The Blog

How many times have I walked into a store to be confronted by the reusable shopping bag display, proudly proclaiming “GO GREEN”?

How many times have I watched some poor woman lug this stack of reusable shopping bags into the grocery store, and thought, “I will NEVER do that.”

Ahem.

I pulled the trigger and finally bought a stack of reusable shopping bags.

I know what you’re thinking.  “You’ll forget to take them out of the house.”  “You’ll never remember to take them into the store with you.”  “You’ll look silly!”

Yes, I’ve thought all that.

Here’s the thing.  I’m not a bleeding heart hippie.  Yes, I’d like to save the planet, but hell, I even live in a town where the sanitary department separates the recycling FOR you.  So I basically do nothing active to save the environment.  So why the reusable bags?  Why the attempt at “Going Green”?

I am Sick And Tired of having all those stupid plastic bags in the house.  Sick.   …and….   Tired.  They take up all this space under my sink.  We don’t reuse them for enough things to go through them in a timely manner.  And they break all the time!

And so, I decided to drop $15 or so and get some bags.  I merely went with the ones offered by my local grocery store.  I picked up 3 regular bags and 2 thermal ones.  5 bags seems to really cover my main twice a month shopping trip.  I picked these up about a month ago.  Since then, I’ve noticed a few things:

1.  These bags take up less room in the trunk of my Forester.

2.  The bags hold more groceries than the plastic ones.

3.  We can get the groceries into the house in fewer trips.

I’ve been so happy with my experiment, that I even bought a reusable bag from Target.  There I get 5 cents off my bill when I use the bag.  It’s better than nothing.   Last week, instead of having 6 plastic Target bags, I walked out with my 1 shopping bag full!

I am all about convenience.

So far, I’ve only actually forgotten the bags 1 time.  That happened to be on a quick run to the grocery store, while I was driving a borrowed car (as mine was in the shop….don’t ask)..  When I’m driving my car, I have my neet little grouping of bags in the trunk.  I just grab out what I need, head into the store….and I don’t come out with all those plastic bags!  And I don’t have those plastic bags taking over my kitchen!

Oh yes…this is a decision that I am currently loving.

My BFF (Kelley, of the Pioneer Quilter) …gave me gift cards to two different big-box craft stores for Christmas and my birthday.  (For which I will present her with her gifts when I get a job.  IOU!)

So Friday, D and I went out shopping, buying him all sorts of stuff like jeans and steel-toed boots for work.  Nothing for me.  Until we made a stop at one of those big-box craft stores.  I have it in my mind that I want to try out stamping and art journalling.  I needed supplies.  D told me I should buy more than my gift card, because I hadn’t bought any sort of scrapbooking supplies in a LONG time. 

Mind you…I don’t need D’s permission normally to buy things.  Rather, with my being unemployed and currently not contributing to the household finances, I feel rather like I should check with him before buying any non-necessities.  It’s my issue, not his. 

Anyways.  So I happily spent my gift card and an extra $20.  I came home with several supplies to get me started on my new crafting endeavor.

That was Friday.

Over the weekend, I heard tell that another big-box store…for which I do NOT have a gift card…carried the fancy Copic markers I’m lusting after.  Hmmmm.

So today, while on a trip to the grocery store, I made a, er, short detour to big-box store with gift card #2….spent the gift card and an extra $20 (I swear, the stamping supplies were all on SALE).  Then, I, um, just happened to nip over into that 3rd big-box store.  Of course it was just to SEE if they DID carry those markers. 

They do. 

I bought some Copic liners. 

I did have the 40% off coupon for the store, though. 

Seriously, unemployment is torture for shopping lovers.  Really, I don’t buy scrapbooking or crafting supplies with every paycheck.  But I do venture out at least once or twice a month and drop $25 or so.  But this…this has just been driving me nuts.  I’m SO glad Kelley gave me those gift cards.  Sanctioned, no-guilt shopping!  (Now I must never go into one of those stores again….until this drought ends.)