Grocery bag questions

[Lil Bunny]

OK Kiddies, I need your help/advice.

I'm finally breaking down and getting into this whole reusable bag thingy. I've got four so far. 2 from Walgreens (awesomeness in red, they zip into little purse sized packs) and 2 new ones from local grocery store. I'm going to try to buy 2 every time I hit these places. This way I can ensure I have enough for the "big" trecks. LOL they also make nice lunch bags.

Well the gal almost didn't charge me for the 2 this afternoon. If I hadn't have told her, I could have walked out with them. VERY VERY glad I told her. This got me thinking, how do you guys know if a person brought them in or not? Should I tell someone when I first come in? I'm going to mark mine on the bottom with my initials but I'm still paranoid.

Also, how do you go about making sure the meat doesn't leak? Yes I know they're washable. I'm more worried about my car/cross contamination. Would a basic towel in the bottom help with this or do you guys have any other ideas? Generally this isn't a big problem but I want to be prepared. This is a concern with the cleaning stuff as well. Should I be washing the bags for both each time I shop or is this over kill?

Ok onto shopping. Most of the time, I use a cart (I'm not lugging 35lbs of cat litter around). Is it ok to start setting stuff in the bags (such as veggies in one bag, frozen in another, chemicals in another) so that they're sorted when I get up there or is this looked down upon? I sort stuff when I'm putting it on the belt anyhow but that doesn't always give a good signal to the bagger. Also, I feel bad for the bagger because they don't sit as nicely as the plastic bags on the rack thingy. It just seems so less convenient for them you know? Do I offer to help or what's the correct protocol?

Another big one is storage. Yes they're all folded up and put into one to save room. Is it easier to store in the car or on the coat rack? How do you make sure you remember them when you're just running out for something small? Should I leave one in my car for those "just in case" moments?

I do have to admit, I really like them so far. I can carry 4 2-liters of my soda in one bag with out worrying. The flat bottoms also are awesome for when I haul everything in. They also seem to hold so much more than the plastic or paper bags. Just when you think you aren't going to change...*sigh*

Thanks in advance!!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I don't work in grocery, so I can speak for what cashiers prefer, but I have a great big stack of them in various sizes and a couple that are insulated, and love them.

To keep them handy, I just keep them all in my vehicle in a big basket and remove what I think I need when I go in the store.

If I buy new ones, I leave the tags on and simply tell the cashier I'm buying the bag.

I offer to bag myself, if there is no bagger, because I realize they might be a little more awkward and take up a little more time.

I wash them when they start looking dirty or if I know something like meat or chemicals leaked on them.

Usually, a store bagger will offer to bag meat in plastic so it won't leak on my bags. I go on and accept that, I don't want raw meat juices on my bags if I can help it, so I figure I'll just go on and take the one or two plastic bags if they are offered.

I have them from many stores, so if I can, I grab one from a different store than the one I'm in. Sometimes you can't help using say, Food Lion bags in Food Lion, but if I can mix it up, I will.

[Food Lady]

If I did buy meat, I guess I would accept the fact that sometimes you can't get around plastic. (Some things we throw in recycling do end up in landfills, after all, but we try anyway.) I sometimes forget my bags, so I accept plastic and re-use as trash. Maybe you could take the few you do get to the store to re-use for the meat.

As a cashier, I would be frustrated to have to take stuff out of bags to scan & out back in. Pre-sorting to the belt I think is fine. I usually give the casier all the heavy stuff first so it goes on bottom. I load slowly so she/he can only grab what I give her.

[AdminAssistant]

I keep mine in the back seat of my car, and I'm pretty good about remembering. Anytime I get something that might leak, and the bagger offers to put it in a plastic bag, I'll tell them to. I reuse those as trash bags anyway. When I'm shopping, I keep all my bags in the front part of the buggy (y'know where kids are supposed to ride). When I go to check out, I just put them on the belt before my order and let the bagger handle it however they like. But I'm not terribly picky about how my stuff is packed.

[Lil Bunny]

Cool, thanks guys! I'm glad to know that I'm not going to burn in ecology hell if I still get a plastic bag or two.

You guys rock.

[Sliceanddice]

i wish i rembered my bags every time, i even bought and awesome keychain one form wally world that is currently on my moms dresser but as for meat what i do is actually bring plastic bags from previous shopping trips and line the reuaeable bag with it, then only toss that bag when its bloody that way i dont have to waste another bag.
*i use my bags as doogy bags too and i still have like 200 in my kitchen*

[Lil Bunny]

Ok Slice that is an awesome idea. We have a TON of old bags that we generally use as kitty litter bags. Even then we have a whole drawer full of them. I'll have to keep this in mind! Thank you!!

[Becks]

Cashier here.

I usually know if a customer has brought in their own bags if they aren't the same ones we sell in the store, has their name or initials on them, and/or they no longer have the tags.

As for meats and chemical stuff, we ask if they want them wrapped in plastic. (I'm sure this annoys some customers, but too bad. We're trying to be nice--or something.)

As for putting your groceries in the bag prior to purchase...how I feel about that depends on my mood. Sorry I can't help you there.

I say at work that if I had a dollar for every time a customer left a reusable bag at home/in the car, I wouldn't need to work for a week. At least once, though, I suggested to a woman that she keep the bag(s) near her purse. She thought that was a good idea.



I don't know if I was helpful or not, but I figured I'd answer this anyway.

[Gravekeeper]

One of the grocery stores here has 100% biodegradable "plastic" bags. To quote the side of the bag: "The plastic used in this bag will convert to water, carbon dioxide and biomass in the presence of soil, heat, moisture and oxygen. Like a fallen leaf, it will disappear over time."

I assume "biomass" means "made from unicorns".

Still, I don't shop at any other store now. They also sell "green bags", which are the cloth reusable ones.

[SilverOrb]

I actually use my extra plastic bags to crochet reusable bags. I also crochet my own reusable bags out of yarn... No stressing about the store thinking I haven't paid for em then!

[Cat]

My fellow Choo Choo Bear fan.....crocheting from plastic bags? That is brilliant!!

The trunk of my car is packed with a mess of reusable bags, I've been in the habit for awhile now being them in stores, its rare I forget them. I do try to use different bags than the stores I bought them in....the only exception is Trader Joes..... I only have the 1 insulated bag

[Lil Bunny]

I'm going to have to learn how to crochet! I like the purse idea, I mean it's the first thing I grab on the way out in the morning. I think with the Walgreens fold up ones, I'm going to toss those in the glove compartment.

You guys are teh awesomeness!!!eleventy!!!

[sms001]

I actually use my extra plastic bags to crochet reusable bags. I also crochet my own reusable bags out of yarn... No stressing about the store thinking I haven't paid for em then!

Great idea SO!


Here's how.

There're a bunch of other plastic bag uses here.

[fireheart]

Another cashier here

Because my state has completely banned plastic bags, I can answer a few questions from THAT perspective.

Meat/Chemicals: Meat-wise, I've had people use the produce bags to wrap the small cuts of meat in. That's fine, but make sure we can still see the barcode. Chemical-wise, we try and still pack them separately, or if we absolutely need to, we pack it with cans. Some customers bring along an extra cooler bag for the meat and designate that as their meat bag. And we also get some customers who use the old plastic bags or other versions.

Not Being Charged: Because ours require that you take the tag off well before you even think about packing it, we can usually tell if they've been bought before or not. Our boutique bags on the other hand...

Remembering: We get a lot of that as well. Some suggestions I tend to make are: keep some foldable bags in your handbag, go shopping with a partner if possible who can help you remember, have something on you that will jog your memory if possible and the list goes on. The customers who do remember, but leave their bags in the car, most just load it up loose and then pack it themselves in the car.