what are the best reuseable bags?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(desertbriez @ Jun 12 2007, 06:08 PM) [snapback]460522[/snapback]</div>

I have about 20 of the Chicos - distributed in the cars, bike trailer and wife's purse. They work GREAT. The Acme ones aren't all that different and work similarly well (I bought some of them to compare, and ended up buying more Chicos because the stuff bag worked better.

(Thanks for the Sierra Nevada link - I need me some of those!)

AS for grocery stores - everybody around here gives us 5c for using reusable bags. They are the norm instead of something foreign.

Thanks for being part of the solution!

** Swell. I just ordered two of the Sierra Nevada bags... and a $70 bicycle jersey. Happy now!?

 

I bought one that looked like the first one @ Kroger with Kroger logo - $1.00 mde by Bring Your Own Bag. I like it and wish I would have bought more, but I don't see them lately. Wholefoods has what looks like the same bag for $2.00 in green.


I like that the bottom of the bag has a plastic type removable bottom that keeps it rigid. Good for bottles and such.


http://www.bringyourbag.com/index.php

I do use plastic bags for my trash.

 

I was looking for something like these. I'm going to get a couple of the ACME bags to try out. My cats aren't going to be happy that I stop bringing home paper bags for them to play in though.

 

Here in the DC area -- I bought four bags at Harris Teeter. Two are insulated with zipper tops and an insert on the bottom to keep the rectangular shape. The other two are regular canvas tote bags. They cost $3-$4 each. The insulated bags are especially nice. They hold a ton of stuff. I've used them at several different grocery store chains and have had no problems. The four bags are more than enough for my weekly shopping trips (for a single person), especially since I don't use bags for big stuff like six-packs of soda.

 

I bought 4 Chico bags, and they threw in the 5th one, free.
I love the bags! They have a little clip so I can clip it to my purse strap, and they are ripstop nylon, they hold a LOT, and they come in cool colors.
I bought all green ones, though.
I'd really like tie-dye next time... but, the way these are holding up, I may never get them!

Oh, I should mention that the Chico bags help people become self-sufficient, too. They are made by a group in Chico, CA, that is made up of women that would otherwise be on assistance. So, they are helping people help themselves. Bags with a social conscious, not just an environmental one

 

What do people who use reusable grocery bags use for garbage bags? Specifically, in small garbages like a bathroom or living room wastebasket?

I have considered a reusable shopping bag, but then I would end up buying small garbage bags anyway (which is how I reuse grocery bags currently).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nytimez @ Jun 13 2007, 04:37 PM) [snapback]461217[/snapback]</div>

Even with reusable bags, I am not perfect.
I will occasionally find myself in a store without one of my bags. So, I do still have an adequate supply of icky plastic bags for the bathroom trash, the kitty litter scooping, etc. I just no longer have an extravagant abundance of them!

You other option is to wash wastebaskets when they get soiled. All wet trash gets put into biodegradable composting bags, or some other option.

 

I use string bags. I was going to look into figuring out how to crochet my own, but it isn't really worth the materials and labor. I like the classic short handled string shopping bag but they also come in long handled over the shoulder totes. Ecobags string market bags. I like these because they really stretch and give to the shape of the contents. Something I don't like about the cloth bags for grocery shopping.

For travel I like baggallini. They come in three sizes and a lot of bright colors. I like that they fold into their own self-contained little square. When you unzip it and turn it inside out, you have a bad with handles and the little square becomes a pocket of the big bag.

baggallini zip out tote bag

Baggallini organized travel bagg

 

For canvas bags, a number of organizations I donate to have given me really nice canvas bags in return; I also picked up some really nice ones in Mexico where everybody uses them to go to the market.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nytimez @ Jun 13 2007, 06:37 PM) [snapback]461217[/snapback]</div>

A couple of times a month or so I'll go shopping without my canvas bags just so I can get some plastic bags (for kitty litter, trash can liners, etc.).

 

I was hoping mine would come yesterday, but it was a no-show. Maybe today. And just so you all know, I have saved a good 50+ paper bags for the cats. When the cats get bored with them I use them to hold the recycling that won't fit in the bin.

 

My favorite are the long strapped Whole Foods canvas bags. They're very strong, you can pack 'em in with tons of stuff and then throw them over your shoulder. They're not quite as large as paper grocery bags, but you can fit just as much stuff in as they can bare much more weight. If size is an issue for some of you folks, maybe you want to check these out. They're more expensive than the Trader Joe's bags, but the over the shoulder feature is so nice that they're worth the extra cost to me (not that I really neeeeeed free hands with my new fancy smart key ).

 

I got my Acme bags yesterday. I haven't put anything in them yet, but my wife was very impressed. I think I should go buy something just to use the bags. I can return whatever I bought later, since I really don't need what I would purchase.

I'm no longer making sense.