Over the past few years, I've developed a tic. It only manifests when I am at a store, any store...like the grocery store or Target or Home Depot
(ugh) or elsewhere. It happens at the checkout lane, after all my items have been rung up, and right when the salesperson pulls out the store plastic bags and starts to bag my items. That's right, I'll come out and say it:
I hate plastic bags. I detest plastic bags. I dislike them so much that I actually start twitching when I see one (
told you I had a tic).
Over the years, my shopaholic tendencies and general appetite for food has guaranteed a mountain of plastic bags in my home. And I've always puzzled over what to do with them. I bought a handy container to stuff them in but then realized I needed about 10 more said handy containers to contain them all. I'd stuff them into other like-sized plastic bags until I had a closet full of large plastic balls just waiting to attack me when I opened the door. Sure, we'd try to reuse them as much as we could--and they are handy for puppy walks and cleanups and such. But really, the ratio of bags
in to bags
out was too great and not only was I overwhelmed by the sheer amount, I also felt
guilty. Guilty for having so many of them as evidence of my shopping exploits, and guilty that I wasn't able to reuse them quickly enough.
Enter the reusable bag. I guess other people became worried about these mountains of plastic bags suffocating households in America and subsequently the earth, because there suddenly was this huge initiative to
"go green" and start eliminating plastic bags.
Ha-le-lu-jah! I hopped on the wagon, drank the kool aid and became an immediate convert and that's when
Baggu entered my life. They are *the* best reusable bags and here are a couple of reasons why:
- They are portable: they roll into a tiny 5x5 pouch that fits into your purse. If it's more convenient, you'll use it more and that has been so true in my case
- They are lightweight: made of ripstop nylon so the only thing you're hauling is your purchase
- They carry a lot: the regular Baggu hold up to 50lbs and there is plenty of room to fit cereal boxes, bags of chips, 2 shoe boxes (I've tested this before) or all the candy you'll get for Halloween
- They are stylish: they truly are! Now first of all, they are competing with plastic bags so yeah, I get that they do have an edge. But now Baggu comes in so many different colors and patterns and I am especially excited about the ones here at the top of my wishlist:
Elephant print
Constellation print in collaboration with the No.6 store
Side note: I love the No.6 store and soon I will also be
skipping along when I obtain both the Baggu and the clogs
And there are also these fabulous zip cases that I'm itching to get
(look how organized I could be!)
I'm certainly not changing the world in any great manner by using my Baggu bags. But I do know that there are very few plastic bags lurking around in my house now and I feel a tremendous amount of relief knowing that I can open closet doors without ducking. And because I need to reuse my bag
(there is always more to buy after all!), I am more likely to take out purchases and put them in their proper place instead of letting them languish on the kitchen table. Oh and I also like my 5 cents credit I get back from Target when I do bring my own bag to use. Win-win-win.
(This is the part of a post where bloggers would state if they are affiliated with the company (I'm not) or if they have received any items courtesy of the company (I haven't but would certainly never look a gift Baggu in the mouth). So yes, I really am a huge fan of Baggu and I think they're a great way to help simplify your life, reduce clutter, get that 5 cents kickback at Target, and reduce tics*)
*only my tic
