Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Be More Green!

I have had an idea for a while now to have a weekly post on how you can be a little more environmentally friendly.

My first post on the topic is about those dumb plastic bags we all have coming out of our ears. The most recent thing I have done to be more green is bought reusable grocery bags to eliminate plastic bag use. If you read this website you will be shocked at how many of these bags are used every year and the effect on our environment. If you spend $20-30 (possibly less depending on where you buy them) on reusable grocery bags you will be part of helping save our environment. And you will be contributing for a healthy future for our children and grandchildren!

Target, Whole Foods, Walmart and lots of other stores sell these bags. You can take them to the mall or the grocery store!

One trick to remembering to take them with you to the store is to leave them in your car or by the door you leave to go shopping!

11 comments:

Daniel said...

I agree.

Here's some fun things you can do with the bags that you do end up with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i1W9Mi7jPM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB1mE8e35UY

amelia said...

Word! That is awesome!!! I love those ideas!

How did someone come up with the idea to crochet plastic bags???!!!

Unknown said...

We totally do this!! I walk to HEB with Ace is my wrap while I carry my canvas (Central Market) bags. I feel very green at that moment. Granted, I don't buy a gallon of milk when I make those trips, unless Daniel walks with me.

It is true, that you have to remember to bring them.

We also have to tell the bagger peeps, that we want No Plastic! Really, I can carry a carton of eggs without a bag, it's not that hard.

Sharon M said...

When we were in Denmark last year, we noticed that they SOLD the plastic bags with your groceries. They were good, sturdy ones that you could re-use several times, but you had to pay for them. I bet Americans would be up in arms about that!
Now that we're in walking distance to the grocery store (and have no car), we use our backpacks. It's great exercise and it helps us curb our spending habits b/c now we have to carry all this stuff home (and uphill, no less).
Amelia, when you get the chance can you do a post on "green" cleaning products, ie which ones are the best, what cleaning products to avoid, acceptable substitutions?

amelia said...

sharon,

i already had that on my list! maybe i'll do that one next week.

this should be fun!

Dawn said...

Sharon, we bought several of those sturdy plastic bags in Hungary when we lived there. They charge a nominal fee, and that's just the way they do stuff over there. Plus, you have to bag it all yourself. I'd love to see more Americans in those situations! Ha!

Kelly said...

Amelia, Todd and I reuse our bags for dog waste and are always looking for more bags, so if you find yourself with the bags anyway, we'd love to take them off of your hands. Any ideas for what we could do instead of bags for our mounds of dog crap?

amelia said...

Hmmm....Kelly....

Just thinking out side the box a little bit. What about getting a reusable (washable) bag that you can pick up the poo in and then dump it (just the poo) in the toilet?

You could make a few cloth baggies to pick up the poop in.

Or...I have read about a canister thing that you put into the ground and add a little enzyme (if I remember correctly) that you put the doggie poo into and it breaks down in the earth.

check this out:

http://www.petstreetmall.com/Dog-Waste-Disposal-Systems/460.html

amelia said...

http://www.petstreetmall.com/Dog-Waste-Disposal-Systems/460.html

I don't think the full link went through on the last comment.

mamabrown said...

What a great idea! I always have plenty of bags around to use and reuse. Now if I can remember to take them with me to the store. Maybe the paperbag piggie (a cute piggy head with a "dress" to collect the bags)will have to live in the car instead of the kitchen...

Anonymous said...

Hi Amelia!

I found this little project a while back & have been meaning to try it:

http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/howTos/article/fusing-plastic-bags-with-the-etsy-labs/1098/

It's instructions on fusing together plastic bags & making them into reusable bags, placemats, bibs, you name it!

I love this idea for a regular feature, by the way...