cat sank trio

No bags!

Hi All–I’ve been struck by an idea. Maybe some of you will think it’s beyond obvious. Maybe some of you will think it’s beyond belief. I’m not trying to sell you anything–except an extremely simple thought.

     If you are like our family, you are making slight adjustments in your life and habits to be more aware of the environment, to become more “green.” One of the ways many are doing this is to buy cloth bags for carrying groceries–to reduce or eliminate the use of plastic bags. A few weeks ago we were shopping, and when we were checking out we realized that we had forgotten our cloth bags at home. When the employee asked if we wanted paper or plastic, I said, “Neither. We’ll just take our items out in the cart.”

     The check-out girl was stunned. She stared at me for a moment, then said, “I wish all our customers would do that! I’ve never heard anyone suggest that before!” (It is actually her reaction that is still provoking me to write this). We rolled the shopping cart of items out of the store, loaded the stuff into our car, and it was no problem at all to carry our purchases into the house. Since then, I’ve been doing this all the time (and I almost always get startled reactions from store employees).

     Such a gesture seems so simple to me–but a revelation, too. Maybe we’ve grown so used to the idea of having bags of some sort that our acceptance of them is automatic. Here is my proposal: the next time you’re in a store of any kind, ask for no bags (there are some exceptions to this rule, of course–such as if you bought 2,456 tiny beads). Cart your items out. If you wish, keep your cloth bags in your car or in your garage (then you never have to remember to bring them into the store) for transport to the house. Bag your items in your car, in your garage, or not at all. Voila!–drastic measures taken toward the ultimate end of plastic bag use. I think I’m going to have a t-shirt printed up that reads “Just say no to bags.” I may even suggest that you all start calling me “No Bags” (that is, if you ignore the ones under my eyes).

     As I read this blog, I’m beginning to realize that Lori was probably right (again)–there is a fine line between simple and downright idiotic. Perhaps most of you have been bagless for ages already. But I have resolved myself to post this, no matter what–and if three or four of you hadn’t thought of this yet, then today I’ve made one feeble (or perhaps feeble-minded) gesture toward bettering our planet.     

Thanks for letting me get this double-bagged weight off my chest.

Sincerely (in a Linus sort of way)

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Security Image (required)