Now Where Did I Put Those Bags?

As an advocate of recycling and using less, I have a confession to make: I often find myself in the checkout line at the grocery store without my reusable grocery bags. If I bought something that I can carry out in my hands, I refuse a bag. Otherwise, I have to answer with guilt when asked, “Plastic or paper?”

I try to keep reusable bags in my car. I have been known to run to the car while my groceries are being scanned to retrieve my bags. I’d like for the bags to go back into the car for the next time, but I have not trained them (oops, myself) to return to the car after unloading groceries.

When I worked regularly, I often had a reusable tote with me that I used to carry my lunch and iPod with me each day. I always had a bag with me when I stopped by the store on the way home from work.

When I confessed to the checker at my favorite grocery store earlier this week that I had forgotten my bags at home, she offered another reminder. She said, “Place the bags by the grocery list. That way, when you pick up the list, the bags are there.” What a simple solution, I thought! Or, if I don’t want the bags lying on the countertop with my list, I could write a note on the list to get the bags from the pantry.

That is, if I remember the list.

Tell us: What do you do to remember your reusable bags?

More articles about bags:

• Take the Bag Back

• Take It Out, Take It In

• My What Big Hands You Have

• Under the Influence

• Bag It Outside

• Just the Food, Please

About the Author:

Barbara Mathieson is a print production and solutions consultant. She is a commissioner on Nashville’s Metro Beautification Environment Commission and a docent at the Nashville Zoo. An avid environmentalist, she started her blog, The Earth Is Not a Trash Can because she was disgusted at the amount of litter she finds.