The Scourge of the 21st Century

I see those plastic shopping bags everywhere. Stuck up in trees or on telephone wires. Floating around on the streets. Full of garbage and lying in the streets. In parking lots, at the beach, in the ocean, in the forest.

I can see that they do have some usefulness. For people who don't plan ahead and take their own bags to the store. For folks who use them to pick up their doggy doo (I do this). I've used them as packing material when sending gifts through the mail. Some people use them in place of bought garbage bags. Good for you.

In this family we trade books back and forth. And we save things for each other like Starbucks coffee jars, rubber bands, pine cones, egg cartons, cottage cheese and yogurt containers to use as hillbilly Tupperware, whatever someone may have asked us to save. When we go to each others' houses, we always go home with something and we have a running joke about getting rid of as many of the plastic shopping bags as possible. Here, let me double-bag that!

When I go shopping I always take my collection of market bags with me. It irritates me no end to have a cashier automatically pack my purchases in plastic bags when I've put mine on the conveyor. I'm also irritated when I buy something that's already packaged, like a bag of potatoes, a carton of milk, a bag of oranges - and the cashier puts it in a bag! What?! I need to get a grip. Plastic shopping bags are the automatic go-to. They're part of our culture.

Most of my grocery shopping happens at Winco. They give a .06 cent bag refund if you bring your own. Love that! I've heard rumors that some businesses will no longer be providing bags. I smile, I'm hopeful, I wanna believe . . . but it's like the Bigfoot legend. In the realm of possibility, but not likely.

Of my collection of market bags and baskets I have three favorites. One is a basket I take to farmers market and the garden truck.

It's sturdy, it's beautiful, it's Native-made of natural materials. I love it.

The second is a bag I got from Trader Joe's. I went out of town on business and they had a TJ there. So I had to check it out. I bought the coolest bag they had. I think it was $4. It may have just about paid for itself by now with the Winco .06 cent bag refund. I got it about three years ago.

It's a good bag. It looks nice. It's strong. It says "Sailing the culinary seas"on it. Plus it's light and folds up to just about nothing.

The third is a bag I made myself.

I like it because it used up lots of the bits and scraps of yarn that were too small for their own project, or weird colors, or that I'd not have used any other way. It was super-easy to crochet. I also like it because it gets me lots of complements from the dreaded, beaded, and pierced folks at the natural foods store. It makes me feel cool (is that a word any more?). Or hipsterish (I know that's a word, but does it apply?). Or something.

So, if plastic shopping bags go away what'll I use for dog dooty or packing material, you ask? Well, there's always bread bags, orange bags, potato bags . . .