Paper or Plastic?

When it comes to shopping bags, do you use paper or plastic? Have you ever tried NEITHER?
A few months ago I decided to go GREEN and get some reusable bags made from recycled materials. Wal-mart had them for 99 cents so I bought 4. That was sufficient for what I was buying that day and I got one extra. Subsequently I have purchase one more from Wally World, two from Wal-greens, one from Kroger, and 4 from a place on line that Gives Them AWAY - just pay S&H. Check them out - ReusableBagsGiveaway.com . They change the style of the bags they offer from time to time and I have gotten two HUGE black ones with zippers and chrome grommets, and two orange and white "Pokey Dot" ones. I have given two away to my best friends with goodies inside as gifts. When I called the black ones HUGE, I was not kidding - I put an entire DOG bed in it when I was at Wal-Mart last time! It is big enough to hold all my other shopping bags with room to spare. I keep most of them in the trunk of my car so I will have them no matter where I go that way I don't forget them, too. I don't think they weigh enough to affect my gas mileage. Since SAMs Club doesn't bag stuff, I put everything in the bags when I'm loading the stuff into my trunk, and it is so much easier to get it all in the house - I used to box stuff, but the boxes frequently ended up being too heavy to get out of the trunk and I had to unload an item at time anyway - the bags are a great alternative.

I actually use them around the house for EVERYTHING. I carry one when I walk the dog to check the mail - it can be a bit cumbersome dealing with a leash and tons of mail in my hands - especially if I have gotten a package, too, so I can slip all that junk mail and bills into the bag and it's a lot easier getting home. I use one when I go to the post office or just walk down to the neighborhood post box to send something along its way...the shopping bags REALLY hold a lot and I mail SOMEthing just about every day. When I say they hold a lot - it is about 40 pounds and the equivalent of two or three plastic grocery bags. I deliberately UNDER FILL them sometimes so they won't be too heavy. You can keep one on the bottom step to hold all the little stuff downstairs that needs to go upstairs, but you don't want to make a special trip to put it away. Just grab the bag on your way up and VIOLA!

Believe me when I say - I still get the occasional plastic bag and I re-use them if they are not torn. I have 3 bathrooms, two offices, and two bedrooms that have their own little trash receptacles - all lined with grocery bags. I was actually running very low on replacement bags, but while visiting my brother, I was talking to his wife about the shopping bags and she asked, "Do you need some grocery bags?" She reuses them, too, but she still gets them when she shops, and was hesitant to just throw them all away to become landfill forever. She gave me about 200 grocery bags that she was more than glad to get rid of to make more room in her garage. That was a few months ago - it's almost time to go visit again and I will relieve her of more of her stash of bags. Look at it this way - two households are using the same bags, usually more than once and that diminishes both of our carbon footprints. We are both a little bit GREENER!