empty containers for other clients to use.
I get boxes from work and just keep a couple in the back of my truck, also keeps my groceries from sliding around the bed. Get boxes when you can their great, I'm keeping my eyes out for a roadside milk crate to replace them though.
when you inevitably accrue a metric fuck-ton of these please remember that a lot of charity shops (at least the ones in the UK) are grateful for them
When I'm done unloading at home, I hang them on the doorknob so I remember them next time I leave.
Some reusable bags are just clunky. The ideal ones are those you can fold to the point you fit it on your purse or pocket.
I leave mine in the trunk and have only walked into the store without them twice. Not forgetting them before walking into the store and putting them back into the trunk after unloading them is the hardest part.
People still use bags? I don't have a car but I go on public transit with my cart and I haven't used bags in forever and even if I did have a car I wouldn't use them because I would just load them directly into my car. Tbh there's not a lot of uses for bags imo. They just seem like it's all extra baggage... Ha..
36? Those are rookie numbers 😅
I'm in this picture and I don't like it
I do like to collect them but I never need a fifth examplar of that bad quality overpriced one they are offering...
What have you done, Mark
That’s why I leave them in the trunk of the car. I still forget them when I walk into the store but I don’t bag anything inside the store just put it back in the cart and bag it outside.
The collection must grow
Keep one in your back seat at all times, keep another in your trunk, then remember to bring one every time you go to the store. If you forget, you have the one in the back seat, just put a new one there later. If you forget to do that, you got the trunk backup, just replace that later.
Wanna get real fun? Keep all of your reusable bags in the trunk.
I leave a pile by the front door so I take them to my car next time I go out
Even in spite of best efforts for good systems to remember mine, I still forget them often. The problem in the US is that the system is not complete. The bags need to be made of biodegradable and/or recyclable materials, and every store needs a convenient way to turn in old bags so they can go into a recycling system. There probably shouldn't be a charge for them either.
If you live in an area with bag fees, you probably also have yard waste / compost bins. I take the paper bags for gardening and compost. 5 or 10 cents for a compost bag ain't too shabby.
