Rather than just giving someone a gift bag that they will discard,
give them a reusable tote bag or shopping bag
that can be used over and over again.

Smaller tote bags are available from craft stores. If you want to do something a little different just get a bag from your local grocer and put the person’s gifts in them. Most of the bags are green anyway. Then if you want, you can just add a ribbon and a tag.

This is useful and practical because most gift bags cost about $1-$5. Using a reusable bag as gift wrap will give you an opportunity to give someone an additional part of a gift that is useful. Also, it is possible to encourage reuse. In larger cities I am sure that you have seen people carrying the heavier shopping bags from boutiques and other stores. It may be because of the fashion but after a while even those bags break. Help your loved ones out by giving them a nicer bag that they can use for many purposes. Chico and Envirosax have some nice bags if you don’t want to get the ones from the grocery store.

If you choose the really cheap route and if you have the inclination, you could also go to the thrift store or a dollar plus store and buy some misprinted bags. The bags may be cheap, but again like advertising for a grocery store, you are giving away free advertising. Some of the reusable shopping bags available at stores do not have the store’s name or logo on them.

It’s your choice but I would rather spend a few dollars more on a present by giving them something useful, not just for a bag or other wrapping that will end up in the garbage a few minutes later.

Declaring war on the “white pollution” choking its cities, farms and waterways, China is banning free plastic shopping bags and calling for a return to the cloth bags of old — steps largely welcomed by merchants and shoppers on Wednesday.

The measure eliminates the flimsiest bags and forces stores to charge for others, making China the latest nation to target plastic bags in a bid to cut waste and conserve resources.

See the rest of the AP article here.

I read this article yesterday and decided that I needed to reclaim my house from the plastic pests. I do use some plastic bags but there are just so many plastic bags that seem to multiply. So I bit the bullet and decided that I was going to take out all of the bags in my pantry and sort them.

In the end, I had two bags of bags that I put in the recycling bin downstairs. Bags of bags! Ugh! I did not rid myself of all plastic because honestly the ones from a couple of retailers are thicker and great to reuse when traveling for putting some wet or potentially leaky things in.

I also decided to do the 30-day plastic bag diet. I had been using cloth or other heavy duty bags and reusing some plastic bags but there were just so many.

Plastic is useful but needs to be managed. I reuse some plastic bags. But before I bit the bullet, I decided that I was going to purge my house of extraneous plastic bags. The past few trips to the grocery store, I have taken my own bags. My cleaning also made me think that I could take my own bags to certain stock up stores. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about their bags not being sturdy enough for me. We’ve all been there when you have had a plastic bag split or tear before you’ve left the register.

In making this change I know I will save money and energy because I do not have to empty six small plastic bags, I can just empty one. Of course this new trend makes people want to spend a lot of money for a fancy bag which is fine but the frugal way to do it is to use some other totes you have at home or buy the sturdy synthetic non-woven bags from the store for a buck. The other day when I went on a fact find mission with my mother, [we went to shop, saw nothing we wanted to buy... we did a lot of looking] I saw fashionable canvas bags.

They were beautiful to look at but wouldn’t hold much because the sides on one bag featured sewn gussets. This beauty was a “bargain” for $18. Another I saw had snaps on the side and was a mere $20. If you go to the dollar store or dollar plus you will be able to find a bag that you can use. Once I bought a bag because I didn’t know I was going to a baseball game after work and bought a bag for 50¢ the only problem with the bag was that there was a misprint. It was a perfectly useful canvas bag. I found several canvas bags that I got free with a museum membership that I can use. Instead of plastic I will be using these more often and the unstructured bags I can tuck into a purse or keep them in my car.

I read a comment that a person made about if we are carrying two pounds of canvas bags in our vehicles we would be using more gas. But if we use less plastic (or even reuse the heavier plastic bags) globally this will make a bigger impact because there will be less of a demand for oil.

You probably have done it before but haven’t mentioned it. I will admit it. I reuse resealable plastic bags. Not all of them mind you because I do not want to wash them. In some instances it is just easy to reuse a plastic bag.

For example some of the beads I use to make jewelry are sent in resealable plastic bags. There is nothing wrong with them so I may store other materials inside. They are good for multiple uses until they rip or tear.

Travel… I never liked carrying my toiletries onboard the plane so it doesn’t bother me to check my luggage. But things tend to leak and/or spill from the jostling around. I put small items that would leak in one of those snack size bags and use a store bag to put the whole toiletry kit inside so incase there are items that explode. I have had this happen before because of baggage handling/air pressure.

Lunch… sometimes I will reuse the bag if I am taking a similar type of item the next day or so that isn’t wet. If I put chips in a bag and will have the same type or similar type of chips the next day or so for lunch I will reuse the bag again. Even if I am going on a trip and want to take a snack, I might carry a smaller plastic bag and put a snack inside. A few plain M&Ms are a good pick me up during an afternoon of sightseeing and you save money by using some out of a large bag and having the amount you need rather than buying several individual bags.

I haven’t gotten to the point of washing resealable bags for future use because by the time I have to use soap, water and effort to clean the bag – to me it is not worth it. A solid container on the other hand like a glass jar or sturdy plastic container is worth the effort – not a plastic bag.

Reusing containers or giving them a new purpose is a great way to save money and the environment. The less plastic you use, the less oil you consume.

Repurposing items is another way to go. If you use a thrift store item in a constructive way for a use than it was created for you are repurposing an item.

I am content reusing some resealable bags. Store bags make great garbage bags for small items. Even the plastic grocery store bags can be reused for another trip to the store. Some stores have heavier plastic which take longer to degrade in the environment but can be used again and again. Save money by taking your own bag to the store. If more people saved money by taking their own bags then fewer people would use a lot less oil.

In the US alone we use approximately 12 million barrels of oil to produce plastic bags. Yes they are convenient, but for a plastic product that will be thrown away we should find a better way to use oil.

If you are in need of a reusable bag alternative for lunch – use a sturdy plastic container that is meant to be used hundreds of times. Even when a plastic container gets a small crack in it, it can be used for another purpose.