Thrifty Mommy

23 opinions for Do You Bring Your Own Bags to the Store?

• Heather Young
  Mar 26, 2008 at 4:12 pm

  I have been bringing my own bags off and on for years–I like to shop at a place that the bags cost money but you can bring your own. It works for me. I take bags to regular stores too but the cashiers are often confused about how to handle them since they are used to their little hurry up and bag holders. So, I prefer places that let me bag myself.

• Laura
  Mar 26, 2008 at 4:18 pm

  I take 2 huge bags that I got at Ikea to the grocery store. I do use the plastic bags that I do get for pet waste. So yes I take bags and yes I couldn’t live without plastic bags I get for free. I just don’t need so many plastic bags.

• Kati
  Mar 26, 2008 at 5:01 pm

  I have 3 bags right now and it is usually more than enough for all my grocery shopping and even another stop to two. I will often consolidate items if I have gone to multiple stores so that I can take an empty bag into the next store. I LOVE that we only have a few plastic bags sneaking their way into our house these days.

• Wendy
  Mar 26, 2008 at 5:24 pm

  I have a ton of bags to use at stores. I try my darndest to keep them in the car, the trick is when they go into the house with groceries, or target shopping, and don’t get back to the car in time for the next trip.. that drives me nuts! I learned I need more bags than I can actually carry, because the transfer from the house, back to the car isn’t yet efficient. :)

  The only place I still get plastic, and it drives me nuts as I can’t figure out a way to avoid it, is take-out food, much chinese etc around here bags it in plastic, and I don’t want all that ucky drippy sauce on my bags, so alas, we still get a few, but it’s getting better!

  There are a number of times I’m in a store and get one thing, and I just ask them to skip the bag, I can carry it just as easily out to the car, and avoid all the bags. This is a great thread.

• Kristin
  Mar 26, 2008 at 6:26 pm

  I just started doing this about a month ago at the grocery store. Not only is it better for the environment, it makes it easier to lug the groceries in the house! I prefer to bag my own groceries, but have noticed that the baggers are a bt confused by my reusable bags.

• Allison
  Mar 26, 2008 at 6:56 pm

  Similar to Laura, I both couldn’t live without my plastic bags (for recycling purposes where I live) and hate getting so many, so I bring my own about 2/3 of the time. And, like Kristen, when I have my own bags with me I always go to the self-checkout lines!

• Meredith
  Mar 26, 2008 at 7:41 pm

  We have several canvas and other types of bags that we’ve gotten free at events, so we just keep those in our cars. We even have one that is insulated, which is great in the summer. Most of the cashiers at the stores we frequent are pretty cool about the bags, or they’ve just gotten used to us. One of our grocery stores even gives us 3 cents off for each bag that we use! (Giant Foods, if anyone is interested.)

• Tami
  Mar 26, 2008 at 9:14 pm

  I have canvas bags. Just today I brought them along so I could do a test. I bought $94 worth of groceries at a bargain grocery store. I had the bagger put them in plastic bags and I took them to the car and transferred what I had bought to my canvas bags. I used 5 canvas bags and they used 27 plastic bags. I am loving my canvas bags especially after seeing how much more they hold and how much of a waste the plastic is.

• Allison
  Mar 26, 2008 at 9:19 pm

  Envirosax are the absolute best reusable bags. 5 cute nylon bags roll up and snap to hold in place inside a little pouch, that’s about 6″x9″. I always get asked about them. Google Envirosax and you can find the best deal, usually about $30. It makes a fabulous housewarming gift. (I swear I don’t work for them - I just love them!)

• Kelly Perry
  Mar 27, 2008 at 6:48 am

  I take totes. My husband gets paper when he goes as he uses them for the litter box routine. we don’t like the plastic ones but do try to either reuse the ones we get as bathroom trash liners or recycle them with our plastics.

• Kelly
  Mar 27, 2008 at 6:49 am

  um, can you remove my last comment since my last name is on there?

  I take totes. My husband gets paper when he goes as he uses them for the litter box routine. we don’t like the plastic ones but do try to either reuse the ones we get as bathroom trash liners or recycle them with our plastics.

• Maria
  Mar 27, 2008 at 11:46 am

  I keep cloth bags in my car so that I always have them. I also have a couple of other reusable bags back there from cosco. My friends say I do it because I got so used to it while living in Europe, and I agree with them. I am used to bringing my own and do it regularly.

  At Wild Oats (now Whole Foods), we always got a wooden nickel (used to donated to charities) or 5 cents off per bag. The more “mainstream” stores (Reasors, etc) always looked at us funny, but now I see they are selling their own reusable bags too. Their baggers still hate me. LOL!

• Kathy
  Mar 27, 2008 at 3:54 pm

  I bought 6 GreenBags and I use those everywhere I shop. I leave them in the van so I just need to remember them when I go shopping. I have never had any issues with the baggers not liking them because they usually find them easier to pack.

• Peggy
  Mar 27, 2008 at 5:03 pm

  Yes, I take my own and I’m surprised at the surprise of some of the cashiers. One cashier at Target a few days ago said, “So, you want me to put your stuff in here?” She was amazed. : )

• Hannah
  Mar 27, 2008 at 5:38 pm

  I have to admit that I use the plastic bags. I’m not a big fan of cleaning my trash cans out by hand so I use the plastic bags as can liners. Each bag usually lasts a few weeks before i have to pull it out. (i just dump the trash into a big trash bag once a week right now. I’m sure that will change when my husband decides he’s ready for children.)

• jess
  Mar 28, 2008 at 8:10 pm

  we do! i bought 4 regular bags for $0.99 each at kroger and then they gave us a free freezer bag. i have brought the freezer bag into other stores. i also have 1 big target bag and 1 small one which i have also brought into other grocery stores.

• Tiffany
  Mar 30, 2008 at 11:18 am

  My house has made the switch to canvas bags. We’ve been taking them to the grocery store for the past 6 months, but we haven’t gotten up the nerve to take them into other businesses, yet!

• Elizabeth
  Mar 30, 2008 at 1:54 pm

  We just got some reusable bags, but we can’t seem to get them where we need them!

  They’ll be in the other car, or the kids stick them in the pantry. Still trying to get a routine.

  We use plastic bags for all kinds of other stuff, so we do have some of those as well.

• jamie
  Mar 30, 2008 at 10:29 pm

  I have never bought a re-usable bag. I like the idea, but I am the kind of person who’d put it somewhere, forget about it, and never use it again. I love the plastic grocery bags…we save them and use them to put scooped kitty poop and dirty diapers in.

• Kisha @ Proud SAHM
  Mar 31, 2008 at 12:08 am

  I have about 8 re-usable bags, some that I bought from Walmart, one from Safeway, and a couple from my local Co-op. I love them. I get weird looks when I walk across a parking lot (i park as far away as possible to sneak in some more exercise) and into the store with my big black bags. I’ve even taken to using the bag for trips to the library and I get more books. I try to limit getting plastic bags from other stores. What few bags I do get I take back to be recycled at Safeway.

• Karen
  Mar 31, 2008 at 10:29 pm

  I went to Lowe’s Foods today and was going to pick up another reusable bag, but they were completely out of stock! Did you guys buy them all???? lol

• Lindsey
  Apr 2, 2008 at 8:19 am

  I have about 6 of them. Most are the big target bags that are double the size of the regular reusable bags. They are great! I also have a couple smaller freezer bags. Most cashiers still look at me like I’m crazy when I whip them out, and I’ve had a couple cashiers pack everything in plastic bags and THEN put them in the reusable bags…to which I promptly put an end to.

  The one thing I miss about plastic bags is that we used to use them to empty our cat’s litter box and for trash can liners….oh well…I guess we’ll have to find something else to use.

• bekah
  Apr 12, 2008 at 10:12 am

  At Cub we use the cardboard totes we bought a while ago. We can recycle plastic bags around here, plus I use them for bathroom and office garbage bags, so I don’t mind when I get plastic ones from Target, although we usually get paper.

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