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This week I’m going to take you on a tour of the grocery store.  Let’s look at every department and find out where you can cut out the plastic. 

But before you even set foot in the store you have to have a plastic free way to transport your items home.  Why?  Well, I’ll let these statistics from the Ocean Crusaders speak for themselves.  “Shoppers worldwide are using approximately 500 billion single-use plastic bags per year.  This translates to about a million bags every minute across the globe, or 150 bags a year for every person on earth. And that number is rising.”  I think you know where all those plastic bags end up.  Paper bags could be an option, but they have their own problems and the point here is to get away from single use items.  So let’s get to it and kick-off this week of plastic reduction!

Today’s Challenge: Take a few moments today and put together a shopping kit.  Grab 3 to 4 reusable bags that you have lying around and put them in your car or place them near your home exit.  If you don’t have any bags, then write it on your wish list.  Good cotton and canvas shopping bags are washable and will last you a lifetime.  But wait!  Don’t stop at grocery bags.  I want you to also consider getting reusable mesh produce bags. You can also find muslin bags can be used for both produce and also bulk items like rice, beans, and flour.  Stuff all of your bags inside one of the bigger bags so it is easy to grab on your way in to the store.  That’s it!  You are ready to go.  See below for an example of my grocery kit. It is more than just bags and I’ll explain that later this week. Today, just focus on the bags. You feel a little funny at first bringing things into the store, but the feeling doesn’t last and trust me, nobody cares! 

Now when you get to the store you have to remember to grab those bags and take them with you.  Here are a few tips to make sure you always have your bags. 

• Make sure that when you are done putting your groceries away at home, that you immediately return the bags to the car. 
• Write “BAGS” at the top of your grocery list and put a reminder in your phone. 
• If you forget your bags in the car, park your shopping cart to the side and run back out to the car to get them.  I can’t tell you how many times I have done this!  The store employees are very forgiving. 
• If you forget your bags at home, put your purchased groceries back into the cart without bags and then load the individual items into your car.  I guarantee if you do this once or twice you will never forget your bags again!

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