How to Get Rid of the Worst Reusable Grocery Bags
Unless you’re actually using a reusable grocery bag, it’s worse for the environment than a plastic bag . We’ve already told you how to choose a reusable bag that you will actually use . But what about all the ugly, bulky, non-stackable bags that seem to magically pile up in every home? Turn them into someone else’s problem, but in a good way: use them to collect whatever comes out of your house.
Register your bags
My sister baked me a birthday cake; I want to give her back the pie dish in something better than a plastic shopping bag. I have books for one friend, baby clothes for another. So, each of them ends up in one of my unnecessary bags. I can hand over the bag without requiring it back.
The same philosophy I apply to umbrellas: hold enough so you can always pass one to a guest. Reusable bags (as well as cheap umbrellas and anything else that is cheap and convenient) should feel like a communal property that we give and take away. It’s an abundance mentality, but for good stuff. You give them one today, they give you tomorrow, and every bank, magazine, or farmer’s market continues to replenish your supply.
Donate your bags
I always had a bag full of things at home that I could turn in to Goodwill, Out of the Closet, or Housing Works . And it always took me too long to get it out of the house, so I ended up carrying a stuffed paper or plastic bag that started ripping the block out of the donation bin. I still have a stuffed bag now, but at least it’s a sturdy, reusable bag.
I usually have to confirm to the staff that no, I don’t need to return the bag. They breathe a sigh of relief, I am relieved, and they can find the next use for the ugly bag from the SxSW 2012. The housing and communal services representative informs me by e-mail: “We use any abandoned bag that can be reused. We usually use large IKEA bags for [large] purchases, and we also sell canvas bags. We are holding a concert here dedicated to not wasting money. We even use disposable bags for stuffing shoes and bags at the show. “
It also helped me get rid of all those weird paper shopping bags sold in clothing stores that seem too trendy to throw away right away. Instead of stuffing them with gifts until they explode, I just recycle or (reluctantly) throw them away. Now when I shop for clothes, I don’t ask for a bag and put it in a really nice reusable bag that I always carry.
Use them
Not like real grocery or shopping bags, but whenever you have to carry a bunch of crap around and don’t want to get your nice bags dirty. Use that does not require the bag to be carried everywhere (which these bulky bags are ill-suited for). Use them as a modular bag inside your “real” bag, for sportswear, extra shoes or any dirty waste you carry around the world.
These bags are like a pair of stained jeans that you wear when you paint the walls, or sneakers that you only wear for mowing the lawn: they can get ruined, but they are sturdy enough to handle the task. Maybe someday there will finally be a response to them, and companies will stop shoving these bags into our hands. Then you have to find a new way to store your donations. It would be nice to have a problem like this.