Green Tip Tuesday

 

This tip is one that has seems to have gotten pretty popular in the last couple years:

Use reusable shopping bags!

Okay, I am sure that there have always been the super crunchy out there that have always brought there own bags with them to the store. I am also sure that there have always been those who gave the super crunchy weird looks for doing so. Not so anymore (okay, some people will still give you "the look" but we will try to forget about them). Every store from your favorite department store (not that you have one since you only shop at thrift stores) to Walmart seems to offer reusable bags that you can purchase anywhere from a quarter to $2 (more if they are insulated or from nicer material). And I will say that some of these bags are pretty stylish!

While of course you have to pay a little upfront to buy the bags, many stores do offer you a few cents back for each one you bring in. So eventually the bag could (possibly) pay for itself. But regardless of whether or not you had to spend a few dollars, cloth bags are a much better choice for the environment. At best only 7% of bags get recycled, with most ending up in the landfill or as litter. Plastic bags pose a big threat when not properly disposed of (meaning recycled!) because they can clog drains or end up being washed to sea where they can choke or be ingested by wildlife.

image from Getty Images

Cloth bags also have another advantage over plastic (two if you count the fact that they look so much better) - they hold much more and are stronger. No need to double bag your heavy groceries - feel free to stuff your reusable bag to the brim! I will admit that I do not always have a bag with me, but I try to eliminate this problem by either keeping a couple bags in the car or placing my empty bags by the door so I will see them when I need them. You can also purchase bags that roll up to keep in your purse!

So come on, ditch the plastic! What reason do you have not to? Oh, and you don't have to buy bags from the store. Bags are just about the easiest thing to make if you can sew even a reasonably straight line :)